Solar Cooking
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{{Updated|11|18|14}}
 
==Events==
 
==Events==
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{{CalendarAndPastEvents}}
See [[Calendar of events]]
 
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==News and Recent Developments==
 
==News and Recent Developments==
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[[File:Solar Cooker Success in Afghanistan!|thumb|right|300 px]]
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*'''October 2014:''' The [[Global Hope Network International]] reports that its recent success in transported 300 solar cookers to rural villages in central Afghanistan where all 300 were purchased by villagers.
  +
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[[File:Interact_solar_cooker_construction_gathering.jpg|right|300px]]
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[[File:A_workshop_trainer_from_TIE_teaches_a_mother_how_to_use_her_new_CooKit,_3-10-14_.jpg|300px|right]]
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*'''March 2014: Afghan refugees let the sunshine in''' - Thanks to the passion of volunteer [[Jack Howell]], [[Trust in Education]] (TIE) initiated a solar oven project in 2010. TIE started with five solar cookers made by Jack, and deliverd them to [[Afghanistan]] in August 2010. That's how it all began. On February 8, 2014 over 60 students from five Bay Area, {{State|California}} high schools joined TIE to build [[CooKit]] solar cookers. They are part of the over 100 high schools with Interact Clubs fro District 5170. The district plans on providing 5,170 [[CooKits]] to Afghan refugee families. Assuming an average of ten members per family, that makes 50,000 people who will be introduced to solar cooking as a result. TIE already has 500 solar cookers in refugee camps, and has requests for more.
  +
  +
*'''February 2014:''' [[Paul Funk]] has updated the solar cooking efforts of [[Grace Magney]] and SERVE in [[Afghanistan]] with a brief summary, beginning in the early eighties. Read more at [[Media:SERVE_solar_cooking_in_Afghanistan,_2013_update.pdf|Looking back at solar cooking relief efforts in Afghanistan]]
  +
  +
*'''April 2013: Interesting facts about the Sun Oven''' - Recently [[Paul Munsen]], [[Sun Ovens International]] president, was questioned about where their ovens were being sold. They have been sold in over 130 countries. The Sun Oven is usually considered to be the standard which other [[solar box cooker]]s are judged by. They are well made of quality components and quite durable. They have a revised version of the Sun Oven called the [[All American Sun Oven]] that has a 20% larger cooking area and new wind resistance features. Interestingly, forty-two percent of the Sun Ovens sold worldwide are sold in the state of {{state|Utah}}, USA. Munsen believes seventy percent of the ovens are being kept on shelves with emergency food supplies, the rest are used on a regular basis. The owners appreciate the versatility of the cooker, with the added benefit of helping to lower household kitchen temperatures during hot summer months. When Munsen was recently demonstrating in the Sun Oven in [[Afghanistan]] to a group of local women, he was told the cooker could not provide the smoky favor desired in their [[flatbread]], known as naan. Paul's wife suggested adding a few drops of liquid smoke to the batter. A recent delivery of ovens was accompanied by a 55-gallon drum of liquid smoke. The liquid smoke offers some advantages over smoky fires. Munsen says women cooking over fires can inhale as much smoke as they’d get from smoking three packs of cigarettes a day, and children are more likely to contract acute lower respiratory and eye infections. [http://www.hersutah.com/story/sun-ovens-popular-around-world Read more...]
  +
 
[[File:Trust_in_Education_Afghan_family_with_cooker,_4-7-13.jpg|thumb|300px|Afhgan family receives their [[Trust in Education]] solar cooker.]]
 
[[File:Trust_in_Education_Afghan_family_with_cooker,_4-7-13.jpg|thumb|300px|Afhgan family receives their [[Trust in Education]] solar cooker.]]
[[File:Trust_in_Education_Cookit_variation,_4-7-13.jpg|thumb|300px| The [[Trust in [[File:IMGP4481.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The [[Trust in Education]] variation of the [[CooKit]], which uses recycled Peet's Coffee bags for the [[reflective material]].]]
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[[File:IMGP4481.jpg|right|thumb|300px|The [[Trust in Education]] variation of the [[CooKit]], which uses recycled Peet's Coffee bags for the [[reflective material]].]]
 
