Throughout Central America and the Caribbean, millions of families still use traditional open fire cookstoves to prepare their daily meals. These cookstoves endanger human health by releasing toxic smoke into the kitchen, increasing deadly Indoor Air Pollution (IAP). Responsible for the deaths of 1.6 million women and children globally every year, IAP is a serious health risk factor in the developing world linked to Acute Respiratory Infections, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease, cataracts, low birth weight, and miscarriages. Open fire also poses a significant safety risk for young children that can fall in. Families spend significant time and money obtaining enough firewood, a substantial opportunity cost. Time spent gathering firewood could be better spent on productive activities to support the family. The money spent buying firewood could be spent on vital food, medicine, education, or other needs. Many developing countries have critically high rates of deforestation due to firewood harvesting, the expanding agricultural frontier, and extraction of tropical hardwoods. Traditional cookstoves use firewood very inefficiently, adding to the already serious problem. Tropical deforestation is a significant contributor to global warming, as burning wood releases carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. It also threatens the irreplaceable biodiversity found in tropical forests. Simple, affordable and culturally-appropriate fuel-efficient cookstove technology is safer, healthier, more cost-effective, and better for the environment. Improved cookstoves burn 70% less wood (saving families US$1 - $5/day) and decrease harmful carbon emissions by 1 ton per year for domestic users and 3.5 tons per year for commercial users (tortilla makers). A variety of models and prices help to ensure that families of all income levels are able to benefit from this sustainable technology that safely cooks meals, protects respiratory health, saves money, reduces deforestation, and combats global warming. Your tax-deductible donation to Trees, Water & People will enable us to provide our forest-saving, life-changing stoves to poor Salvadorian families in need. To date, we have built more than 35,000 fuel-efficient stoves in Honduras, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Haiti. With your help, TWP can do even more! We hope you will join us to improve family health, financial stability, and the environment in developing communities. Together, we can make a world of difference! Trees, Water & People (TWP) is a Colorado-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to improving people’s lives by helping communities to protect, conserve, and manage the natural resources upon which their long-term well-being depends. To learn more, visit www.treeswaterpeople.org.