Teófilo Benavente Pinto has seen a lot in his 64 years in Qori Q’oncha, Peru, but not much has changed. He has seen his children grow, and now, his grandchildren. He has seen the seasons flow from one to another, watching  crops on his fields mature from seedlings to bountiful harvest. The changes he sees are mostly the natural rhythm of life. It’s a steady, changeless rhythm that is part of the beauty of this majestic place.

Recently, a small change made a big difference. The new cookstove. Surprising how that turned out to be such a big change. “We lived with that old stove for so long, filling our house with smoke. All the time, the smoke hurt our eyes and made us sick.” He shrugs and shakes his head. “No more,” he says, “the smoke is vented out of the house. Everything is clean. We don’t get sick. We use so much less wood.” Then, laughing, “And we don’t smell like smoke anymore!”

With your support, this project has installed over 106,000 improved cookstoves in Qori Q’oncha, benefitting 500,000 people, reducing CO2 emissions nearly 450,000 tonnes, and reducing firewood consumption by over 330,000 tonnes. That’s change of the best and most welcome kind, ensuring the future of our climate and way of life, for Teófilo and for all of us .

There is another change Teófilo has witnessed over the years; he has seen the forests recede as trees were cut by the communities for firewood. The forests couldn’t keep up. Too much firewood. But now that is changing too. Because of the stoves, the forests are coming back.

Teófilo, along with the half million people who welcome the changes to their lives and to our climate, say, “Gracias, amigo. Thank you for your support!”