Proyecto Mirador has scaled up stove construction with help from its Ejecutor partners.

  • Technico Don Munoz nearing completion of a stove.
  • This group of técnicos has just been trained on the use of smart phones.
  • Ejecutores like Doña Sandra not only manage teams that build stoves but interface with families, work with villages, and check stoves.
  • Ejecutores and Supervisors work closely together to monitor stove maintenance and insure beneficiaries received complete training.
  • Maynor has been hired by Contratista Fredy to build stoves for Proyecto Mirador.
  • Ejecutor Eugenio an entrepreneur who builds stoves for Proyecto Mirador, and his team
  • Ejecutor Francisco, an entrepreneur, getting the materials he needs to build stoves on behalf of Proyecto Mirador.
  • Don Fredy y Don Eugenio hard at work learning how to manage stove installations. (Photo courtesy of RRavenel)
  • Stove builder setting the plancha in place after cementing the top.
  • Doña Sandra, Prof Eugenio, and Prof Omar, Ejecutores of Proyecto Mirador

These local entrepreneurs manage teams that build stoves on behalf of Proyecto Mirador.  Their jobs are easier with new computers and hand held smart phones that provide better information about stove installations. 

Demand for improved stoves has never flagged and we are besieged by requests from local mayors and women to construct stoves in their towns. Initially we were constrained in our ability to meet this extraordinary demand but have solved the problem by finding local entrepreneurs that we call Ejecutores to help us scale the project.

Under our Programa de Ejecutores, (partners) we train third party Hondurenos in all aspects of Proyecto Mirador’s work including construction of the 2x3, groundwork community organizing, and education and training of beneficiaries. Upon completion of our instruction, the Contratistas receive an allocation of stoves and they are provided with the necessary materials (chimney, plancha, and stove mouth).  They convey men and materials to the site, complete all the tasks mentioned, and are then paid for the the work completed.

Our first Ejecutor, Don Omar, hired 4 technicians and our second, Don Fredy, hired 3 technicians and both began constructing stoves in March, 2010. Since then we have added 3 additional Contratistas; Don Eugenio, Doña Sandra, and Don Francisco and each hires and manages its own corresponding team of stove builders.

The new Information Technology system has made it easier for ejecutores to create and monitor stove installations in individual villages.  Entering information about households that want stoves following a community meeting becomes faster and easier on the Salesforce.com platform. With Global Basemap* software, locations of homes can be mapped and needs for materials can be scheduled with the Proyecto Mirador office. When it comes time to deploy stove builders and they begin to provide information on completed stoves, ejecutores can quickly see how work is progressing and prepare for the next allocation of stoves. 

The stove construction work of the Ejecutores and their teams is verified and checked by Supervisors from Proyecto Mirador who insure that the education and training processes are complete, and that the stove was well built.  Project Management has been impressed with the quality of the construction by Ejecutores, the understanding of the project by their beneficiaries, the enthusiasm for Proyecto Mirador within the community, and with the character of the technicians.

There are about 400,000 households in Honduras that could use an improved stove, and The Programa de Contratistas is critical to scaling the project. When we began our work in 2004, we were unable to imagine a construction rate of 500 stoves per year, let alone a month. But now we can foresee our way to eventually building up to 2,000 stoves per month or about 200 villages in a year.

 

* Note: Global Basemap is a product of Digital Globe.