When you get a chance to raise money for a cause you care about while doing something you enjoy you should grab the opportunity. That’s just what Clear Waters Outfitting Employee Zachary Meer did with his three-week stand up paddleboard journey to raise money for cook stoves in Latin America.
A recent graduate of St. Olaf College, it was there that Meer first heard about Stove Team International during a presentation by the founder of the organization.
Stove Team International is a nonprofit organization that helps establish factories in Latin America that produce safe, fuel-efficient cook stoves to replace dangerous open cooking fires.
The smoke from indoor cooking fires is a leading cause of death in children under age five, killing eight times as many people as malaria, and four million burns are reported annually. The fires emit nearly one billion tons of greenhouse gases each year, and collecting the wood needed each day results in deforestation and the loss of employment opportunities.
“I guess it just kind of stuck with me because it’s such a basic need and impacts so much,” Meer said. “There’s a large number of people who cook over open fires and the smoke causes damage to them and the environment. This is a tiny solution that helps so much.”
“The cool thing about it is they don’t make the stoves here in the U.S. and then just throw the stoves at them which end up going obsolete,” Meer explained. “What they actually do is work with local entrepreneurs who start the stove factories which eventually become self-sufficient. They also stay in the local communities for support and to get feedback.”
Meer became interested in stand up paddle boarding around three years ago. His family owns Clear Waters Outfitting in Clearwater and he’s worked for them full time for the past four years. Every year people come through who have traveled down the Mississippi River from Lake Itasca to New Orleans, which put the idea of his own trip in Meer’s mind.
Meer began his journey at Lake Itasca and after 22 days had made it to the South St. Paul landing.
“Honestly the hardest part of the trip was the portages,” he said. “There are 14 dams I went through where I had to get out and walk my gear.”
The longest distance he had to go was at St. Anthony Falls, where he had to haul everything a mile and a half before he could get back on the Mississippi.
“The best part of the journey was just being out there on the river,” he said. “There’s just a meditative rhythm to paddling and putting camp up and taking it down every day.”
He found the people he met along the river were extremely open, friendly and helpful.
“I was paddling through Anoka and two dogs started barking at me and the couple on the patio tried to shush them,” Meer recounted. “They offered me a beer, we started talking, and I found out later one of them was the mayor of Anoka. It’s cool things like that, you meet random people.”
There were also moments of unexpected beauty, like the night he was paddling though the cities. His board had drifted around backwards while he was taking a break, and when he turned around he saw in the distance the lights of buildings shining through the black and grey of the night.
“It was just very pretty,” he said.
So far Meer has raised just under $700 of his $1,000 goal for Stove Team International. Clear Waters Outfitting, Pau Hana Surf Supply and Werner Paddles sponsored his effort.
When asked about future trips Meer responded, “There are 35 Minnesota water trails and I have this idea in my head that I want to paddle down each of them.”
He also wants to paddle the rest of the Mississippi River through Minnesota, and someday go all the way to New Orleans.
For right now he’s taking it a day at a time.
“I’m just a young kid yearning for adventure.”
To contribute to Meer’s fundraiser or learn more about his 22-day journey, visit his blog at zacsadventureblog.wordpress.com. To learn more about Stove Team International, visit their website at www.stoveteam.org.
