Newton Sister City Project in Nicaragua Scores Two Important Grants

Now in its 35th year, The Newton/San Juan del Sur (Nicaragua) Sister City Project has recently been awarded two grants to support its work building efficient ”EcoStoves” with chimneys to remove smoke from kitchens (and lungs) in the Pacific Coast township.

The City of Newton’s office on Energy and Climate, working with the Village Bank, awarded the EcoStove Program a “Climate Action Microgrant” based partly on the program’s innovative development of a durable, locally-sourced mortar that avoids the use of Portland cement (famous for its huge carbon footprint).

A second grant to Newton’s EcoStove Program recently came from the Boston-based Thoracic Foundation which will underwrite the continuation of the stove-building initiative for the next two years. Sister City Project President David Gullette says his team is “jubilant.”

Readers interested in the details of EcoStove construction can see a series of explanatory photos and short videos about the process on the SCP homepage, www.newtonsanjuan.org.

Rural families pay no money for their EcoStoves, but they are required to put in “sweat equity,” that is, some member of the family must be ready to work every day during the construction process.

For more information, contact david.gullette@simmons.edu.