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Summary
Between November 2018 and March 2019, Nelly Victoria Giraldo received mentorship from the Colombia Program coordinator and financial support for a project entitled, “Two Actions to Protect Bellavista’s Forests: Implementing Efficient Stoves and Planting Native Trees Used for Firewood.” This initiative aimed to offset the negative impacts of firewood use on native forests by introducing low-cost efficient stoves and planting native tree species that are cut for firewood. Through participatory research conducted with 23 children and youth and 6 adults, Nelly Victoria and other ELTI alumni from this community documented an average monthly consumption of 90.8 kg of firewood per household. Results of this project include a better understanding of local firewood use patterns and species preferences; seedling production of the preferred firewood species in nurseries; enrichment planting activities; participatory monitoring of firewood use and the implementation of three model efficient stoves in the community.