Support the Regional Testing and Knowledge Center Internship Program




A major work of Aprovecho Research Center for the past 10 years has been the creation of Regional Testing and Knowledge Centers (RTKCs). These facilities rely heavily on emissions equipment and training from Aprovecho Research Center. They are usually created as an addition to a University in a developing country, and are initially funded by large development organizations such as the Clean Cooking Alliance.

The best RTKCs are lead by the best people. The best people posses integrity, grit, and specialized training. The people working in these RTKCs often come from poor rural areas and have made the choice to share some of their good fortune and help their mothers and communities by creating improved cookstoves. Their grit is apparent when they tell stories of their path out of poverty, their integrity is proven when they make the choice to go back and help their communities, but they could use your help with specialized training.

We are asking for your tax deductible donation to help cover the living expenses for one or two people at a time from these RTKCs while they serve as interns at the ARC campus for 3 to 12 months. Aprovecho Research Center is a 501(c )3 organization. Your donation is tax deductible to the fullest extent allowed by law.

The benefits of the internship program are many-fold. Interns learn the best practices of the industry, gain new and valuable knowledge, and make lucrative connections. Interns are encouraged to present their work at the ETHOS conference. The experience gained during the internship travels straight back to a working laboratory where it can be efficiently put to use in a local setting. The interns return home with the knowledge and methods to create the solution locally from the ground up, not to just buy it from a foreigner.

The presence of the interns at Aprovecho Research Center allows the permanent staff to leverage their expertise and direct more detailed and better documented research. It also widens the lab’s research bandwidth while staff is away for consultancies. Read our newsletter or view our publications such as our most recent publication, Clean Burning Biomass Cookstoves. This publication summarizes the recent three year Department of Energy funded R&D project. We welcome you to see what we’ve been up to lately and to see the knowledge that your donation will be sending directly to the communities that need it most.