Burn Design Lab

BDL engineer Patrick Flores recently spent three weeks in Sierra Leone 🇸🇱 working with our partner, Westwind Energy, to launch pilot production of Wonder Stoves’ household charcoal stove and a new institutional model.

On the ground, he worked closely with factory teams to troubleshoot equipment, refine components, and support early production- resulting in 18 household stoves and improved efficiency across the line.

As Patrick shared, “The greatest memory I had was testing one of the recently assembled charcoal stoves by cooking Lafidi, a sardine and pepper stew, with two of the women factory workers. Sharing smiles and laughs while cooking on a smoke-free, fast-boiling stove truly made this trip one to remember.”

So fun to be on air with sharing more about our work to bring cleaner, safer cooking to families around the world.

Every day, millions of people cook over smoky, inefficient fires, exposing themselves to dangerous smoke and harming the environment. Cleaner-burning cookstoves are changing that!

To date, our designs have helped reach over 6 million households. Help us reach 10 million more by 2035!

Tomorrow is GiveBIG Day— join us!

Help expand access to cleaner, safer cooking:
https://wl.donorperfect.net/weblink/WebLink.aspx?name=E334987&id=11

It’s that time of year again, when communities across Washington come together to celebrate GiveBIG, supporting nonprofits making a difference locally and around the world.

To mark the occasion, Burn Design Lab will be on air with Voice of Vashon (101.9 FM) this Monday at 8:30 AM as part of the live GiveBIG broadcast.

Tune in to hear more about our work, and the stories behind it, from women cooking daily school meals to the changes making kitchens safer and easier to work in.

Join the movement this GiveBIG and donate to support Burn Design Lab: https://burndesignlab.org/

Did you know that Burn Design Lab’s cookstove projects have helped reduce an estimated 15+ million tons of firewood used and 26+ million tons of CO₂ emissions?

This Earth Day, we're proud to support solutions that protect forests, improve air quality, and reduce emissions, while building the local manufacturing systems needed to sustain impact at scale.

Cleaner cooking isn’t just good for households, it’s critical for our planet.

Want to learn more about Burn Design Lab and see our work up close?

Now’s your chance! Join us for our Picnic and Open House on Vashon Island, a relaxed afternoon to reconnect, explore our space, and see what we’ve been working on.

🗓️ Saturday, May 30
🕛 12:00–3:00 PM
📍 BDL, Sheffield Building, Vashon

Enjoy guided lab tours, project updates, great food, and time to connect with the BDL team and community. Bring a friend. Everyone is welcome!

More details to come. We hope to see you there.