Stove Building

We built 4 mud stoves in Olinala last week. The advantages of these stoves are that there is a chimeny which carries the smoke from the fire outside of the kitchen, they use less wood, and because the fire is completely contained, there is less risk of being burned. A group of 5 women from the neighborhood worked together and we had a great time! Briefly, here is the process - First we mix together: 7 or 8 buckets of dirt, depending on how "sticky" the dirt is, 3 buckets of sand, 1 bucket of dried donkey manure, 1/2 bucket of lyme, and somtimes a 1/2 bag of cement. (picture 1) Then we add nixtamal water - water that the corn soaked in before it was ground into masa to make tortillas. (picture 2) First we mix the ingredients with shovels, and then (picture 3) with our hands to make sure we have the right moisture content and no lumps. (picture 4) Then we put the mold in place. The big circle is where the fire will be lit, and the pan for making tortillas fits on top. There are also 2 pvc pipes that we use to make air tunnels. 2 cooking pots sit on top of each pvc pipe. Finally, there is a space for the chimeny. (picture 5) Once the mold is in place, we slowly start filling in the spaces around the mold, pounding down the dirt mixture, so it is firmly packed. This takes awhile, and this is when the joking and laughing really begins. (picture 6) Then we smooth out the top and start taking the mold apart.
And "wa-lah!" a stove!
I'll post "finished stove" pictures later - we're still trying to decide how we are going to inaugurate each stove!