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==May 2011==
  
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[[File:Solar_Trade_Fair_in_Totogalpa,_Nicaragua_5-11.jpg..jpg|thumb|300px|right|Women participants at the Solar Trade Fair in Totogalpa, [[Nicaragua]].]]
  
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*'''Women excel at the Solar Trade Fair in Totogalpa, Nicaragua''' - Twelve women participated in a program where they first, constructed [[solar box cooker]]s under the direction from the [[Solar Women of Totogalpa]] in [[Nicaragua]], and then set about to create their favorite recipes, which they demonstrated with their new ovens in a cook-off at the Solar Trade Fair. [[Mauro Perez]], a member and only man in the Women's Association is working on the project to develop solar equipment use. In addition to solar cookers, the association constructs solar energy panels and equipment for homes and farms. The group also sponsors international university students to come to the workshop and participate in the construction programs. Perez also reported to have received support from a United Nations program for the construction of infrastructure at the workshop.
  
   
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{{SeeAlso|Current news}}
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[[File:SHE_HotPot_in_Gaga_camp.jpg|thumb|290px|One of the fifty women who received [[SHE]] training with a [[HotPot]] cooker in [[Chad]]. Note that this model is 1/3 larger then the standard HotPot.]]
  
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*'''SHE actively promotes solar cooking in East Africa and Latin America''' - [[Solar Household Energy]] (SHE) was commissioned to test acceptance of the [[HotPot]] solar oven in the [[Gaga Refugee Camp]] in eastern [[Chad]]. It shelters 20,000 people from [[Darfur]] in Western [[Sudan]]. [[Patrick Fourrier]], a French solar cooking expert affiliated with [[Bolivia Inti Sud Soleil]], completed the first phase of the project last month. He will also ensure that local support systems set in place to encourage continued use of the solar ovens are working effectively. Meanwhile, SHE has begun a cooperative relationship with [[Grupo Jaragua]], a highly respected non-governmental organization in the [[Dominican Republic]], to support a solar cooking initiative. Grupo Jaragua is aided by a Dominican eco-tourism and solar cooking advocate [[El Fuego del Sol]], which conducts the local assembly and subsidized sale of [[Sun Oven]] box cookers in rural communities near the Haitian border. They are also supporting [[The Nature Conservancy]]’s office in the Dominican Republic to add the [[integrated cooking method]] as a component of their reforestation project in [[Haiti]], and working to expand the solar cooking promotion efforts it undertook in [[Mexico]] with the [[Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature]] (FMCN) begun in 2004. On the public education front, SHE founding director [[Dar Curtis]] is participating as a contributing member of the Technology and Fuels Working Group of the [[Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves]]. This alliance of governments, corporations and non-profits is promoting cleaner cooking solutions than the open cooking fires and inefficient cookstoves used by three billion people around the world. Read more in the [[Media:SHE_update_spring_2011.pdf|SHE spring update 2011]].
  
   
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==December 2014==
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[[File:Lapin_Kulta_Solar_staff.jpg|300px|right]]
  
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[[File:Average_co2_concentrations_Oct-Nov.jpg|right|400px]]
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*'''Traveling solar restaurant to visit European cities this summer''' - The [[Lapin Kulta Solar Kitchen Restaurant]] aims to follow the sun through Europe the summer of 2011, visiting several cities where it will present an extraordinary culinary concept. Joining forces to bring this about are world-acclaimed Catalan designer [http://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mart%C3%AD_Guix%C3%A9 Martí Guixé], Finnish food visionary [[Antto Melasniemi]] and Lapin Kulta beer. Opening during Milan Design Week 2011 in April, the restaurant will celebrate the sun, gourmet cooking, beer, life and art on its trail towards the never-setting summer sun of the Arctic Circle. Unlike the traditional way of cooking, solar heat affects the taste and texture of the dish in a surprising and positive way, producing a completely different taste experience. The public is invited to follow the construction of the Lapin Kulta Solar Kitchen Restaurant at locations including Milan, Stockholm and Helsinki. You will be able to watch the cooking process and finally to enjoy the food in an outdoor setting. View [http://vimeo.com/22464054 opening day] in Milan, [[Italy]].
  
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*'''Latest Nasa data shows elevated CO<sub>2</sub> levels over Africa and South America''' - According to [http://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-30399073 this BBC article], "Also apparent are the higher concentrations over South America and southern Africa. These are likely the result of biomass burning in these regions."
   
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*'''Solar Cookers International remembers Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis''' - As co-founder of [[Jewish World Watch]], Rabbi Schulweis was a visionary behind efforts like the Solar Cooker Project to empower and [[Touloum Refugee Camp|protect refugee women]] fleeing the Darfur crisis. He will be missed. [http://www.jewishjournal.com/obituaries/article/rabbi_harold_m._schulweis_world_renown_innovative_synagogue_leader_89 His obituary] is available online.
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*'''Hillary Clinton: "We have got to do something about this!"''' - Ryan Lizza writes in the New Yorker Magazine: "Not long ago, I met with Kris Balderston, the State Department’s representative for global partnerships. He started working with Clinton ten years ago, when he guided her through the politics of upstate New York during her Senate race. Now he works on an array of entrepreneurial projects that complement traditional diplomacy. He talked excitedly about working with Vietnamese-Americans to build stronger ties to Vietnam and about distributing vaccines in partnership with Coca-Cola. He pointed to a bookcase stocked with devices that looked like a cross between a lantern and a paint bucket. These were advanced cookstoves. “This is a problem that the Secretary saw when she was First Lady,” Balderston said, explaining how lethal cooking smoke can be. “One half of the world cooks in open fires. Two million people die a year from it—that’s more than malaria and tuberculosis combined, and nearly as much as H.I.V.” On a trip to Congo in 2009, Clinton met a woman in a refugee camp who had been raped in the jungle on the outskirts of the camp while gathering wood for her stove. Telling the story at the State Department, Clinton was angrier than Balderston had ever seen her. “We have got to do something about this,” she said. Balderston spends much of his time trying to build a market for inexpensive, clean-burning cookstoves in the developing world." [http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/05/02/110502fa_fact_lizza?currentPage=all Read more...]
  
