Recently a group of volunteers from various parts of Northern Ireland made their way to a refugee area near Besaniya where they installed ‘closed’ cooking fires to ensure the safety of children within the compound.

The stoves were constructed from anthill clay and sand. They are about two and a half feet high and four feet wide with two spaces on top for cooking pots.

Below of some photographs of the construction process.

Making of bricks using clay and water.	Bricks laid out to dry.
Base which consists of 30 moulded bricks and covered with mud.	Pots used to make moulds in stove.
Pots will now be removed with assistance of lubrication liquid made from leaves.	Ant hill clay used in construction process.
Mixing of ant hill clay and sand with bare feet - no cement mixers here!	Pulling out device to create fireplace opening.
Removal of device to create chimmey.	Hole created by mould so smoke from fire can escape.
Men putting finishing touches to stove.	Finished stove with pots in place.

It takes 6 six men about 3 hours to build a stove. However, the stoves need 5 weeks to dry out and set before they can be used.