StoveTeam International’s fourth year at HPBExpo in New Orleans felt especially energizing. After several years of showing up and planting seeds, it finally feels like we’re becoming a recognized and trusted part of the hearth community. Friends stopped by our booth with encouragement, and new connections sought us out to ask how they could get involved. I was honored this year when HPBA President Jill McClure invited me to teach a course during the education sessions. Alongside Kirk Newby (AES) and Brett Conklin (Chimney Monkey), we spoke about how supporting a meaningful cause can strengthen hearth businesses. The conversations that followed were some of the most inspiring I’ve had. 

You may wonder how a small and scrappy nonprofit from Eugene, Oregon with a simple brick-and-mortar stove ended up in the middle of this high-tech industry. It started with a man named Craig Gutowski, who I met during my first week on the job at StoveTeam in 2019. Craig was nearing retirement from his family business, The Foundry, in Ontario, Canada, and he was looking for something meaningful to support. He joined one of StoveTeam’s volunteer trips—and in doing so, received the full Guatemala experience: mud, mishaps, and all. On a detour to a remote village with our founder and other volunteers, a typical downpour turned the roads to mud. It took hours to get back. They missed dinner, and Craig took a spill running to the truck, cracking several ribs.

I thought, Well, that’s it. This guy is never speaking to us again.

But not Craig. He returned to Ontario, started a campaign, and raised over $13,000 providing stoves for each house in that remote village. After that, he began to dream bigger: “If my business can do this, what could the entire hearth industry accomplish together?” He introduced us to the HPBA Board of Directors, and shortly after, StoveTeam was named an official Charity of Choice.

That brought us to our first Expo in 2022. Wide-eyed, we rolled into Atlanta, literally with our hand-built model stove on a borrowed cart with one broken wheel. Next to the polished booths and architectural displays, we felt a little like country bumpkins. But we were greeted with curiosity, kindness, and support.

That curiosity still brings people to our booth. I can’t tell you how many folks walk by our booth giving us the side-eye at first before giving in to their curiosity to ask, “What kind of stove is this?” It’s a great hook. When we explain, “We’re StoveTeam—we train local builders in Central America to construct fuel-efficient cookstoves for families who otherwise cook over smoky, open fires,” their faces light up. “That’s awesome,” they say. “That’s important work.” One conversation at a time, we’ve become part of this community.

We may be the lowest-tech exhibit at the show, but that’s beside the point. The Justa stove looks basic, but it’s built on the same principles—clean, efficient combustion. That’s why I believe that StoveTeam and the hearth industry are such natural partners. Like you, we’re working to get smoke out of homes and to create warmth and comfort. We just do it for families living on less than $2 a day. But we also share other core values—meeting high standards, innovating with purpose, and caring deeply about health and the environment. We’re more alike than you might think.  

In the spirit of true partnership, StoveTeam is also here to help the hearth industry. You already bring warmth into homes every day. By supporting StoveTeam, you’re extending that warmth to families who need it most—and transforming lives in the process. You’re also showing the world that this is an industry that cares.

Thanks to Craig and other early champions, the 1,000 Stove Challenge was born—an industry-wide effort that has now helped install over 2,000 clean cookstoves for families across Central America. Seeing how those 2,000 stoves have transformed real homes is what fuels my commitment to this work. I’ll never forget the first time I visited a home where a woman was cooking over a traditional open cooking fire. The smoke was so thick I couldn’t see a person standing two feet in front of me. Kids ran in and out, coughing. I couldn’t breathe and it burned my eyes. It hurt theirs too—but somehow, that life had become normal. Later, our team installed a Justa stove, and everything changed for that family. The kitchen became a safe place, as a kitchen should be. 

To those of you who have championed this cause—thank you. We’re in this for the long haul, and we’re just getting started. Let’s keep growing participation in the annual 1,000 Stove Challenge and expanding our collective impact—one stove, one family, one story at a time. For more information, please visit stoveteam.org/challenge or you can always reach me directly at shelby@stoveteam.org to explore partnership ideas. I’d love to hear from you!