Solar Cooking
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AMANECER1

Six years ago the Solar Oven team partnered with Grupo Fenix, an organization from the Universidad Nacional de Ingeneria in Nicaragua that works in rural areas to increase awareness of sustainable lifestyles and research renewable energy, and Las Mujeres Solares de Totogalpa, a collective of women using solar technologies to offset te use of woody fuels in their homes. In a region suffering from deforestation, Solar Ovens eliminate the need for women to spend hours of their day gathering resources and reduce the health risks from fires. dealing specifically with a small community in Sabana Grande, the Solar Oven Team works to increase Solar Oven usage by creating a sustainable solution that is culturally acceptable and desirable.

Amenecer's current goals

Test several alternative insulation materials for use in the solar cookers for utility and drability:

  • wood shavings from planing wood
  • rice hulls
  • fiberglass

Develop a better mechanism for supporting the lid/reflector:

  • the present wooden support rod is awkward to use and difficult to align

Design a more elegant cooker:

  • The long sheet metal pieces used for the outside surface of the cooker are prepared and fitted by hand and screwed to the wooden frame of the cooker
  • The paint on the outside of the cooker could be more uniform in application
  • An regular tool, such as a cooker, should be well and elegantly designed

For more information please visit our solar cooker project wiki.


News and recent developments

  • Spring 2011 visit: the student team visited Sabana Grande during spring break in March 2011 to build a new large cooker with a new metal stand for use in the soon to be completed Solar Restaurant being built by Las Mujeres Solares de Totogalpa at their Centro Solar.

External links

Contact

Aditi Kolhekar, Team Leader

Email: ask48@cornell.edu


Tim Bond, Staff Advisor

Email: tkb2@cornell.edu