The majority of people in rural Nicaragua cook over an open fire. This leads to illness from breathing in smoke and being exposed to high temperatures, as well as burns in children. It also is one of the principal causes of deforestation. This year we worked with a local organization called Fundación Denis Gonzalez Lopez to install 40 improved wood stoves in the homes of rural families. Each family was part of a year-long program in which they planted trees to use for their own firewood consumption and attended workshops on the division of labor in the family. The new stoves are completely insulated and ventilated, and use a fraction of the firewood that is needed for an open fire.