Peter Shokeir | [email protected]
Making dinner shouldn鈥檛 be fatal.
That鈥檚 what a Jasper-based charity is emphasizing as it raises money to replace unsafe traditional cook stoves for families living in Nepal鈥檚 mid-hill region.
With a goal of $25,000, the fundraiser is looking for 250 people to contribute $100 each in order to 鈥淲in Wine and Save Lives.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e just trying to make a tiny difference one little stove at a time,鈥� said Sherrill Meropoulis, co-founder of Mountains of Relief.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 have any grandiose ideas of who we are or what we can do, but we can do some things.鈥�
Since 2015, Mountains of Relief has been working with field support to help those living in Nepal, such as by building a school for 120 students, among other achievements.
Mountains of Relief now wants to replace unsafe traditional stoves.
According to the World Health Organization, 4.3 million deaths were attributable to household air pollution in 2012.
In Nepal, around 77 per cent of the population relies on biomass fuels, mostly wood, for cooking and heating.
Raj Ghimire, who co-founded Mountains of Relief and used to live in Nepal, noted how his family there spent an hour each day gathering burning materials for the stove, while smoke residue often got everywhere inside their home.
鈥淲e suffer every day鈥攚ent into the forest, climbing into the trees, risk of life, coming home, cooking, all the smoke, again. I really was all black, my clothes and everything, so I have the experience, so this stove project means a lot for many families, including mine.鈥�
Smoke residue can cover not only the walls and cooking utensils but also the lungs of those living there, which can lead to premature death and stunted growth in infants.
People including children often burn themselves or fall into the open fires too.
Mountains of Relief wants to provide families in Nepal with improved cook stoves 鈥渟o that they can breathe the clean mountain air that surrounds them and cook without fear of dying.鈥�
Mountains of Relief and partner groups have sent people into the field in Nepal to speak with the families to find out what their needs are.
This information is passed along to the University of Alberta Faculty of Engineering, which has been working to develop prototype stoves.
A pilot project will run for up to a year to determine if the new stoves work or not.
鈥淚f the prototype stove isn鈥檛 working, what we鈥檒l do then is we鈥檒l look at the market, because there are some reasonable stoves on the market, but it鈥檚 not a one-size-fits-all,鈥� Meropoulis said.
鈥淲e are developing a stove that is very specific to one area only in Nepal. You won鈥檛 have the same stove in the southern part of the country. Their needs will be different. They鈥檒l be cooking maybe more with dung, or in the high, high mountains, their needs will also be different.鈥�
The new stoves are expected to have greater efficiency, better combustion and less smoke.
鈥淭hey really do improve the lives of those people who are going to have the ability through little projects like our own to gain access to them,鈥� Meropoulis said.
The new stoves will also reduce carbon emissions and the need to cut down trees for fuel in Nepal, with Meropoulis noting how a lack of trees can contribute to landslides.
For every $100 donation, donors will receive a string of Nepalese prayer flags and be qualified to enter a special donor鈥檚 draw.
Specifically, donors will be given three chances to win wine, with the first prize being a 鈥渨ine cellar鈥� consisting of 100 bottles of premium wine.
The draw will be held on Jan. 30 at the close of the fundraising campaign.
To donate or for more information, visit