   
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*'''José Andrés details his use of solar cookers at Life is Beautiful event in National Geographic''' - In an article for National Geographic, Chef [[José Andrés]] writes about his pop-up restaurant, Sunny Day, which he opened at the Life is Beatufiul event in Las Vegas, NV. Sunny Day used solar cookers to cook their signature dish, vegetarian tacos, during the day and clean-burining ethanol in the evening. [http://theplate.nationalgeographic.com/2014/12/15/life-is-beautiful/?sf6344569=1 Read article...]
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==April 2011==
  
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*'''Lapin Kulta Solar Kitchen Restaurant featured in The Guardian''' - [[Lapin Kulta Solar Kitchen Restaurant]], the traveling solar restaurant from Catalan designer [http://ca.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mart%C3%AD_Guix%C3%A9 Martí Guixé], Chef Antto Melasniemi and Lapin Kulta beer, was featured in an article in The Guardian as an innovative user of solar energy. The piece discusses the journey of this experimental solar restaurant, including how they were able to cook in [[Finland]] in -15°C. Also featured are new innovations in photovoltaic technology, a new apartment in Hamburg, [[Germany]] which grows algae for fuel with solar energy, and simple method for water disinfection. [http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/dec/09/we-want-the-black-hole-of-sunlight-solar-power-breaks-new-frontiers?CMP=share_btn_tw Read article...]
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*'''European bread producer supports cooking projects in Africa''' - Europastry, located in [[Spain]], has signed an agreement with [[Sol Solidari]], an NGO that provides solar cookers, stoves and solar cookers to families in the Sahel region, across [[Ethiopia]] and Central [[Africa]]. Introducing new technologies, Sun Solidari helps to reduce health problems, poverty and deforestation in these countries. In Isalo, [[Uganda]] most households cook with wood, especially with the system of the three-stone fire. This system is extremely inefficient because a lot of the heat it generates is wasted. In addition, cooking with this system generates a lot of smoke, often inside homes, causing severe vision problems and increasing the incidence of lung cancer and other respiratory diseases. Europastry has donated twenty solar ovens to help the creation of a micro-enterprise bakery in Isalo for a community of women to bake bread for sale, without the need for fuel. They have also funded the purchase of 600 efficient wood stoves for families in Bandiagara, [[Mali]]. These simple stoves, manufactured by local blacksmiths, consume only a third of the firewood used in traditional three-stone cook fires. [http://translate.google.com/translate?u=http://www.europastry.com/noticia64.php&sl=es&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8 Read more...]
  
   
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[[File:Basin-from-above-web.jpg|thumb|330px|[[Bjorn Qorn]] makes popcorn for sale with their [[:Category:In-the-ground solar cooker designs|In-the-ground solar cooker]].]]
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[[File:Ultra_Sun_Cooker,_Ron_Mutebi.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Ultra Sun Cooker]] to be manufactured in [[Uganda]] by [[Ron Mutebi]].]]
  
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*'''Another business uses solar cooking to prepare their product''' - New-member [[Bjorn Qorn]] located in {{state|New York}}, [[USA]], has created a large [[:Category:In-the-ground solar cooker designs|In-the-ground]] solar cooker to cook their locally-harvested corn for sale as popcorn.
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*'''Solar cooker manufacturing business in Uganda is moving forward''' - Hopefully, production will begin this April in [[Uganda]]. In a recent interview with ''The EastAfrican'', [[Ron Mutebi]] revealed that he has more than 1,000 prospective buyers for his product. "The [[Ultra Sun Cooker]] is designed to meet up to 70 percent of the cooking needs of a typical family, entirely using the power of the sun,” he says. Uganda’s dependence on forest resources for the domestic energy needs of most families continues to deplete the forest cover, a problem other East African countries are also battling with. It is estimated by the Food and Agricultural Organization that Uganda is currently losing almost 2% of their forested areas annually. [http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/business/-/2560/1129580/-/item/2/-/s6lphmz/-/index.html Read more...]
 
   
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==March 2011==
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==November 2014==
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*'''José Andrés discusses solar and efficient cooking in Time Magazine''' - As part of the "What I'm Thankful For" series, celebrity chef, [[José Andrés]], explains that he is thankful that his family has a simple and safe method to cook their food, and how solar cooking and other fuel-efficient cooking methods are bringing this benefit to the world's poor, for whom access to traditional cooking fuels is becoming more difficult and expensive every year. [http://time.com/3595356/jose-andres-time-for-thanks/ Read more...]
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*'''Solar cooking helps AIDS patients in Malawi''' - [[Sun Ovens International]], an {{state|Illinois}}, [[USA]] company, joins forces with the [[Rotary Club of Naperville]], Illinois to help promote solar cooking for the people of [[Malawi]], [[Africa]]. Given the economic and health struggles the country is currently facing, this population will benefit greatly from having access to safer and healthier food. The [[Global Sun Oven]]s they brought were perfect in slow cooking the “seven grains” diet given to people living with AIDS. This is a nutritious blend of seven wholesome grains that, when softened, provide patients the best nutrition without being too heavy or harsh on their digestion. Prior to the introduction of solar ovens, people would use a huge amount of fuel like [[charcoal]] or [[firewood]] to soften these grains. Now, all they have to do is to harness the power of the sun to cook their food. This minimizes their exposure to cooking fumes and the need to gather fuel. [http://www.prlog.org/11391943-sun-ovens-partners-with-naperville-rotary-club-to-bring-solar-ovens-to-malawi.html Read more...]
  
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[[File:Hillary Rodham Clinton Cookstoves Future Summit|thumb|right|335 px]]
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*'''Hillary Clinton acknowledges solar cooking's role in solving cooking fuel crisis''' - In her keynote speech at a Global Alliance meeting, Hillary Clinton stated that students from the Clinton School of Public Service had traveled overseas to teach solar cooking.
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*[http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Special:UserSignup Create an account] and [http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Special:UserSignup log in] to turn off most of the ads on this site.
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*EG Solar has created a clever animated video short explaining the benefits of solar cooking - Visit [[EG Solar]].
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::[[File:The Solar Cooker by EG Solar e.V.-0|thumb|none|335 px]]
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*'''New SCInet members''' - The SCInet wishes to welcome new members [[Engineers Without Borders - Sweden]], established by Swedish engineer Stefan Karnebäck, working on [[water pasteurization]] projects in [[Cameroon]], and [[Bjorn Qorn]] with their solar-cooked popcorn business.
   