*'''April 2013:''' [[Jack Howell]] reports that once the 100 volunteer-built solar ovens were delivered, a [[solar box cooker]] variation with a wooden base and 1" of rigid insulation, refugee families were bused to the [[Trust in Education]] office in Kabul, [[Afghanistan]]. They were given a four-hour lesson on how to use the solar ovens, and each family was given an oven to take back to their camp. Since this initial project, the new cookers are a [[CooKit]] variation, being produced at a local box manufacturing company in San Leandro, {{state|California|CA}}. The reflective material used for the [[solar panel cooker]]s is recycled Mylar coffee bean bags from Peet’s coffee headquartered in Berkeley, {{state|California|CA}}. They are cut open and cleaned by adults with developmental disabilities by the people from Futures Explored in Lafayette, CA. With the reflective interior surface facing out, they are then stapled to the cooker panels by the Afghans. We have delivered 2,000 cookers to Afghanistan and collected over 20,000 bags from Peet’s (keeping many Mylar bags from the landfill.) The new cookers are working very well and Afghans love them.
 
*'''April 2013:''' [[Jack Howell]] reports that once the 100 volunteer-built solar ovens were delivered, a [[solar box cooker]] variation with a wooden base and 1" of rigid insulation, refugee families were bused to the [[Trust in Education]] office in Kabul, [[Afghanistan]]. They were given a four-hour lesson on how to use the solar ovens, and each family was given an oven to take back to their camp. Since this initial project, the new cookers are a [[CooKit]] variation, being produced at a local box manufacturing company in San Leandro, {{state|California|CA}}. The reflective material used for the [[solar panel cooker]]s is recycled Mylar coffee bean bags from Peet’s coffee headquartered in Berkeley, {{state|California|CA}}. They are cut open and cleaned by adults with developmental disabilities by the people from Futures Explored in Lafayette, CA. With the reflective interior surface facing out, they are then stapled to the cooker panels by the Afghans. We have delivered 2,000 cookers to Afghanistan and collected over 20,000 bags from Peet’s (keeping many Mylar bags from the landfill.) The new cookers are working very well and Afghans love them.
   
 
[[File:Jeff_Waalkes_Afghan_woman,_10-18-12.jpg|right|300px]]
 
[[File:Jeff_Waalkes_Afghan_woman,_10-18-12.jpg|right|300px]]
 
[[File:Jeff_Waalkes_Afghan_valley_,_10-18-12.jpg|thumb|300px|Delivery of the [[parabolic solar cooker]]s to the Kirghiz tribe arrive on the backs of yaks.]]
 
[[File:Jeff_Waalkes_Afghan_valley_,_10-18-12.jpg|thumb|300px|Delivery of the [[parabolic solar cooker]]s to the Kirghiz tribe arrive on the backs of yaks.]]
*'''October 2012:''' [[Parabolic solar cooker]]s delivered to Afghanistan's remote Wakhan Corridor. The Kirghiz tribe live at the end of this slender finger of land in northeastern Afghanistan. Their primary fuel source for cooking has been dried yak dung, creating smoky conditions in their yurts. The buffalo-like yaks are used for most of their transportation needs. In June, [[Jeff Waalkes]] in [[Kirghizstan]] and [[Grace Magney]] with the [[Global Hope Network]] in Kabul were able to deliver ten [[parabolic solar cooker]]s to the tribe. Grace organized the procurement and had the cookers loaded onto a truck. Jeff's responsibility was to get the truck into the Wakhan Corridor, and where the road petered out, strap everything including the solar cookers to the backs of yaks to deliver them to the Kirghiz. Initially hesitant, members of the tribe were soon cooking food and boiling water. See more of Jeff's [[Global_Hope_Network_International#News_and_recent_developments|photos of the delivery]].'''
+
*'''October 2012:''' [[Parabolic solar cooker]]s delivered to Afghanistan's remote Wakhan Corridor. The Kirghiz tribe live at the end of this slender finger of land in northeastern Afghanistan. Their primary fuel source for cooking has been dried yak dung, creating smoky conditions in their yurts. The buffalo-like yaks are used for most of their transportation needs. In June, [[Jeff Waalkes]] in [[Kirghizstan]] and [[Grace Magney]] with the [[Global Hope Network]] in Kabul were able to deliver ten [[parabolic solar cooker]]s to the tribe. Grace organized the procurement and had the cookers loaded onto a truck. Jeff's responsibility was to get the truck into the Wakhan Corridor, and where the road petered out, strap everything including the solar cookers to the backs of yaks to deliver them to the Kirghiz. Initially hesitant, members of the tribe were soon cooking food and boiling water. See more of Jeff's [[Global_Hope_Network_International#News_and_recent_developments|photos of the delivery]].
 
