Star Trib Interview

Nicaragua Trip: April 23-May 3, 2005

By Andrew Knutson

I. Why?

The Nicaragua project was subsidized by St. Edwards Catholic Church in Bloomington, MN. They collected enough monies to cover a project of 300 SOS Sport ovens in Jinotega, Nicaragua. It is a city of 20,000 people in the Jinotega province of Nicaragua located 150km north-northeast of Managua (the capitol). A group of 19 from the church volunteered to be sent down to oversee the training and assembly of the ovens. They departed March 31 and returned April 11. There was one problem. The delivery of the ovens was held up in Nicaraguan customs because of a discrepancy on their part. The ovens continued to be unreleased until April 20 th! Well, by this time the St. Edwards group had left and there was still the work of the assembly required. The leader and director of the group, Sue, stayed behind until April 22. With the help of AVODEC (Victorino) and Sue, they managed to get the ovens through customs, drive to Jinotega, and unload them. They managed to assemble 15-20 ovens before Sue had to leave. Within a few days notice, we booked a flight to send me to Nicaragua to ensure the follow through of the project for St. Edwards.

In March, the directors (Mike & Martha Port) discussed sending me down for first-hand experience regarding the application of ovens in a developing country. It was just a matter of time to send me when the ovens were out of customs. My primary objective was to ensure quality control over the assembly of ovens, gather/analyze information about the assembly process, and manage the workers who assembled the ovens. Moreover, the trip tied up loose ends, solidified previous relationships, and built new ones.

II. Quantity of Ovens/Process for Distribution?

As mentioned previously, the project included 300 ovens for direct on-site assembly in Jinotega. The process in distributing them included AVODEC (a local non-profit organization specializing in sustainable development) and Maureen (a Peace Corps worker). I did not specialize in the distribution but was able to witness a few ovens in the rural communities. In particular, AVODEC took me to Jocomico to see a water project. Along the way we stopped by the home of a community leader who helped to organize the effort in distribution and gave positive feedback concerning the use of the oven. She was even cooking in it when we stopped by making no mention of our arrival. The community was already using them. This particular community leader was cooking rice/beans and bananas. I asked her what the general reaction was by people who were curious in receiving one. She mentioned they were surprised no fire or electricity was involved. She further explained that even she couldn’t believe it until she used the oven for herself and was amazed that this little box could cook her meals. That was the general consensus among the communities. We also received an e-mail from Maureen who managed to get 60 ovens to Sabana Grande (a suburb of Jinotega). She said some locals were cooking green mangos in the oven, stating it cooked better than over an open fire! The itch is there and the SOS Sport is catching on. By the time I got to Jinotega the demand was around 50 people, when I left, there was a list of over 250 who wanted the oven! Let me put it in perspective. While I was managing the assembly in Jinotega, a woman who works for AVODEC had visited another small community and rushed all the way back with some corn bread that was cooked in our oven. She said a woman was able to bake bread so well; she wanted to prove it to others who had not believed. Well, the news spread quickly and others jumped aboard the “miracle” oven. By the way, the corn bread was delicious!

On another topic, the workers who assembled the ovens were friendly, courteous, hard-working, and intelligent. The second day into the assembly, I bought fresh chicken, potatoes, and vegetables from a local market to cook for them; to my surprise they had never tasted food cooked in the ovens they were assembling. It took no less than an hour and a half with reflectors to cook my concoction. They gathered around and I gave a sampling to each. They spoke with glee, saying, “Rico, rico,” meaning “rich and flavorful” chicken. I guess they had to taste to believe. It was wonderful seeing their morale pick-up after they sampled the food in the ovens they were assembling. The workers felt part of the project more so and knew they were on the leading edge of an emerging technology in a country they were proud of.

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