Allison Shaw, TWP’s Assistant International Director, has been announced as the 2009 recipient of the Wall Alumni Service Award.  The $25,000 Award is available to alumni of Grinnell College, where Allison graduated from in 1998 with a BA in Biology. 

Allison’s proposed project, Protecting Family Health and the Environment in El Salvador, will work to expand TWP’s current fuel-efficient stove project, while, at the same time, introducing the nutritious Maya Nut tree into the local diet.  This project will provide significant health, economic, and environmental benefits to communities in El Salvador.  The main goals of the project are to build 100 new fuel-efficient Justa stoves, to create jobs for two local women as stove promoters, and to produce 1,300 Maya Nut trees.  With these goals met, Allison believes we will continue to see increased native forest cover in El Salvador by reducing the demand for firewood and planting Maya Nut trees.  Also, family health will be improved by reducing exposure to smoke and improving nutrition. 

Through a collaborative effort with TWP and the Equilibrium Fund, as well as the Salvadorian NGO Arboles y Agua para el Pueblo, Allison will coordinate and manage the project.  Her experience as a Peace Corps volunteer in Guatemala, as well as her two years of work with TWP makes her the perfect administrator for this life-changing project.  We are looking forward to the contributions that Allison will bring to communities in El Salvador and congratulate her on this wonderful award!