*'''September 2012:''' Kabul parabolic solar stove company, [[Starlight Afghan Free Energy Co.]] improve their reflective surface with a tested 95% reflectivity and are proudly manufacturing 100% Afghan made stoves.
 
*'''September 2012:''' Kabul parabolic solar stove company, [[Starlight Afghan Free Energy Co.]] improve their reflective surface with a tested 95% reflectivity and are proudly manufacturing 100% Afghan made stoves.
 
*'''August 2011:''' '''The Spendid Table radio show inteviews SCI Board Member Patricia McArdle''' - [http://tinyurl.com/3qsmj8j Listen to Patricia discussing solar cooking in Afghanistan].
 
*'''August 2011:''' '''The Spendid Table radio show inteviews SCI Board Member Patricia McArdle''' - [http://tinyurl.com/3qsmj8j Listen to Patricia discussing solar cooking in Afghanistan].
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[[File:Jamhuriat_Girls_School_Kabul_Scheffler_array.jpg..jpg|thumb|300px|[[Scheffler Community Kitchen]] array at the Jamhuriat High School for Girls in Kabul]]
 
[[File:Jamhuriat_Girls_School_Kabul_Scheffler_array.jpg..jpg|thumb|300px|[[Scheffler Community Kitchen]] array at the Jamhuriat High School for Girls in Kabul]]
 
*'''May 2010:''' A [[Scheffler Community Kitchen]] is currently being installed at the Jamhuriat High School for Girls in [[Afghanistan]], through the efforts of [[Solare Brücke]]. Located in the heart of Kabul, it is planned to be operational in June. Of the current enrollment of 1000 girls, the new kitchen will serve approximately 700 students who have lunch at the school each day. Everyone there looks forward to stop using the wood-fired kitchen stove, and are quite proud that the entire new solar kitchen has been produced in Afghanistan.
 
*'''May 2010:''' A [[Scheffler Community Kitchen]] is currently being installed at the Jamhuriat High School for Girls in [[Afghanistan]], through the efforts of [[Solare Brücke]]. Located in the heart of Kabul, it is planned to be operational in June. Of the current enrollment of 1000 girls, the new kitchen will serve approximately 700 students who have lunch at the school each day. Everyone there looks forward to stop using the wood-fired kitchen stove, and are quite proud that the entire new solar kitchen has been produced in Afghanistan.
*'''April 2010:''' Afghan Scouts Harness Solar Energy - U.S. Army Soldiers are teaming with the Afghan Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts in Kabul, reducing the need to use wood as a fuel source. Through finding an alternate fuel source they are helping to create a cleaner Afghan environment while creating a more economical way of cooking. The solution: a solar oven, a box with a glass lid and reflective panels that absorb energy from the sun, trapping the energy inside the box to heat food and water. Solar ovens can bake, fry or steam any type of food.
+
*'''April 2010:''' Afghan Scouts Harness Solar Energy - U.S. Army Soldiers are teaming with the Afghan Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts in Kabul, reducing the need to use wood as a fuel source. Through finding an alternate fuel source they are helping to create a cleaner Afghan environment while creating a more economical way of cooking. The solution: a solar oven, a box with a glass lid and reflective panels that absorb energy from the sun, trapping the energy inside the box to heat food and water. Solar ovens can bake, fry or steam any type of food.
 
