Solar Circle is an organization working to establish solar cooking in Tanzania. Living in one of the poorest countries in the world, Tanzanians earn an average annual income per capita of less than $500. Our project was born to address high rates of deforestation and serious respiratory disease caused by the regular use of wood as cooking fuel. These issues can be diminished by free and abundant solar energy, used to cook in Solar Circle's ovens.
March 2008: The Okemos, Michigan (USA) nonprofit organization Solar Circle continues its efforts to make solar cooking an option for women in Tanzania. Solar Circle works with local artisans to manufacture solar box cookers from Cyprus wood, aluminum printing plates, glass, used rubber, and other materials available in Tanzania. However, these cookers cost $70 or more to build, and are heavily subsidized to be affordable. Solar Circle has partnered with engineering students at Michigan State University (MSU) to design lighter, less expensive models that can still be made with local materials. Last year, professor Craig Somerton took nine of the students to Masasi, Tanzania to work with Brother Yohannes Mango and his team of artisans at the
Solar box cookers are assembled by local artisans in Masasi and Ndanda
Benedictine Abbey in Ndanda. According to the Solar Circle Web site, the “students came armed with sound scientific theories on the behavior of light and heat, and met up with artisans experienced in constructing solar ovens. They worked together to test and improve the ovens. The artisans learned some theory, the students learned some practicalities of building without power tools and computer enhancements.” The students also spent time teaching the local population how to use the solar cookers. The on-line journal MSU Today International reported that, while the students were in Masasi, professor Brian Thompson spent time in Dar es Salaam and Morogoro working “to make the use of solar ovens a nationwide reality by networking with numerous agencies before formulating a broad initiative” involving businesses, governmental entities, and schools. The Shell foundation, for example, has since funded a solar cooking workshop in Morogoro at Sokoine University. As noted on the Solar Circle Web site, many agency representatives, entrepreneurs and policy makers attended and “gathered to learn about solar cooking and brainstorm best ways to promulgate solar cooking in Tanzania.” A number of solar cookers were on display, including models from South Africa, Netherlands, and the United States.
April 2007: The Web site of Solar Circle tells an inspiring story of how a few people can make a big difference by working together. Solar Circle is a US-based nonprofit organization made up of a network of friends, mostly women. A few years ago, Solar Circle took two dozen American-made Global Sun Ovens® to Masasi, Tanzania, where they were enthusiastically received. However, people quickly saw the impossibility of importing enough ovens to overcome high purchase and transport costs. Consequently, Solar Circle has started a small industry in Tanzania to build solar box cookers. Several Tanzanian craftspeople have joined in the effort. They make the outer box from cypress wood, which is treated with cashew nut oil to repel insects. Reflective surfaces are made by collecting and cleaning discarded lithographic plates, and crafting them into the proper shapes. Gaskets are made from used tires or shoe leather. Students from the Mechanical Engineering Design Program at Michigan State University (USA) are collaborating to develop a model that is lighter, cheaper and more efficient, using only domestic Tanzanian materials and manufacturing processes. Mlelwa, one Tanzanian who built a solar oven, coined a new proverb: “People say 'Jua kali,' but we know 'Jua ni mali.'” ("People say the sun is hot today, but we know the hot sun is wealth").
