Earth to Humanity!

Many of us living in cities around the world feel in-tune with environmental issues in 2022, be it the threat of climate change, food and water source maintenance, or pollution from manufacturing and fuel. These things affect our daily lives and even our continued survival as a species on this earth.

But spend a week in Guatemala doing community infrastructure work, and you’ll walk away knowing that for whatever immediacy you feel regarding to your environment, nature plays an infinitely larger role in the lives of people in rural developing communities.

The ceramic water filter inside its receptacle.

When IEP began working in the Guatemalan Highlands area in 2017, our team identified several urgent health and safety hazards facing the people here.

First, their natural water supplies—the rivers and streams that have nourished them and their ancestors for centuries—are polluted with waste from upstream. The solution, at least in the short-term, was to source inexpensive, ceramic water filters that we can distribute easily throughout the towns. We did just that, and the effect was immediate. With every filter we install, there is a decrease in water-born illness in the area.

Second was the issue of fires for cooking and heating. When we arrived to area, just about every household had an open, indoor fire. This was how women cooked their family’s meals and where extended families gathered for warmth and community. But it was also extremely dangerous. Smoke inhalation, burns, and environmental pollution presented an incredible hazard to the people here, wreaking havoc on adults and children alike.

An IEP Smoke-free Stove in action.

Like the water filter, our solution to this issue takes the form of an easily replicable installation: the IEP stove. Smoke-free, easy to use, and quick to install, the IEP stove uses up to 60% less wood than an open fire and is significantly less dangerous. Women can recover an entire day of labor every week from not having to gather wood, and the natural environment benefits as well!

The stoves and water filters installed by volunteer IEP Community Infrastructure teams address some of the symptoms of climate change the the immediate needs of the people. But it is important to realize that the root of these problems lies in systemic imbalances that may take decades to address. These imbalances often force communities into an adversarial relationship with their environment, and that’s why IEP is investing in the future of Guatemala and of the planet through the education of the next generation of leaders at El Molino School and the Esperanza Trade Training Center.

Equipping young people with education, leadership skills, and opportunities to participate in structuring society is the key to a better future for us all.

Earth Day is on April 22nd, 2022.