*'''August 2005:''' Manufacturing of the first [[Scheffler Community Kitchen]] in Afghanistan was started in the [[Afghan Bedmoschk Solar Centre]]. The Solar Centre is initiated and run by our partner organisation Afghan Bedmoschk Solar Centre e.V. Scheffler reflectors can be used for solar cooking, solar baking, solar food processing and as well for production of steam for applications of process heat or for the requirements of hospitals (laundry , autoclaves, cooking). The first application planed in Bedmoschk is a [http://www.solare-bruecke.org/projekte-Dateien/Solartandur/Solarreflector/scheffler_reflektor_dt.html Solar Tandur] for cooking the local [[flatbread]]. The technical part of the project is done by [[Solare Brücke]] e.V.
 
*'''August 2005:''' Manufacturing of the first [[Scheffler Community Kitchen]] in Afghanistan was started in the [[Afghan Bedmoschk Solar Centre]]. The Solar Centre is initiated and run by our partner organisation Afghan Bedmoschk Solar Centre e.V. Scheffler reflectors can be used for solar cooking, solar baking, solar food processing and as well for production of steam for applications of process heat or for the requirements of hospitals (laundry , autoclaves, cooking). The first application planed in Bedmoschk is a [http://www.solare-bruecke.org/projekte-Dateien/Solartandur/Solarreflector/scheffler_reflektor_dt.html Solar Tandur] for cooking the local [[flatbread]]. The technical part of the project is done by [[Solare Brücke]] e.V.
   
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===See also===
 
===See also===
 
*[[Promoting solar cooking in Afghanistan]] (Detailed report discussing the choice of solar cookers for use in Afghanistan based on cultural, economic, and logistical considerations)
 
*[[Promoting solar cooking in Afghanistan]] (Detailed report discussing the choice of solar cookers for use in Afghanistan based on cultural, economic, and logistical considerations)
  +
*[[Media:SERVE_solar_cooking_in_Afghanistan,_2013_update.pdf|Looking back at solar cooking relief efforts in Afghanistan]]
 
*[[Commons:Atlas of {{PAGENAME}}|Wikimedia Commons Atlas of {{PAGENAME}}]]
 
*[[Commons:Atlas of {{PAGENAME}}|Wikimedia Commons Atlas of {{PAGENAME}}]]
   
 
==Climate, Culture, and Special Considerations==
 
==Climate, Culture, and Special Considerations==
 
{{Main|Promoting solar cooking in Afghanistan}}
 
 
[[Solar Cookers International]] has rated Afghanistan as the #10 country in the world in terms of solar cooking potential (See: [[Media:25_countries_with_most_solar_cooking_potential.pdf|The 25 countries with the most solar cooking potential]]). The estimated number of people in Afghanistan with fuel scarcity in 2020 is 6,800,000.
 
[[Solar Cookers International]] has rated Afghanistan as the #10 country in the world in terms of solar cooking potential (See: [[Media:25_countries_with_most_solar_cooking_potential.pdf|The 25 countries with the most solar cooking potential]]). The estimated number of people in Afghanistan with fuel scarcity in 2020 is 6,800,000.
 
See main article: [[Promoting solar cooking in Afghanistan]] (Detailed report discussing the choice of solar cookers for use in Afghanistan based on cultural, economic, and logistical considerations)
 
   
 
===See also===
 
===See also===
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==Resources==
 
==Resources==
===Possible [[funders]] of solar cooking projects in Afghanistan===
 
* [http://www.kiva.org/about/aboutPartner?id=34 Ariana Financial Services Joint Stock Company (AFS), a partner of Mercy Corps]
 
 
 
===Reports===
 
===Reports===
   
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*'''November 2001:''' [http://www.she-inc.org/art.php?id=13 Afghanistan's Forests: Bare Mountains, Poor People]
 
*'''November 2001:''' [http://www.she-inc.org/art.php?id=13 Afghanistan's Forests: Bare Mountains, Poor People]
 
*[http://www.she-inc.org/art.php?id=15 Langley’s SSE Data May Help Power Afghanistan]
 
