One woman hopes to convert a community with her green initiative.

By Miriam Lamey
April, 2009

Peace Corps Volunteer Sonya Greegor is willing to put her passion for the environment before anything else.

The community activist from Boise, Idaho will travel to five different Mexican communities to train a total of 72 women to use sustainable solar powered ovens called HotPots. Two representatives from each community will help women learn to cook with the HotPots—items that will ultimately save lives.

The National Institute of Respiratory Diseases in Mexico City found that 90 percent of rural households use biomass for cooking and heating the home. Burning this fuel causes breathing problems such as bronchitis, asthma and emphysema.

HotPots are entirely solar powered and will promote the practice of living green. "Having community advocates and taking the time needed to train the women in the use of the solar systems are critical steps for sustainability," Greegor commented.

Greegor's program empowers women through the gift of choice. "Now, women will have the opportunity to choose a more sustainable alternative," she concludes, helping the women she trains to save both their families and the environment.