How 5 Million Stoves Can Change 25 Million Lives

July 8, 2011 -- Greg Spencer and Austin Mann are trying to change the world one stove at a time.

As part of The Paradigm Project, a philanthropic organization co-founded by Spencer, the duo wants to distribute five million low cost cook stoves in developing countries by 2020. Spencer says if they meet their goal they will be able to impact 25 million lives.

Approximately 3 billion people globally cook every meal over an open flame, according to Spencer, a practice that is contributing to both health and environmental problems.

Using an open flame is the "equivalent of smoking 40 cigarettes a day," said Spencer. "Almost two million women and children die every year from lower respiratory disease caused from indoor cooking smoke."

In addition to the health problems, the deforestation detrimentally affects the environment, and families spend hours collecting wood when they could be performing other more beneficial tasks.

Spencer said what makes his organization different is that it is not just giving away stoves, but rather trying to create a self-sustaining local industry. The goal, he said, is to have all the stoves built near where they are distributed.

"We don't have one technology that we're trying to push on people. We just want to be able to give people great products that are going to make their lives better," said Spencer.

Mann and Spencer are documenting their journey in the webseries "Stove Man." In the first episode they go on a wood walk with women in northern Kenya. The hike through the desert takes a total of about six hours and the journey back is made with bundles of wood weighing more than 50 pounds strapped to their backs.

Watch "The Conversation" to find out what part of the trip Mann "had to leave" because it was too painful to endure.