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==October 2014==
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*'''Worldwide competition for solar cookers coming in October (''postponed until possibly Jan. 2012'').''' - The International Symposium on Renewable Energy, sponsored by [[Promoters and Researchers in Non-Conventional Energy]], will take place in Dhule, [[India]] from October 11th -13th. The symposium includes lectures and activities on renewable energy, as well as, a side by side performance competition for solar cookers and domestic wood stoves. Many variations of solar cookers and stoves have been used in the past for projects promoting [[ICM|integrated cooking]] around the world. As solar cooking is being recognized as a valuable part of the solution in helping to reduce deforestation and respiratory disease, policy makers, governments, and NGO's will be looking at which designs provide the best real-world performance. To accomplish this comparison, testers will use an approach called the [[Testing#Kitchen_Performance_Test_.28KPT.29|Kitchen Performance Test]]. The competition will focus on cooker output, cost, and ease of use in two solar cooking categories, [http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Parabolic_solar_reflectors concentrating] solar cookers and other designs, typically [http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Solar_box_cookers box] and [http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Solar_panel_cookers panel] cookers. All manufacturers, suppliers, and inventors are welcome to participate in the competition. Also, there is no entry fee, though participants are responsible for transporting their designs to the symposium site. [http://princeindia.org/events/index.php More Information...]
 
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[[File:Andres2.jpg|right|225px]]
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*'''José Andrés debuts Sunny Day pop-up restaurant at Life is Beautiful festival''' - At the Life is Beautiful festival in Las Vegas, NV, [[José Andrés]] debuted Sunny Day, his new solar-powered pop-up restaurant. His goal for the new pop-up restaurant is to educate Americans about clean cooking around the world. [http://www.foodrepublic.com/2014/10/24/jose-andres-clean-cookstoves-mission Interview with José Andrés].
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[[File:Wonderbag_image,_11-13-13.jpg|thumb|200px|Sarah Collins with the [[Wonderbag]]]]
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*'''Heat-retention cooker receives world attention''' - [[Wonderbag]] reports that over 650,000 of the brightly colored [[heat-retention cooking]] bags have been distributed worldwide.
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[[File:Morpho_Solar,_IEEE_Spectrum,_10-9-14.png|thumb|200px|[[Guro Seim]], the CEO of [[Morpho Solar]], and [[Catlin Powers]], COO of [[One Earth Designs]], prepare a meal on a [[SolSource]] solar cooker. - ''Morpho Solar'']]
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[[File:Solar Cooker Success in Afghanistan!|thumb|right|200 px]]
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*'''Solar cooking in the Navajo nation''' - [[Raquel Redshirt]] presented her solar cooker design at the TEDxABQ 2014 conference in Albuquerque, NM on September, 6 2014. She stated that her solar cooker was a more health-conscious option in her community which has a high rate of diabetes.
   
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*''' Norwegian start-up company tackles heat storage for solar cookers''' - [[Guro Seim]], CEO of [[Morpho Solar]], announced a breakthrough in the [[heat storage]] capabilities for solar cookers. [http://spectrum.ieee.org/energywise/green-tech/solar/solar-cookers-get-hot Read more...]
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* '''Solar Cooker Review now delivered electronically''' - You can now [http://solarcookers.org/green sign up for electronic delivery] of [[Solar Cooker Review]], SCI's information-packed newsletter.
  
   
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*'''Global Hope Network International delivers solar cookers to Afghanistan '''- The [[Global Hope Network International]] reports its recent success in transporting 300 solar cookers to rural villages in central [[Afghanistan]] where all 300 were purchased by villagers.
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[[File:John_Wells_house_3-11.jpg|thumb|300px|John Wells at home in the {{state|Texas}} desert.]]
  
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*'''Former New York City photographer lives off-grid in Texas desert with his solar cooker''' - A ''New York Times'' article reports on John Wells, living a solitary existence in the west {{state|Texas}}, [[USA]] desert. If you stop by, he may offer you dinner: a plate of red beans, rice and broccoli, and a tangy slice of homemade cheese, olive and beer bread, cooked all afternoon in his solar oven. His structures are primarily recycled shipping containers, and he has made several clever adaptations of household appliances, including a pedal-powered clothes washer. Using his solar cooker, made from a recycled satellite dish, is central to his daily activities. [http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/10/garden/10texas.html?_r=1 ''New York Times'' article with photos of his cooker].
 
   
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*'''Increased demand and success for solar cooking in Mauritania''' - [[Solar Clutch]] has teamed up with Lutheran World Federation to introduce solar cooking to [[refugees]] entering [[Mauritania]]. Read more at: [[Media:Solar_Clutch_Report_Mauritania_2014.pdf|Solar Cooker Report Mauritania, April 2014]]
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[[File:SCI_Kisumu_3-7-11.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Uganda]] LGH Director, Amberle Reyes, visits [[Solar Cookers International]] demonstration in Kisumu.]]
  
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*'''Light Gives Heat visits Solar Cookers International demonstration in Kisumu, Kenya''' - [[Light Gives Heat]] (LGH) is a NGO promoting grass-root economic sustainability and creative endeavors in [[Africa]]. [[Uganda]]n Director, Amberle Reyes and a staff member recently visited a demonstration of sustainable cooking methods sponsored by [[Solar Cookers International]]. It included traditional fixed and portable earthenware stoves, called ''upesi'' in Kiswahili, which more efficiently use [[charcoal]] or wood as fuel, [[CooKit]] solar panel cookers, and [[heat-retention cooking]] baskets. They were most interested in solar cookers and fireless baskets. Locals were initially attracted to solar cooking not because of the possibility of saving money by buying less fuel, or the health benefits of indoor smoke reduction, but because solar cookers can bake cakes. Cake is seen as a "rich person food", and LGH saw an entrepreneurial opportunity: Cakes are sold for weddings and birthdays. Most people cannot make high-quality cakes because of the irregular temperatures of charcoal and wood stoves, but solar cookers bake perfect, moist cakes with very little worry of burning or overcooking. At the end of March, SCI staff will bring CooKIts and retained-heat cooking baskets to Jinja and demonstrate first-hand their effectiveness to all the LGH employees. Light Gives Heat has received an $8,000 USD grant to supply their Uganda artisans with these solar cookers. [http://hope.lightgivesheat.org/blog/sustainable-cooking More Information and photos...]
  
