Solar Oven Society

Another organization in the United States is the Solar Oven Society. The work of a Minneapolis couple, Mike and Martha Port, supported by an army of volunteers, has made possible the creation of a relatively low cost solar oven for use both in the US and in poor nations. The Ports have been active in solar cooking for many years, having worked in Jamaica, Haiti, and Central America. Originally they worked with wooden or cardboard box cookers, but have spent the last five years in development of a slant front cooker made out of recycled soda bottles. The result is both light in weight and less expensive than those made of other materials. The ovens can be assembled in their Minnesota headquarters (which also serves as incubator for a number of small non-governmental organizations) and can also be shipped unassembled along with all equipment needed for assembly in other sites.

The Ports sell cookers on the US market, earning a profit, which is then used to subsidize shipments to poorer countries. Four hundred cookers have been sent to and assembled in Afghanistan, creating jobs for workers there, and are now in the process of being sold along with the appropriate training in solar use.

The new cooker, called The Sport, holds two pots. An optional reflector that will increase its cooking power in colder weather is in production. This oven was intended to help fill the gap between the low priced cardboard cooker sold by Solar Cookers International (the CooKit) and the considerably more expensive wood or metal box cookers, thus meeting a clear market need.

News and recent developments

• September 2007: Cooking under the sun - Solar ovens tap a very familiar heat source - The Chicago Tribune

• April 2005: The Solar Oven Society (SOS) shipped 300 Sport Solar ovens to Nicaragua. The project was funded by St. Edwards Catholic Church, Bloomington, MN. Volunteers from St. Edwards, along with group leader Sue Kellett, went to Nicaragua to oversee and help train, assemble and distribute the ovens. Andrew Knutson, staff member for the Solar Oven Society, also went to Nicaragua.

Contact

Solar Oven Society
3225 Hennepin Avenue East
Minneapolis, MN 55413
USA

Phone: 612-623-4700

http://www.solarovens.org/

Order solar ovens (please select recommendation code #002 - Solar Cookers International)

Quantity Orders For Developing Countries

Call or email Solar Oven Society for pricing and details regarding 1) unassembled ovens in quantities and 2) assembled ovens for introducing solar cooking technology in developing countries

Solar Oven Society video roughly 4 minutes long, displays the Sport Solar Oven Cooker & water pasteurization indicator (WAPI).