The partnership of The Methodist Church of Haiti and The United Methodist Church has evolved over 10 years as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization called Solar Oven Partners (SOP), and more commonly referred to as the Haiti Solar Oven Project (HSOP). Based in Brookings, South Dakota (USA), HSOP is a teaching/training program that distributes high-quality solar box cookers only to trained individuals, typically women. The teaching is all done in the native Kreyol language by a highly motivated Haitian husband-and-wife team who serve as co-directors. Assembly of the solar ovens from pre-manufactured component parts is directed by a third Haitian, a young woman, who works independently, as well as with groups of volunteers that travel to Haiti to assist with the project. Our purpose is to help mitigate the systemic problems of hunger, poverty, and environmental destruction caused by deforestation. Solar cooking, solar baking, solar water pasteurization, and environmental awareness make up the core curriculum of our seminars.
HSOP’s work is ongoing and will continue as best it can in the aftermath of the devastating January 12, 2010 earthquake. We have oven supplies in Haiti and more being prepared for shipment, but like everyone responding to this disaster, we must first assess injury/damage/loss and organize to move forward in the ways most helpful to this long-suffering nation. Our scheduled March 5-17, 2010 volunteer team is in “wait state.” Sadly, we have been unable, as of January 15, 2010, to make contact with our co-directors, and have made only the briefest contact with our assembly lady.
On behalf of the people of Haiti, thank you for your compassion at this tragic time and continuing into a future where the underlying causes of Haiti’s vulnerability must be addressed.
Rick Jost, United Methodist Missionary
Solar Oven Partners
928 4th Street #2
Brookings, SD 57006 USA
May 2010: So far, 3,600 solar ovens have been distributed to trained solar cooks. Experienced, passionate Haitian leaders have been directing the program. Positive feedback and frequent use of ovens for cooking, baking and water pasteurization has been reported. In March, the self-motivated Haitian trainers and Assembly Lady completed series of three seminars, with the assembly and distribution of 241 ovens. In April, another 80-85 participants completed a seminar. Solar Oven Partners hope to reach a total distribution of 5,000 solar ovens in near term. More Information about helping...
March 2008: For nearly a decade, Solar Oven Partners has been providing Haitians with needed relief from wood-fueled cooking in the form of solar ovens. Volunteers in Brookings, South Dakota (USA) use donated or discounted raw materials to build numerous solar oven components, which are then boxed up and shipped to Haiti for final assembly. The wooden, box-style solar ovens cost about $60 to make with volunteer labor, and are based on one of Richard Wareham’s Sunstove® designs. Each solar oven is packaged with three black cooking pots, a Water Pasteurization Indicator (WAPI), and a recipe booklet. Haitians pay a modest fee for the ovens, which they receive upon completion of a training course.
Five South Dakota State University football players volunteered to load the sea container with 1000 unassembled solar box cookers destined for Haiti.
Last July, a team of SOP volunteers visited Haiti for the 22nd time. They assembled 74 solar cookers and trained 80 families how to cook and pasteurize water with solar energy. Throughout the year, Haitians Montas and Raymonde Joseph conduct additional SOP trainings and sell solar ovens. They historically relied on the volunteer teams to come to Haiti and assemble cookers, which was not always sufficient to meet demand. In response, SOP has contracted with a young Haitian woman named Italis Jeanne Milcar to assure that enough ovens are available for the trainings. In just a few short months, Milcar had already assembled nearly 350 cookers and 100 WAPIs! Two years ago, SOP converted a 12.2-meter sea container for use as a storage facility for solar cookers in Haiti. They recently purchased a second container, and after 10 months of hard work, were able to fill it to capacity with components for an additional 1000 cookers, soon to be shipped to Haiti.
A Haiti woman testing new add-on reflectors available for the Dakota SUNSTOVE(r) solar cooker
August 2006: Solar Oven Partners, has been active in Haiti for years, where it has distributed thousands of solar cookers. In a recent edition of their newsletter, Solar Oven Partners presented the results of a survey of 15 Haitian solar cooks. Asked how many days they would use their solar cookers during a 10-day sunny period, seven said every day, two said seven to eight days, and the remaining six would solar cook two to five of the ten days. Solar meals have included meat, macaroni, cake, rice, beans, fish, vegetables, bread, eggs, and cornbread. Eleven of the 15 surveyed said they had explained solar cookers to others who then became interested in acquiring their own. On average, families indicated that charcoal now lasts two to three times longer than it did before solar cooking. Solar Oven Partners plans to distribute 1,000 more solar cookers during 2006.