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*'''Gourmet cook shifts to solar catering '''- Pierre-André Aubert used a mobile solar kitchen unit with an 8m² [[Scheffler Reflector]], mounted on a trailer, in summer 2014 to cook for various events in the south of [[France]]. {{GoogleLinkFromFrench|http://loubebert.info/blog/index.php?post/2014/08/19/Des-nouvelles-du-Gers|More info...}}
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*'''New SCInet members''' - The SCInet wishes to welcome new member [[Clement Musonda]], an engineer promoting solar cooking in the [[Democratic Republic of the Congo]] and [[John Futhey]], a solar cooker designer in Santa Rosa, {{State|California}}, [[USA]].
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==September 2014==
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<td style="font-size:125%">&nbsp;&nbsp;Read the [[Media:Scr_sep14.pdf|Fall 2014 issue of Solar Cooker Review]]<br />...or see [[Solar_Cooker_Review#Back_issues|back issues]].</td></tr></table>
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::[[File:Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Solar Cooker Research|thumb|none|335 px|Under the direction of physics professor Dr. [[Peter Schwartz]], a team of physics and engineering students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in California are conducting research on a [[Cal Poly Scheffler Reflector|simplified Scheffler reflector design]] that could be used by people in developing countries to heat water and cook food. They are also researching hybrid technologies that combine the use of a solar reflector and a [[Rocket Stove]] for uninterrupted cooking.]]
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::[[File:Dr. Bing Gu, CEO California Sunlight|thumb|none|335 px|Dr. [[Bing Gu]] was interviewed at the [[SCInet Solar Cooking Convention 2014]]. His Fresnel lens solar thermal cooking device can reach 315° (600°F), can [[track the sun]] and can [[store heat]] for nighttime cooking. He is seeking investors so [[California Sunlight Corporation]] can begin mass production.]]
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*'''New SCInet members''' - The SCInet wishes to welcome new members, the [[C.V. Ramen College of Engineering]], under the leadership of Sanjib Rout in India. Also California, USA educator [[Sheela Kiiskila]], and [[Koku Selom Agbavito]], Executive Director of [[A.V.E.S-TOGO]]. Also, [[Irene Perbal]] from Jackson, California, USA has joined, and is represented by [[Solar Cooking Plus]].
 
 
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[[File:Phaeton_photo_3-11.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Phaeton]] array with comfortable, waist-high cooking console.]]
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[[File:Sun_Juicer_image,_8-21-14.jpg|thumb|250px|[[The Sun Juicer]] lightweight parabolic solar cooker]]
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*'''Successful Kickstarter for the Sun Juicer''' - Congratulations to Leonel Gotlibowski and the [[Sun Juicer]] on their successful Kickstarter campaign! They set a goal of $15,000 and raised a total of $19,152. They describe the Sun Juicer as an emergency ultralight, compact, [[parabolic solar cooker]]. [https://www.facebook.com/thesunjuicer Read more...]
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*'''A flat panel approach to a parabolic solar cooker''' - The [[Phaeton]], developed by [[Fraser Symington]] and [[Lorin Symington]] of [[ASTRA]], is a scaled down version of their earlier [[Helios Array]]. It consists of an array of mirrors supported on a straight steel frame and a cooking console. The light is first focused onto a second reflector, which sends it up to the base of the console, at a convenient working height of 76 cm (30"). With 35 square feet, or 3.2 square meters of collection area, the Phaeton achieves a 5 min/1L boil. A pot with 8L of water will boil in 35 minutes. The flat panel approach to construction allows this cooker to be fabricated for approximately US$350, considerably less than the typical [[parabolic solar cooker]] of this scale. Due to the high range of temperatures it is capable of achieving, the Phaeton can bake, boil, fry, roast, dry, or distill water. With a fan powered dehydrator, it will dry 12 kg of fresh, juicy pineapple into over 2 kg of perfect dry tidbits in twelve hours. The trade-off for such power and convenience is a long focal distance. This means that the Phaeton must be reoriented approximately every seven minutes for maximum output. The array is mounted on caster style wheels, and is easy to rotate for reorientation to the sun. Possibly a candidate for a [[SCK|village cooker]] shared with several households.
  
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*'''Big success of the sale of subsidized solar ovens in Lalibela (Ethiopia)''' - In 2008 [http://www.solsolidari.org/ Sol Solidari] started to introduce solar ovens in Lalibela and in the Abune Yosef mountains. The solar ove[[File:Ethiopia_solar.jpg|thumb|Lalibela, Ethiopia. January 2010]]ns are a kind of sealed boxes with glass in the upper part. The solar rays that come into the box cannot go out of it and the inside heats up like a conventional oven. This oven is less expensive than a solar cooker, but it is also slower. The idea is to be able to cook without supervising the food whilst cooking; although the preparation of the food will take several hours. In a first phase of the project the solar ovens were given free to the families with the biggest needs. These families were chosen by the kebeles to promote the knowledge of this new technology. In this way 166 ovens were given during the years 2008 and 2009. Now that the people in this area have seen the functioning and the benefits of these solar ovens we took a start, in 2011, to sell them subsidized. [http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Big_success_of_the_sale_of_subsidized_solar_ovens_in_Lalibela_(Ethiopia) (Read more)]
  
