The COVID-19 pandemic has shown people all over the world how prepared or not they are for emergencies.
The majority of people in T&T use either LPG or electric stoves to cook their food because of their convenience. What would happen if the availability of these fuel sources was interrupted or disrupted over a prolonged period?
With mounting bills to pay and facing the dilemma of how to provide food for her family, Sarah Minwah-Malchan, 28, an unemployed mother and her husband, Keegan Malchan, 34, who was designated a non-essential service provider during the COVID-19 lockdown prayed to God for a solution to their plight of wandering in the unemployment wilderness.
Divine intervention and inspiration came from the earth and nature around their home in St Margaret's Village, Claxton Bay, in the form and creation of rocket stoves.
Rocket stoves are simple but highly efficient and hot-burning stoves utilising an insulated vertical chimney and a design ensuring high airflow around the fuel to allow for near-complete combustion before the flames reaching the end of the stove.
As a result of the near-complete combustion, rocket stoves need far less fuel to produce comparable levels of heat/light as less efficient forms of fires/stoves. They use easy-to-find fuel such as scraps of wood, branches, twigs and dried coconut shells.
Speaking to Guardian Media after she had delivered two rocket stoves to a customer in Point Fortin and filling out an order for two more rocket stoves for customers in Preysal, Minwah-Malchan said "I'm an unemployed mother of two, my husband, Keegan Malchan worked in construction, he was labeled as non-essential.
"We sat down together to discuss our situation and said things will get harder for us as we were not working. We can't afford to buy gas, so we decided to try something. He wanted to get creative seeing that he did construction.
"We're Christians and trust in God. One day we prayed and said Lord, you know the situation and what we're going through, you open a door and an opportunity for us and the idea came to us to make rocket stoves.
"We tried out a small model. After the concrete cured, we were cooking on it. One of my cousins saw us, a villager was passing and they said the wanted a bigger one and we made one for them."
She said the news spread by word of mouth in the village about their rocket stoves, and more people became interested in their low-cost alternative innovation to gas/propane/butane and electric stoves.
Minwah-Malchan said this occurred a week after the country was under temporary lockdown from March 27.
She said she awoke one morning and posted their rocket stoves on social media, there were a few negative comments, but then people started ordering and the sales steadily grew.
Minwah-Malchan said people started to share her post on social media. If a customer purchased a rocket stove, their family member or neighbours wanted to buy one. She said the rocket stoves were also gaining in popularity with outdoor enthusiasts, campers, hunters, fishermen and farmers.
Minwah-Malchan said the furthest distance they delivered to was Icacos, where a customer bought two large and two small rocket stoves.
She said for a week they weren't getting cement because of a shortage, but they were lucky to secure two bags and were able to continue making their product.
Keegan Malchan said he can make six rocket stoves a day–they made two sizes, a small and a large model, the size of a five-gallon pigtail bucket which was the more popular seller.
Responding to how he could sell his rocket stoves so reasonable at $60 and $100 each, he said they catered for the poor man and poor people's pocket.
Keegan said he and his wife catered for everybody, rich and poor alike; if you don't have cooking gas or electricity, you can still purchase an alternative fuel stove at a cheap price and still cook and feed your family.
Minwah-Malchan said customers gave her great feedback when they cooked on their rocket stoves.
She said customers liked their product and the experience of using it, they called her, sent photographs and commended her product. Minwah-Malchan said customers also shared their techniques with her in starting a fire more efficiently like a woman who used square camphor on top her wooden kindling before lighting the fire or a way to use up old newspaper.
She said selling their rocket stoves was a big hit for them during COVID-19,. One customer tried one and ordered four more, they were also able to put food on the table and provide for Cataleya and Elijah, their children's needs during this difficult time.
Minwah-Malchan said they also had the support of their neighbours and loved ones.
Quoting Matthew 19:26 “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible,” she said they gave all praise and glory to God for delivering the rocket stove to them so they can help themselves and others.
