Ramírez Quirama, Juan FernandoTaborda Vergara, Adolfo León2015-03-112015-03-1120141909-0455http://hdl.handle.net/10567/1265Introduction. The consumption of biomass has a fundamental role in the preparation of food worldwide, especially in developing countries, thus generating a continuous contribution to the carbon gas in the atmosphere. Objective. Estimate the firewood consumption in traditional stoves per family, per capita and cooking time for food preparation in peasant families and evaluate some environmental issues. methodology. This work was developed in Abejorral, Argelia, Nariño and Sonsón towns, where 108 families that use traditional stoves to prepare their food were selected. The families were visited during one day, making a census of firewood con -sumption per day and per person ; the forest species used was identified; the cooking time in hours consumed by one family to prepare food in one day was quantified and the number of individuals per family nucleus was accounted. Results. In the region, 250 tons /day of carbon are released into the atmosphere. Each person and each family emits 6.09 and 29.8 kg/day respectively, in a 7:51’’ ± 20’’ hours period. The families are composed by 5 ± 0.36 people. The most used plant species is Cupressus lusitanica. The firewood consumption was proportional to the number of family members. Conclusion. The traditional systems are highly polluting and the emissions can be even higher than those produced by a person or a family in a city. Therefore, alternatives such as more efficient kitchens must be explored.esCorporación Universitaria LasallistaÁrea Metropolitana del Valle de AburráBiomasaLeñaContaminación del aireCombustiblesArticle