Modular Plancha Cookstove Design for Capacity Building in Santa Catarina, Guatemala

Abstract

Indoor air pollution from cooking on inefficient firewood cookstoves and open fires leads to 3.2 million premature deaths every year (World Health Organization, 2022). In Santa Catarina Palopó, Guatemala, women spend much of their time cooking and primarily use wood fuel, which disproportionately exposes them to air pollutants. An efficient, modular, user-friendly cookstove would improve the health, safety, independence, and cooking experience of women in the community while helping families save wood fuel. Through the Guatemala-based non-profit, Link4, women and builders in Santa Catarina co-designed, prototyped, and user-tested a cookstove that could be manufactured locally for community capacity building. A prototype was also produced in D-Lab to evaluate emissions and efficiency through burn testing. The resulting prototype was a horizontal-feed fiber-reinforced concrete rocket stove with perlite insulation and a plancha (flat stovetop), similar to but smaller than traditional Guatemalan stoves. The size and geometry was designed for modularity and portability, allowing multiple stoves to be used in various configurations, and to maximize thermal efficiency. A burn test D-Lab demonstrated a thermal efficiency of 13-14%. A user test in Guatemala found that the stove heated up quickly and reduced fuel consumption but required more tending and was difficult to transport.