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*'''Update on Jewish World Watch Solar Cooker Project''' - [[Jewish World Watch]] published their [http://www.jewishworldwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/SCP_Newsletter_Summer2014_v12.pdf Summer 2014 Solar Cooker Project newsletter]. It offers background information on their [[refugee camp]] projects, highlights of the latest developments, and how to support it moving forward. Jewish World Watch reports that it has distributed approximately 128,000 [[CooKit]]s with participation rates of 75% to 100% in the camps where they have worked: [[Kounoungou Refugee Camp|Kounoungou]], [[Mile Refugee Camp|Mile]], [[Oure Cassoni Refugee Camp|Oure Cassoni]], [[Touloum Refugee Camp|Touloum]], and [[Iridimi Refugee Camp|Iridimi]]. They also plan to provide an additional cooking pot for 10,000 families. [http://www.jewishworldwatch.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/SCP_Newsletter_Summer2014_v12.pdf Read more...]
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==August 2014==
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*[http://mgafrica.com/article/2014-08-15-from-wonderbags-to-solar-cooking-innovative-solutions-to-africas-charcoal-problem/ From 'Wonderbags' to solar cooking, brilliant solutions to Africa's alarming charcoal problem] - ''Mali & Guardian Africa'' (See also: [[Wonderbag]] page)
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[[File:Energy_needs_graph_(image_sharpened),_Ajay_Chandak,_8-12-14.jpg|thumb|350px|Energy needs graph of the Ram Krishna Mission Student’s Home, Mylapore, Chennai, [[India]] - ''[[Ajay Chandak]]'']]
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*'''Institutional solar cooker with heat storage allows cooking after sunset''' - Commissioned on October 26, 2013, the steam-based [[ARUN®100]] solar cooking system at the Ram Krishna Mission Student’s Home, Mylapore, Chennai in [[India]] now allows early morning and evening cooking. The accompanying graph shows when they need to cook and when the mid-day sun recharges the system. Read more about it at: [[Media:SCI_news_2.pdf|ARUN®100 with Thermal Storage at Ramkrishna Mission, Chennai]] - ''[[Ajay Chandak]]''
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[[File:Suryakumbh_2014.png|thumb|350px|3,484 children from 80+ schools participated in the previous world's largest solar cooking class in Mumbai.]]
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*'''The stage is set for the next world's largest solar cooking workshop''' - A Bhayander, [[India]] based NGO, [[Keshav Srushti]], in a bid to spread awareness on solar cooking, will be gathering 25,000 students from 500 schools across Mumbai on January 15, 2015 to cook solar-powered dishes. [http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-mumbai-ngo-to-hold-maha-suryakumbh-with-25000-students-2009258 Read more...]
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*'''Solar Cookers International contributes data for US-Africa Leaders Summit''' - President Barack Obama announced August 6th, 2014 that the U.S. NGO community invested over $1.5 billion in Africa in 2013 and anticipates investing another $4 billion over the next three years. Solar Cookers International (SCI) was one of the members of the InterAction network collaborating to collect data on U.S. NGO aid spending in Africa. See information on [http://www.solarcookers.org/what/projects SCI’s current projects] and the [http://www.interaction.org/document/15-billion-invested-africa-us-ngos-last-year news release].
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*'''Solar Cookers International is hiring!''' - Based on needs identified at the recent SCInet Solar Cooking Convention, SCI is hiring a full-time Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist to promote data collection and project evaluation practices within the global solar cooking sector. Read [http://www.solarcookers.org/about/career-and-internship-opportunities/monitoring-and-evaluation-specialist/ full job description].
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==July 2014==
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*'''New video from Pat McArdle where people from all around the world tell why they solar cook:'''
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<table style="margin-left:33px"><tr><td>[[File:Yes We Do Solar Cook|thumb|none|500 px]]</td></tr></table>
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[[File:Sacramento_festival_2014.jpg|200px|thumb|Solar Cooking Festival 2014, Sacramento, {{state|California|CA}}, [[USA]]]]
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*'''Solar cooking conference extols virtues of cookers to developing world''' (Sacramento Bee) - Hundreds of people Saturday cooked using only the power of the sun – a practice little used in the United States, but considered a liberating tool for women in developing countries that also helps curb greenhouse gas emissions. [http://www.sacbee.com/2014/07/19/6568302/solar-cooking-conference-extols.html Read more...]
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[[File:Resilience_mulitple_pot_fireless_cooker,_7-7-14.jpg|thumb|200px|A [[heat-retention cooker]] designed for multiple pots.]]
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* '''The value of heat-retention cooking reviewed''' - Kris De Decker, author and founder of Low-Tech Magazine, reviews the history of [[heat-retention cooking]] and its value when used with solar cookers. [http://www.lowtechmagazine.com/2014/07/cooking-pot-insulation-key-to-sustainable-cooking.html If We Insulate Our Houses, Why Not Our Cooking Pots?]
  +
  +
==June 2014==
  +
* [[Media:A new turn toward solar cooking.pdf|A New Turn Toward Solar Cooking]] - ''Pia Piroschka Otte''. Learn how solar cookers are accepted and used in [[Burkina Faso]] and [[India]]. This paper discusses six case-studies from the two countries where [[Scheffler Community Kitchen|Scheffler reflectors]] were used by a diverse selection of institutions. More information about how solar cooker use can vary between cultures can be found on the [[Solar cooker dissemination and cultural variables|solar cooker dissemination and cultural variables]] page.
  +
  +
*[http://www.ediblemanhattan.com/eat/solar-cooking-fuel-emissions-baking-method/ Solar Cooking: The No-Fuel, No-Emissions Way to Make Dinner] - ''Edible Manhattan''
  +
  +
[[File:WHO_HAP_deaths_by_location_2012.jpg|thumb]]
  +
*'''Household air pollution from cooking fires kills more people than malaria, tuberculosis, and AIDS combined''' - The journal Nature reports on a recent World Health Organization (WHO) report that states that 4.3 million people die annually from household air pollution caused by polluting biomass stoves used by one-third of the global population. However, efforts to introduce [[Rocket Stove|more efficient biomass stoves]] are failing. Read article in Nature: [http://www.nature.com/news/global-health-deadly-dinners-1.15286 Global health: Deadly dinners]
  +
  +
*[http://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/magazine/jose-andres-thinks-food-can-fix-the-world-starting-in-haiti/2014/06/05/8e4de760-d0cb-11e3-9e25-188ebe1fa93b_story.html José Andrés thinks food can fix the world, starting in Haiti] - ''The Washington Post''
  +
  ⚫
==May 2014==
  +
*'''Your data is requested for NIH household air pollution study''' - [http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/notice-files/NOT-TW-14-008.html Request for Information (RFI): Global Cookstove Distribution Programs and Projects for Evaluation of Health Benefits] - Data submission is due June 30, 2014
  +
  +
<table><tr>
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<td style="padding-left:30px">
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default [[Media:Scr_may14.pdf]]
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</td>
  +
<td style="font-size:125%">&nbsp;&nbsp;Read the [[Media:Scr_may14.pdf|Spring 2014 issue of Solar Cooker Review]]<br />...or see [[Solar_Cooker_Review#Back_issues|back issues]].</td></tr></table>
  +
  +
[[File:Earthbound_Tech_cooker_test,_5-3-14.jpg|thumb|200px|Reciprocal light testing,'' (Earthbound Technology photo)'']]
  +
*'''Photo of reciprocal light creates new approach to solar cooker testing''' - [http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Earthbound_Technology#Recent_news_and_developments William Bradley, founder of Earthbound Technology, has been developing a new way to be able to analyze potential performance of solar cookers]
  +
  +
[[File:Ewb-Iran-April-2014.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Engineers Without Borders - Iran]] solar cooking workshop]]
  +
*'''Solar cooking advocate in Iran trains high school students''' - [[Soheil Salimi]], a twenty-two year old civil engineering student, has started a chapter of [[Engineers Without Borders - Iran]], and has begun organizing solar cooking workshops in his free time. His latest class was at the Hafez high school for girls. Read more about his projects on his [[Soheil Salimi|personal page]].
  +
  ⚫
==April 2014==
  +
*'''Three cheers for the Girl Scouts''' - [http://www.valleymorningstar.com/news/local_news/article_b8f2ec44-c6a9-11e3-84f2-0017a43b2370.html Girl Scouts in Texas can now earn a solar energy patch studying solar cooking and photovoltaic electrical generation]
  +
  +
*'''German solar cooker manufacturer reaches impressive milestone''' - [[Stephan Zech]], with [[Sun and Ice]], reports that they have distributed 50,000 [[parabolic solar cooker]]s in the last ten years.
  +
  +
==March 2014==
  +
*[http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Testing#Recent_news_and_developments Former SCI board member Paul Funk to participate in establishing cookstove and clean cooking solutions standards]
  +
  +
[[File:Solar_Women_of_Totogalpa_baking_photo_4-24-10.jpg|thumb|250px|Nicaraguan group [[Solar Women of Totogalpa]] prepares baked goods for sale]]
  +
*'''How solar energy empowers women, youth in rural Nicaragua''' - Forty years ago Sabana Grande was ravaged by war. Now you will find people sitting under solar-powered lights, eating solar-cooked chicken, and drinking smoothies made by a bicycle-powered blender. Sabana Grande has embraced a solar culture that has transformed the community. [http://www.csmonitor.com/Environment/Energy-Voices/2014/0320/How-solar-energy-empowers-women-youth-in-rural-Nicaragua Read more...] (See also [[Solar restaurants and bakeries|other solar restaurants and bakeries]].)
  +
  +
* ''' NGO initiates second phase of solar bakery project in Burundi''' - [http://regions20.org/about/news/129-r20-initiates-second-phase-of-solar-bakery-project-in-burundi Regions 20] continues its efforts to help local bakers organize their solar bakery. [http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Burundi#News_and_Recent_Developments More information...] <b>Update: The deadline to submit proposals to supply the solar ovens has been extended.</b>. Interested parties will find more information here: [[Media:Invitation-to-Tender_Solar_Ovens.pdf|Invitation to Tender For Solar Bakery Project, Burundi]]. The scale of the project may be rather small, but the funding and implementation is coming from world leaders in the field of economic and environmental relief.
  +
*[http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/Kawesa_Mukasa#Recent_news_and_developments Renewable Energy Cooking Resource Center under construction in Biharwe, Uganda]
  +
  ⚫
==February 2014==
  +
*[http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/India#News_and_Recent_Developments School in Ladakh, India saves $23,000 USD in annual fuel costs with solar cookers]
  +
  +
*[[Darwin Curtis#Recent news and developments|Darwin Curtis receives SCI Order of Excellence 2013]]
  +
  +
*[[Friends of the Old#Recent news and developments|Friends of the Old in Kenya continues to distribute 100 safe water packages each month]]
   
