Seeking to improve the quality of life of hundreds of Peruvians, the Tullpa+ project installed its first improved kitchen in Junín. There will be more than 5,000 sustainable kitchens in the region.

For many Peruvians in the interior of the country, cooking in the traditional way with firewood, dung or manure is an ancient heritage, a way to better enjoy food and a more economical practice. However, serious are the consequences on health and the environment, which thousands of people ignore when applying this technique.

According to the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), exposure to smoke from traditional kitchens and open fires causes 2 million premature deaths a year in the world, with women and children being the most affected. In Peru alone, this is a problem that affects around 1,800,000 families.

That is why Paskay, with the strategic and financial support of Mercuria, installed in its first stage, the first improved kitchen in Junín. It is planned to implement 5,000 kitchens in the region. In Cajamarca, the first model kitchen will be built on September 20 with a projection of 5,000 improved kitchens.

The project, “Tullpa +, more conscious kitchens for our community”, seeks to reduce respiratory illnesses of our beneficiaries, improve the quality of life and join in the mitigation of climate change.

It is known that the smoke produced by firewood when burned is a complex mixture of gases and particles that contains multiple pollutants such as benzene, formaldehyde, acrolein and hydrocarbons. The greatest threat comes from fine particles, which due to their microscopic size can enter the eyes or respiratory system.

Find out more about the project here

“I suffer from cataracts, back pain and I have a lot of cough. I am 76 years old and since I was born I have never had a modern kitchen. I know that with my new kitchen I will cook my food better and my house will not be filled with smoke,” said María Quintanilla Mucha, the first beneficiary of the project.

Likewise, the head of the Tullpa+ project, Luisa Espinoza, commented that they are the high Andean areas that most resort to the traditional stove. “It is not only a cultural issue but also an economic one. Oil has gone up and many of our beneficiaries have gone back to cooking over firewood,” she commented.

Tullpa+ will arrive, in this first stage, in Cajamarca, where it will intervene in 2 provinces (Contumaza and Cajarmarca) and 5 districts (Baños del Inca, Namora, Llacanora, Matara, Chilete and Yonan), while in Junín, in one province and 11 districts. The cost per improved kitchen is 678 soles and will benefit more than 10,000 families.

For more information, you can follow our social networks, visit our website (www.paskay.pe) or write to us at contacto@paskay.pe