*[http://www.she-inc.org/art.php?id=15 Langley’s SSE Data May Help Power Afghanistan]
*{{GoogleLinkFromGerman|http://www.solare-bruecke.org/projekte-Dateien/Solartandur/Solarreflector/scheffler_reflektor_dt.html|Scheffler-Reflektor in Afghanistan}}
+
*{{GoogleLinkFromGerman|1=http://www.solare-bruecke.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=29%3Ascheffler-reflektor-in-afghanistan&catid=4%3Ascheffler-reflektoren&Itemid=7&lang=en|2=Scheffler-Reflektor in Afghanistan}}
   
 
===Audio and Video===
 
===Audio and Video===
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*'''July 2014:'''
  +
:[[File:Magney Successes in Afghanistan|thumb|none|425 px]]
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  +
*'''October 2014:'''
  +
::[[File:Solar Cooker Success in Afghanistan!|thumb|none|425 px]]
  +
  +
*'''October 2011:'''
  +
::[[File:Renewable Energy for Afghanistan|none|400px|left]]
  +
 
*'''August 2009'''
 
*'''August 2009'''
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::[[File:Afghanistan solar cooking|425px|none]]
::<youtube>qk0vEY8sSI0</youtube>
 
   
 
*'''July 2006:''' [http://solarcooking.org/media/broadcast/default.htm?magney An interview with Grace Magney discussing the Global Hope Network International solar cooking project in Afghanistan]
 
*'''July 2006:''' [http://solarcooking.org/media/broadcast/default.htm?magney An interview with Grace Magney discussing the Global Hope Network International solar cooking project in Afghanistan]
   
 
===Articles in the media===
 
===Articles in the media===
  +
*'''May 2013''': [[Media:VALUES_IN_ACTION_-_Going_Solar.pdf|Going Solar, Peet's Coffee donate mylar bags for solar cooker reflectors in Afghanistan]] - ''Peet's newsletter''
  +
 
*'''July 2011:''' [http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/19/books-afghanistan-energy-idUSL3E7IC0T820110719 Solar ovens, renewable energy offer hope for Afghanistan] - ''Reuters''
 
*'''July 2011:''' [http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/19/books-afghanistan-energy-idUSL3E7IC0T820110719 Solar ovens, renewable energy offer hope for Afghanistan] - ''Reuters''
   

Revision as of 20:19, 18 November 2014

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Events

Featured international events

SE for ALL forum logo 2024, 10-3-23
  • 4-6 June 2024 (Bridgetown, Barbados): Sustainable Energy for All Global Forum - The event will be co-hosted by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and the government of Barbados. It is a platform for government, business and finance leaders, entrepreneurs, and youth and community representatives from around the world to come together to broker new partnerships, spur new investment, and address challenges at the nexus of energy, climate, and development. More information...

Online events

Requests for proposal

  • Decentralized Renewable Energy Solutions utilizing Solar and Bio-Energy - Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments of ScienceDirect, is requesting guest-author submissions. The special issue, VSI: DRES is devoted to publishing research articles reporting the innovative designs and design interventions in solar thermal and bio-energy for decentralized energy systems (DES). It includes i) new and novel designs of prototype or commercial devices and technologies, their development, modeling and simulations and experimental validation; ii) innovations for processes, techniques, utilization, and applications; iii) novel use of materials for improving efficiency, performance, techno-economic feasibility, and sustainability and iv) research findings addressing the socio-economic, health and safety impacts, and life cycle assessments leading to proposing novel devices for DES. The Deadline for submission is 31 July 2024. More submittal information...
See also: Global Calendar of Events and past events in Afghanistan

News and Recent Developments

Solar_Cooker_Success_in_Afghanistan!

Solar Cooker Success in Afghanistan!