  +
[[File:French_solar_food_cart,_2-10-14.jpg|188px|thumb|See [[Sun and Ice#News and recent developments|Sun and Ice]].]]
⚫
==February 2011==
  
  +
*'''French solar cuisine done with style - ''' [[Sun and Ice]] shares photos of one of their reflectors incorporated into a portable solar kitchen, created by one of their customers in [[France]]. The small, trailered construction is a rolling work of art. See more photos on the [https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.605247826234177.1073741835.182264431865854&type=1 facebook page.]
−
[[Image:Food_versus_charcoal.jpg|right|thumb|300px|Solar cookers allow the world's poor to apply the money they save on fuel toward the purchase of more food. In Nairobi, Kenya, for example, each food item shown in this photo costs individually the same as the pile of [[charcoal]] in the middle of the photo.]]
  
−
* '''The Impact of Rising Food Prices''' - Across the globe, food stocks are down in part because of unfavorable weather, ranging from drought to floods in various parts of the world. The demand for rice and other grains, meanwhile has been growing, especially in big developing countries like China. This situation has added to the struggle for families trying to survive, and has helped to fuel protests in the Mideast. With food costs rising in developing nations, there is less money for the population to buy needed fuel, primarily charcoal, for cooking. Introducing solar cooking to more areas is an important way for residents to offset the higher price of food staples. [http://www.npr.org/2011/02/18/133852810/the-impact-of-rising-food-prices-on-arab-unrest#commentBlock Read more...]
  
   
  +
* [[Solar Cookers International]] (SCI) is proud to receive funding from The Agua Fund, Inc. for the SCInet Wiki. Read SCI’s current [[Media:SCI_Annual_Report_2012-2013.pdf|Annual Report]].
−
* '''Solar cooker manufacturer offers additional aid to Haiti''' - [[Sun Ovens International]] is pledging to match every [[Sun Oven]] purchased dollar for dollar and will donate all the proceeds to the disaster-stricken people in [[Haiti]] through the [[Friends of Haiti Organization]] (FOHO). Cash donations are also accepted and will also be matched. [http://www.prlog.org/11310295-sun-ovens-international-brings-solar-cooking-to-haiti.html Read more...]
  
   
  ⚫
==January 2014==
−
*'''The World Wildlife Fund, working with energy consultant, Ecofys, has launched "The Energy Report"''' - It presents a detailed plan for earth's population, to thrive without nuclear and fossil fuels by 2050! The report includes solar cookers as one of the zero emissions solutions to the harmful indoor air pollution and massive deforestation faced by hundreds of millions of people in the developing world who still cook over open fires. [http://assets.panda.org/downloads/101223_energy_report_final_print_2.pdf The Energy Report]
  
  +
[[File:SunFocus_hybrid_cooker_2,_1-29-14.jpg|thumb|200px|The [[SunFocus Solar Oven]]]]
  +
*'''Hybrid solar cooker includes electrical back-up option''' - Since 2010, David Chalker, founder of the [[Sun BD Corporation]], has been working on a version of a [[solar box cooker]] that includes an electrical heating element, rated at 465 watts / 120v. The [[SunFocus]] has a built-in thermostat which will turn off the electrical heating element once the cooker has reached 150°C (300°F). The cookers are made in Waterloo, {{state|New York}}, [[USA]].
   
  +
[[File:MiniSun12H_rechargable_lamp,_1-24-14.jpg|thumb|300px|The [http://www.minisun12h.org MiniSun12H] lamp recharges in sunlight.]]
−
[[Video:Solar-Powered Cooking Arrives in Southern Mexico|thumb|300px|thumb|[[Taqueria Poncho, solar street vendor]] arrives in Oaxaca, [[Mexico]].]]
  
