Hi all,

Here's a short note, or maybe a long one, to let you know what we've been up to…

We arrived safely on the most efficient Continental flight ever. Ken and I were on different flights but arrived within 10 minutes of each other so it was easy, easy easy. Of course Gustavo had a surprise for us…new StoveTeam shirts with fancy embroidery so we'd look good on camera.

Then Gustavo hit me with the news that they have been unable to make stoves for two days because it's been impossible to make tiles due to heavy rains. He hoped to get back to work with stove interiors within two or three days. It'll probably be Monday or Tuesday by the time we get the tiles and start to work. In the future, Gustavo hopes to stockpile tiles so we don't again have this problem. Of course, if we had the money, the solution might be to build our own kiln. Manny, the tile maker, has offered to come, but it all boils down to money and cash flow.

By the way, the weather has been super…not blue skies, but not as hot as anticipated and almost no rain. If this continues we should be fine, albeit a bit mosquito bitten.

Ethan arrived after a red-eye flight at 7am today and we rushed down to Sonsonate to the factory to find Channel 12 ready and waiting for us. It's a shame they came when there were no stoves, but it showed off the demand as all have been given out. They interviewed everyone in sight and, just because there must have been some divine intervention, a number of people showed up…

First was Kelsey, the cute Peace Corps Volunteer from Montana who came to say that this is the only project she has worked on where there have been absolutely NO complaints. the only complaint is that there aren't enough stoves to meet the demand. She told the interviewers how fabulous the project was and that she'd come to order more stoves. Of course Ethan was a bit enchanted with her as well, so despite a lack of sleep he was okay.

The next person to show up was a man without his left hand. He had lost it while working in a mill 16 years ago and Gustavito immediately fitted him with a new hand…t.v. cameras rolling! Rotary District 5110 would be proud.

Then we took everyone to a village on the Ruta de las Flores up on a coffee finca where the owner had purchased loads and loads of stoves. He took the camera crew from house to house as he explained the benefits of the stove and that he wanted many more for all of the people there. It surprised me as one of the finca's projects is to cut and sell wood, but he said his land is being deforested so he wanted to protect it as well as benefit the people who worked for him. He's not receiving stoves through the Rotary grant, but just buying them directly from us after reading about the project in the newspaper.

At the finca there were many women using the eCocina but still some using an open fire. The owner said that it was a cultural thing and they needed to get used to the new stove as many had only had the stove for two months. Others we met said they had stopped the open fires and many had destroyed the open fire areas in their homes. One woman said a neighbor had asked her to come by and cook with her, but as she had an open fire that belched smoke, she said she wouldn't cook that way again, and another said that she was so thankful that her son no longer suffered from asthma after the smoke reduction and that she was grateful not to have to pay for a doctor any longer.

Okay, so the most AMAZING thing that happened was on the way home after we bid Channel 12 goodbye. Gustavo, of course, wanted to stop at Subway, but I refused to eat American fast food and said I wanted local food. Gustavo didn't know a place but found a comedor in a nearby town and popped in for lunch (chicken and rice, of course!). I asked Gustavo if it looked clean and we thought it did so we ate there. The owner was gracious and the lunch delicious. Afterwards the owner stopped Gustavo and said, "You look familiar. Why do I know you and what do you do?" He explained the project and then came rushing out to the car where we were waiting and said, "Nancy, I have a surprise for you!" When I went back inside he took me around back where the woman had cooked our lunch on…you guessed it…the Ecocina! She had purchased one earlier and loves it and uses it to prepare food for her restaurant. How about that?

So, I know I over-use the computer, but I just had to share the news while Ken and Ethan are napping. Anyway, I received another e-mail from a local Salvadoreña who wants to meet us as she's connected with an American NGO and is currently writing a grant for fuel-efficient stoves… and so it goes…

Nancy