  • October 2014: The Global Hope Network International reports that its recent success in transported 300 solar cookers to rural villages in central Afghanistan where all 300 were purchased by villagers.
Interact solar cooker construction gathering
A workshop trainer from TIE teaches a mother how to use her new CooKit, 3-10-14
  • March 2014: Afghan refugees let the sunshine in - Thanks to the passion of volunteer Jack Howell, Trust in Education (TIE) initiated a solar oven project in 2010. TIE started with five solar cookers made by Jack, and deliverd them to Afghanistan in August 2010. That's how it all began. On February 8, 2014 over 60 students from five Bay Area, California high schools joined TIE to build CooKit solar cookers. They are part of the over 100 high schools with Interact Clubs fro District 5170. The district plans on providing 5,170 CooKits to Afghan refugee families. Assuming an average of ten members per family, that makes 50,000 people who will be introduced to solar cooking as a result. TIE already has 500 solar cookers in refugee camps, and has requests for more.
  • April 2013: Interesting facts about the Sun Oven - Recently Paul Munsen, Sun Ovens International president, was questioned about where their ovens were being sold. They have been sold in over 130 countries. The Sun Oven is usually considered to be the standard which other solar box cookers are judged by. They are well made of quality components and quite durable. They have a revised version of the Sun Oven called the All American Sun Oven that has a 20% larger cooking area and new wind resistance features. Interestingly, forty-two percent of the Sun Ovens sold worldwide are sold in the state of Utah, USA. Munsen believes seventy percent of the ovens are being kept on shelves with emergency food supplies, the rest are used on a regular basis. The owners appreciate the versatility of the cooker, with the added benefit of helping to lower household kitchen temperatures during hot summer months. When Munsen was recently demonstrating in the Sun Oven in Afghanistan to a group of local women, he was told the cooker could not provide the smoky favor desired in their flatbread, known as naan. Paul's wife suggested adding a few drops of liquid smoke to the batter. A recent delivery of ovens was accompanied by a 55-gallon drum of liquid smoke. The liquid smoke offers some advantages over smoky fires. Munsen says women cooking over fires can inhale as much smoke as they’d get from smoking three packs of cigarettes a day, and children are more likely to contract acute lower respiratory and eye infections. Read more...
Trust in Education Afghan family with cooker, 4-7-13

Afhgan family receives their Trust in Education solar cooker.

IMGP4481

The Trust in Education variation of the CooKit, which uses recycled Peet's Coffee bags for the reflective material.

  • April 2013: Jack Howell reports that once the 100 volunteer-built solar ovens were delivered, a solar box cooker variation with a wooden base and 1" of rigid insulation, refugee families were bused to the Trust in Education office in Kabul, Afghanistan. They were given a four-hour lesson on how to use the solar ovens, and each family was given an oven to take back to their camp. Since this initial project, the new cookers are a CooKit variation, being produced at a local box manufacturing company in San Leandro, California. The reflective material used for the solar panel cookers is recycled Mylar coffee bean bags from Peet’s coffee headquartered in Berkeley, California. They are cut open and cleaned by adults with developmental disabilities by the people from Futures Explored in Lafayette, CA. With the reflective interior surface facing out, they are then stapled to the cooker panels by the Afghans. We have delivered 2,000 cookers to Afghanistan and collected over 20,000 bags from Peet’s (keeping many Mylar bags from the landfill.) The new cookers are working very well and Afghans love them.
Jeff Waalkes Afghan woman, 10-18-12
Jeff Waalkes Afghan valley , 10-18-12

Delivery of the parabolic solar cookers to the Kirghiz tribe arrive on the backs of yaks.