  +
*'''Solar cooking works with solar lighting to help families save money''' - [[Stephen Pearson]], founder of [[SUN-LIFE]], has been helping residents of [[Ghana]] for many years save on cooking fuel expense by learning to use the [[CooKit]] solar cooker. His new goal is to help these families further reduce their kerosene usage by offering a low cost portable lamp to replace their fuel-burning lanterns. The new [http://www.minisun12h.org MiniSun12H] lamp has an integrated photovoltaic panel to recharge the lamp during the day. The projected retail price for the lamp is $5 USD. His reasoning is; if a family can save on cooking fuel using the CooKit, then they will have enough money to be able to buy the new lamp. Using both approaches, the families should be able to save $50-100 USD on kerosene expense annually. Money is saved, and [[indoor air pollution]] is reduced. You can help him with this project by supporting his efforts at [http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/goodbye-dangerous-kerosene-hello-safe-solar-minisun12h Indiegogo] fund raising. You can learn more about the new lamp in this short [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z7-vhlAefeU video].
−
*'''The first solar powered street vendor in Oaxaca, Mexico''' - The inventor of the system is swiss engineer, [[Michael Götz]]. The vendor who operates the cart is Alfredo Garcia Martinez. See: [[Taqueria Poncho, solar street vendor]], watch the [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n_14itmU-2k video].
  
−
[[File:Eldoret,_Kenya_students_2010.jpg|thumb|350px|Eldoret, [[Kenya]] students with their recently constructed [[solar panel cooker]]s.]]
  
−
*'''Student success shows independent spread of solar cooking''' - The [[Eldoret Student Projects]] in [[Kenya]], spearheaded by [[Camily Wedende]] of [[Sun Cookers International]], and aided by long-distance adviser, [[Sharon Cousins]], of [[Solar Cookers International]], have taken an important step in that spread with a student team who not only learned how to cook with sunshine but also learned to take a creative and scientific approach to solar cooking. Students researched existing solar cookers on the [[Solar Cookers World Network]] site. They put their heads together and came up with new ideas to try. They performed comparative tests on an existing model and two of their prototypes. While all three reached cooking temperatures, one innovation showed the strongest performance at their location. All twenty students built durable [[solar panel cooker]]s to take home to the camps where they live, and have been using them to prepare food and provide water [[pasteurization]] for their families. They keep records of their progress and experiments, amazing the neighbors who stop by to see food cooking in a stove powered by sunshine, a stove that children in their community helped to invent. Camily and the team hope that other schools and clubs can use the example of their pilot project to help more youth become scientists for solar cooking, to aid in the spread of this bright idea whose time has come.
  
   
  +
*'''International aid organization seeks solar cookers for bakery in Burundi''' - The global relief organization [http://www.regions20.org R20-Regions of Climate Action] has organized a solar bakery project in Rutegama, [[Burundi]]. Currently the bakery, in operation since 2006, has relied on wood-fired ovens, with the wood needing to be gathered by the women working at the bakery. They are soliciting proposals from tenders interested in providing three institutional solar ovens required to convert the bakery to solar. The ovens must be limited to three meters (a little under 10 ft.) in height, and if carried, weighing no more than 10 kg (22 lbs.). <b>Update: new deadline of offers to be submitted by Friday 28th February 2014</b>. Interested parties will find more information here: [[Media:Invitation-to-Tender_Solar_Ovens.pdf|Invitation to Tender For Solar Bakery Project, Burundi]]. The scale of the project may be rather small, but the funding and implementation is coming from world leaders in the field of economic and environmental relief.
⚫
==January 2011==
  
−
* '''Indian government clears plan for sixty solar cities''' - The Indian Government will kick off an ambitious scheme to develop sixty solar cities in two years. It will be done in collaboration with city corporations, municipalities and district councils. The focus will be on renewable energy devices such as kitchen waste-based plants, solar water heating systems, solar cooking systems, solar steam generation, drying and air heating systems, solar air-conditioning, bio-mass gasification based systems and biogas. [http://www.mydigitalfc.com/news/govt-clears-plan-60-solar-cities-208 Read more...]
  
   
  +
[[File:Chile_box_cookers_2,_Guai_Bao,_1-14-14.jpg|thumb|300px|Recently constructed [[solar box cooker]]s in Ovalle, [[Chile]].]]
−
* '''U.S. Department of State awards $100,000 grant to Turkish foundation''' - The grant will allow the [[Foundation for the Support of Women’s Work]] (FSWW) to launch a year-long solar cooking project. The project will have two phases. During the first phase, educational seminars about the effects of climate change are planned in several communities — Istanbul, the Marmara district of Bandırma, the southern province of Hatay and the southeastern province of Mardin. Renewable energy sources will be discussed as alternatives to smokey cooking fires. An estimated 2,000 solar cookers will be built and sold by women’s groups during the second phase of the project, providing needed income opportunities. [http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=four-innovative-women-projects-get-us-funding-2011-01-24 Read more...]
  
  +
*'''New solar cookers ready for distribution in Chile''' - Guai Bao, traveling in [[Chile]], sent along this photo of newly constructed [[solar box cooker]]s at a manufacturing facility in Ovalle. The cookers are well thought out. They are sturdy with insulated inner walls, and an internal high-back reflector to catch the sun. The front wall is low and slightly tipped forward to avoid blocking any sunlight. The external side reflectors appear to be able swing closed and protect the glass surface. They look ready to start cooking sitting on the small tables, which provides a convenient work height for users. The cooker construction is being supervised by [[Ruddy Viscarra]]. See more [https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=oa.10152103262019407&type=1 assembly photos] on [https://www.facebook.com/groups/scwnet facebook].
   
  +
[[File:Suryakumbh_2014.png|thumb|300px|3,484 children from 80+ schools participated in the world's largest solar cooking class in Mumbai. [http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-mumbai-3484-kids-take-part-in-largest-solar-cooking-session-set-guinness-record-1945468 Read more...]]]
−
* '''Flood-affected Pakistanis receive solar generators and cookers''' -- The people of Swat, [[Pakistan]] have received solar-powered energy generators for electricity and solar-powered cooking equipment funded by a leading Berlin-based non-governmental organization, [[German Aid for Afghan Children]] (GAAC). The organization has begun one million Euros relief and reconstruction work in the Khyber Pakhtunhwa's districts worst hit by floods. GAAC had announced in 2010 the distribution of solar-powered lithium-ion batteries to generate electricity and solar cooking equipment for the planned 1000 families of Swat, Nowshera, Pabbi and Bannu districts. [http://www.powergenworldwide.com/index/display/wire-news-display/1344743867.html Read more...]
  
