Partnership with Peace Corps and ECPA Increases Access to Clean Energy in El Salvador

Peace Corps Volunteer, Ismaldi Cueto, helped build clean cookstoves in the community of Las Pillas, El Salvador with training from TWP.

Since 2012, we have been working with the Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas (ECPA) in Honduras, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala as part of their “Improving Access to Clean Energy” initiative.

As implementing partners for the ECPA, we are working to:

• Increase low carbon economic growth and development
• Accelerate the uptake and deployment of renewable, energy-efficient technologies, including solar energy products such as solar lighting and phone chargers
• Advance countries’ abilities to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation
• Promote regional cooperation and integration

Ambitious? Yes! But we have had great success with this program, and a huge part of that success is due to strong partnerships. Peace Corps has been one of these strong partners.

In El Salvador, our local partners have worked to train Peace Corps Volunteers (PCVs) to build clean cookstoves. PCVs, in turn, teach local people in their communities about the benefits of our cookstoves and help them build them in their homes. This training model empowers local people with the knowledge to build and maintain cookstoves long after the PCV has left the community. Knowledge is passed along, deforestation is reduced, and homes are healthier as more and more families switch from traditional open fire stoves to clean cookstoves.

To date, this innovative partnership has built nearly 500 clean cookstoves with ECPA funds and the help of dedicated PCVs.

Don Jorge Garcia trains community resident Osmi Rameriz in cookstove construction in the town of Caserio Las Minas.