  • October 2012: Parabolic solar cookers delivered to Afghanistan's remote Wakhan Corridor. The Kirghiz tribe live at the end of this slender finger of land in northeastern Afghanistan. Their primary fuel source for cooking has been dried yak dung, creating smoky conditions in their yurts. The buffalo-like yaks are used for most of their transportation needs. In June, Jeff Waalkes in Kirghizstan and Grace Magney with the Global Hope Network in Kabul were able to deliver ten parabolic solar cookers to the tribe. Grace organized the procurement and had the cookers loaded onto a truck. Jeff's responsibility was to get the truck into the Wakhan Corridor, and where the road petered out, strap everything including the solar cookers to the backs of yaks to deliver them to the Kirghiz. Initially hesitant, members of the tribe were soon cooking food and boiling water. See more of Jeff's photos of the delivery.
  • September 2012: Kabul parabolic solar stove company, Starlight Afghan Free Energy Co. improve their reflective surface with a tested 95% reflectivity and are proudly manufacturing 100% Afghan made stoves.
  • August 2011: The Spendid Table radio show inteviews SCI Board Member Patricia McArdle - Listen to Patricia discussing solar cooking in Afghanistan.
  • July 2011 Patricia McArdle was interviewed on the Kojo Nnambi Show by Rebecca Roberts to discuss her first book, Farishta, and her work bringing solar ovens to the rural poor in Afghanistan. Listen to the interview.
  • June 2011: Voice of America interviews Patricia McArdle about her novel Farishta - Solar Cookers International board-member Patricia McArdle discusses her award-winning novel in which solar cooking in Afghanistan is featured. Audio available here.
  • September 2010: Trust in Education is a nonprofit that has been involved with building schools in Afghanistan, and has recently begun to send a few solar ovens to the area where they have projects. They hope to build up their efforts helping to introduce solar cooking to local villagers.
  • June 2010: SCI board member Pat McArdle's novel about solar cooking in Afghanistan wins Amazon's Breakthrough Novel Award!
Jamhuriat Girls School Kabul Scheffler array.jpg.

Scheffler Community Kitchen array at the Jamhuriat High School for Girls in Kabul

  • May 2010: A Scheffler Community Kitchen is currently being installed at the Jamhuriat High School for Girls in Afghanistan, through the efforts of Solare Brücke. Located in the heart of Kabul, it is planned to be operational in June. Of the current enrollment of 1000 girls, the new kitchen will serve approximately 700 students who have lunch at the school each day. Everyone there looks forward to stop using the wood-fired kitchen stove, and are quite proud that the entire new solar kitchen has been produced in Afghanistan.
  • April 2010: Afghan Scouts Harness Solar Energy - U.S. Army Soldiers are teaming with the Afghan Boy Scouts and Girls Scouts in Kabul, reducing the need to use wood as a fuel source. Through finding an alternate fuel source they are helping to create a cleaner Afghan environment while creating a more economical way of cooking. The solution: a solar oven, a box with a glass lid and reflective panels that absorb energy from the sun, trapping the energy inside the box to heat food and water. Solar ovens can bake, fry or steam any type of food.
  • August 2005: Manufacturing of the first Scheffler Community Kitchen in Afghanistan was started in the Afghan Bedmoschk Solar Centre. The Solar Centre is initiated and run by our partner organisation Afghan Bedmoschk Solar Centre e.V. Scheffler reflectors can be used for solar cooking, solar baking, solar food processing and as well for production of steam for applications of process heat or for the requirements of hospitals (laundry , autoclaves, cooking). The first application planed in Bedmoschk is a Solar Tandur for cooking the local flatbread. The technical part of the project is done by Solare Brücke e.V.

The History of Solar Cooking in Afghanistan

This country, much in Western news in the last years as the refuge of Al-Quaeda members, has actually had solar activity for some time. A newspaper account (Kabul New Times, July 6,1985 (in the Soviet era) discusses research activity for utilization of solar energy, conducted under the auspices of the Solar Energy Institute, a part of the Academy of Sciences of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan. The effort was principally directed towards the potential heating of houses (not cooking, in the article shown) in recognition of "an increasing deficiency of traditional (presumably meaning wood) and other energy sources". The article further states that since Afghanistan has 300 sunny days per year, conditions are favorable for generating solar energy. The device pictured in the article is a flat plate collector, with two scientists working on its development. Not long after this article was published however, the solar research work most likely ceased with the end of the Soviet regime and the beginning of the Taliban period.

