The Maasai people of east Africa live in mud huts, with 10-odd structures in a family settlement, making up a minor community, or a “boma”. A boma may house 50 – 100 people and their livestock.

Typically, Maasai women cook with an open fire in the middle of a very small, unventilated hut made of sticks and mud. This is not only dangerous but extremely unhealthy. 25 children per 1,000 die before the age of 5 from lung problems due to inhaling the smoke from the open fires. Many are also burned.

This project will installed 40 smoke-reducing stoves for cooking and warmth. More than 95% of smoke and carbon monoxide is vented through the engineered stove and chimney. The stoves also use 60% less firewood than their open-air predecessors.