During the 2012 NAFSA Conference and Expo, the GoAbroad Team was pleased to announce the winners of the 2012 Innovation Awards. As part of a continued effort to recognize the hard work and dedication this year’s nominees, GoAbroad will be sharing individual features of the 2012 GoAbroad Innovation Awards finalists over the coming weeks. This week, we are thrilled to bring you the Innovation in Sustainability finalists!
Please join us in congratulating the following Finalist (and Winner!) of the Innovation in Sustainability Award:
ProWorld
“Cleaner Burning Stove Project”
ProWorld has set out to prove that international education can achieve programmatic and educational goals for its participants and be sustainable at the same time. A great example of this success in sustainability can be seen in the Cleaner Burning Stove Project, run out of ProWorld Peru.
In Peru, roughly eight million people live in poor rural areas where they depend almost exclusively on wood for cooking. These families cannot afford to cook on gas stoves like their urban neighbors. The environmental issue that results is the burning of wood in poorly ventilated kitchens, creating high concentrations of carbon monoxide, particulate matter and other pollutants. To date, with the help of community partners, students, volunteers, interns, and various funds,ProWorld Peru has installed more than 6,000 cleaner burning stoves in rural Peruvian communities. The impact of these stoves has been profound – in sustainability and health. As a leader in this space, ProWorld Peru stoves were part of the first UN Gold Standard grade carbon credit stove project in Peru.