In a later era, this one under Taliban rule, the SERVE Solar Project, operating in Peshawar, Pakistan, moved its operations to Jalalabad, Afghanistan, in order to serve the population of refugees then returning to Afghanistan, after the departure of the Soviets. SERVE is a British humanitarian agency with projects in health, disability services, relief, and environmental issues. Its work in Pakistan began in refugee camps filled by an Afghan population in 1980. While working on other problems, SERVE discovered the severity of fuel shortages and based on that need, developed a large scale and very successful solar cooking project (see the report on Pakistan). Refugees who moved back took their box cookers with them and demand in Afghanistan was substantial. Initally, SERVE trucked box cookers to Kabul for sale in the market places. Later, they established an office in-country. In 2001, as Taliban rule tightened, SERVE (considered to be a "Christian" organization and hence not acceptable) was forcibly ejected from the country, its gates locked, its staff deported. (Newspaper clipping, NYTimes, date?) After Taliban rule ended, and under the present US led military assistance while the provisional government becomes established and stable, solar cooking has returned to the country. Several projects are underway currently, all too new to have been evaluated for the achievement of their goals. The following agencies are known to have a presence in the country, with a solar cooking component.

Under the leadership of retired SERVE staffer, Gordon Magney (now desceased) and his wife Grace Magney, who returned to live in Kabul in 2002, a small project is underway utilizing a new box cooker developed by an American NGO, the Solar Oven Society (See section in chapter Multi-National Promoters). The new cooker, called the Sport is made of recycled soda bottles with a Mylar cover and (soon to be available) shiny reflectors. Four hundred of the cookers were shipped to Kabul, unassembled, along with the equipment required to assemble the finished product. Under the supervision of Magney, that has now been accomplished. Training of users and sale of the cookers at a cost subsidized by a number of Minnesota churches is underway.

Another project in Afghanistan is sponsored by the Rotary international network (also discussed in the Multi-National Promoter section). A humanitarian unit called The Temple Solar Project was established by several Rotary groups in November of 1998. It has been supplying large community sized cookers called The Villager (produced by Sun Oven) to communities around the world. The cost of each villager is $10,000, plus shipping costs of an additional $3,500. Five of the Villagers have been shipped to Afghanistan; two are already installed and in operation. The others are in transit or awaiting delivery. The first oven was installed in a school, in collaboration with an organization called Friends for Afghan Redevelopment, cooking food for students and staff.. Some smaller solar cookers are not particularly effective in cooking the traditional Afghan bread, an unleavened "naan"type, which is however easily made in the Village. The large oven can also be used for bakeries as income generating projects or in institutional settings such as schools or hospitals. Logistical difficulties are continuous, including moving the goods through customs, appropriate training, and so on, but the projects are proceeding according to plan.

An individual, Laila Petty, was prepared and equipped, by an experienced solar cook associated with SCI, to promote solar cooking, prior to a extended visit she was planning to make to Afghanistan. A native Dari speaker, Ms. Petty was particularly interested in the plight of the "internal displaced persons"(IDP) in Afghanistan who do not receive international assistance from refugee organizations, but are nonetheless homeless and poorly served by charitable organizations. Early in her yearlong stay in Afghanistan, she made a number of contacts with relief agencies; did a number of demonstrations, more or less on her own, and conducted training for cooks in several IDP locations. Her work was well received, but agencies in the country were already overburdened by the difficulties of working in the country and none took up her offer to assist in development of a solar cooking project. She was even able to locate a, potential manufacturer of CooKits, the device she was using to demonstrate, and the cheapest solar cookers available. However, none of her work resulted in any substantial interest. She ultimately found a different cause to work on, but would be willing to assist in a solar project should one develop.

[Information for this section was taken originally from State of the Art of Solar Cooking by Dr. Barbara Knudson]

See also

Climate, Culture, and Special Considerations

Solar Cookers International has rated Afghanistan as the #10 country in the world in terms of solar cooking potential (See: The 25 countries with the most solar cooking potential). The estimated number of people in Afghanistan with fuel scarcity in 2020 is 6,800,000.

See also

Resources

Reports

Audio and Video

  • July 2014:
Magney_Successes_in_Afghanistan

Magney Successes in Afghanistan

  • October 2014:
Solar_Cooker_Success_in_Afghanistan!

Solar Cooker Success in Afghanistan!

  • October 2011:
  • August 2009

Articles in the media

Contacts

The entities listed below are either based in Afghanistan, or have established solar cooking projects there:

SCI Associates

NGOs

Manufacturers and vendors

Individuals

Government agencies

Educational institutions

See also

References