Khoni-Yaku: An Accessory for Wood and Dung Improve Cook Stoves to Heat Water by Using the Combustion Heat Losses, Peru

In Peru, 13% of children under five struggle with diarrhea. Access to clean water reduces this number, as well as the incidence of other infectious diseases. Unfortunately, Peruvian rural villages have little access to clean water and show a lack of good hygiene habits because the water is too cold to use without some form of heating. This situation is related with poverty and sparse development opportunities. The Peruvian government has been providing improved cook stoves to the poorest and most vulnerable people in the country through social programs. Khoni-Yaku is leveraging these existing stoves to introduce a simple but novel technology using convection and energy efficiency concepts (using combustion heat loss) to heat water. The straightforward design can be easily replicated and transferred to local businesses for widespread use. If boiling water takes less energy and fuel, the chances of villagers using clean (boiled) water increases. The main idea is to train and motivate people to tap into this novel technology to help improve the lives of their peers but also to create a viable source of income by selling this innovation. This project is funded under a collaborative agreement between CONCYTEC (Peru's National Council for Science, Technology and Technological Innovation) and Grand Challenges Canada (funded by the Government of Canada) to support Stars in Global Health innovators based in Peru.