  +
*'''India raises the bar for the world's largest solar cooking class''' - "As many as 3,484 children from over 80 schools participated in the largest solar cooking initiative Suryakumbha on January 4th, which has qualified as an entry to the Guinness Book of World Records. The emergence of renewable sources of energy as an answer to the imminent exhaustion of conventional energy sources pushed a Bhayander NGO, Keshav Srushti, to start with the most influential members of society, children." The class was held in Mumbai, [[India]]. [http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-mumbai-3484-kids-take-part-in-largest-solar-cooking-session-set-guinness-record-1945468 Read more...]
   
  +
*The January 2014 issue of [[Solar Cooker Review]] is now available online.
−
[[Video:Greencook barbecue solaire COOKUP200|350px|right]]
  
  +
::<imagemap>Image:Scr_jan14.jpg|140px|none|border
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* '''ID Cook offers Portable snap-together parabolic solar cooker''' - Based in [[France]], [[ID Cook]] markets the [[Cookup200]]. A clever design, it is assembled quickly from notched pieces that fit together without fasteners. When disassembled, it is easily transported in a relatively compact travel bag. Typically this style of cooker is constructed with fairly heavy materials, and a single piece reflector. Parabolic cookers are often used at a single location. This [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XGPluZ_tCxE video] of the lightweight solar cooker demonstrates its assembly, operation, and portability.
  
  +
default [[Media:Scr_jan14.pdf]]
−
[[File:SCI_exhibition_at_the_UN_1-20-11.jpg|thumb|325px|[[Solar Cookers International]] exhibition at the UN.]]
  
  +
desc none
−
* '''Solar Cookers International exhibition and reception at the Untied Nations a success''' - Representatives from non-governmental organizations and interested supporters attended the three-hour, open-house event put on by [[Solar Cookers International]] on January 18th. The concept of solar cooking is so important, that representatives from [[Nigeria]], the Middle East, [[Pakistan]], [[Bangladesh]], and [[Somalia]] made it through freezing, blowing rain to attend the exhibition. A wide variety of solar cookers were on display with informational material accompanying the cookers. Video loops played throughout the evening, showing real people around the world cooking with the sun and training others to do so. There was a real urgency at the exhibition that the message of solar cooking be strong, unified, and be present in global discussions of development and progress for people around the world.
  
  +
</imagemap>
  +
==2013==
  +
{{Main|Solar cooking news archive 2013}}
   
  +
==2012==
−
* '''African solar cooking partnership project visited by Dr. Jill Biden, wife of the [[United States|U.S.]] Vice President''' - [[Lift Up Africa]] is a strong believer that partnering and sharing resources is a key to successful implementation and sustainability. This project was designed to introduce solar cooking and related technologies to ten communities in [[Kenya]]. The partnership relied on [[Africa HEART]], a Kenyan-based NGO recently visited by Vice President Biden’s wife Dr. Jill Biden, to identify three community groups in each district, the fifty trainees in each community, and training venues. Africa HEART covered expenses and handling logistics related to transport for the solar cooking equipment, distribution venues, and follow-up on usage and other needs. [[Solar Cookers International East Africa Office]] (SCI-EA) provided the trainers and supplies, written reports, and conducted the training. Lift Up Africa provided a grant to cover direct expenses related to equipment purchase and SCI-EA’s travel, partnership connections, and worked with Africa HEART on follow-up and project evaluation. This project was a success and 150 families, approximately 1,200 people, have benefited from their new training and solar cooking equipment. This project demonstrates the value of independent organizations working together, each providing their area of expertise, to achieve substantial results. Hopefully, this will be a continuing pattern for projects initiated by members of the [[Solar Cookers World Network]].
  
  +
{{Main|Solar cooking news archive 2012}}
   
  +
==2011==
⚫
[[File:IMG 0663.JPG|right|300px]]
  
  +
{{Main|Solar cooking news archive 2011}}
−
* '''Haiti - One year later''' - [[Haiti]] continues to benefit from solar cooking. [[Solar Cookers International]] (SCI) and [[International Child Care Ministries]] (ICCM) are working to expand a project in the schools around Port Au Prince to integrate solar cooking into the 5th grade science curriculum. The goal is that each student will receive a [[CooKit]] to use each day in preparing and cooking their lunch, all the time learning about science. Training and certification of teachers continues, as do SCI’s efforts to secure funding to provide 2000 more CooKits for this school project. To date, SCI has provided 200 CooKits, pots and [[Water Pasteurization Indicator]]s (WAPIs) for four schools. With [http://www.solarcookers.org/support/donations.html your help], we will achieve our goal of 2000 more! Reaching students in their classrooms, teaching a new lifestyle habit, while at the same time providing environment education is a winning program. Background: SCI, in collaboration with [[Sun Ovens International]] and ICCM, distributed over 400 CooKits in Haiti immediately following the devastating earthquake there. Near the community of Pigeon, 135 Haitians were trained in solar cooking by [[Programme Energie Solaire]]. Each participant received a CooKit, a [[pot]] and a WAPI, giving these earthquake survivors a method to cook their food and [[pasteurize]] their water without need of scarce and expensive fuel. Solar cooking is technology that offers relief in disaster situations: 1) When infrastructures are in ruins and no energy or gas is available, solar cooking utilizes the sun to cook hot food; 2) When fuel is scarce, cooking with the sun offers a clean, workable solution; 3) Solar cookers fight cholera by heating water to pasteurization temperatures (65°C or 150°F); and 4) Using a solar cooker requires only the sun, and does not necessitate searching for other forms of fuel. Families can stay together and remain safe. SCI thanks you for your ongoing support for solar cooking in Haiti.
  
   
 
==2010==
  
==2010==
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{{SeeAlsoCurrentNews}}
  
{{SeeAlsoCurrentNews}}
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[[Category:News archive]]

Revision as of 17:36, 4 March 2015

Searchbox


See also: Current news

December 2014

Average co2 concentrations Oct-Nov
  • Latest Nasa data shows elevated CO2 levels over Africa and South America - According to this BBC article, "Also apparent are the higher concentrations over South America and southern Africa. These are likely the result of biomass burning in these regions."
  • Solar Cookers International remembers Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis - As co-founder of Jewish World Watch, Rabbi Schulweis was a visionary behind efforts like the Solar Cooker Project to empower and protect refugee women fleeing the Darfur crisis. He will be missed. His obituary is available online.
  • José Andrés details his use of solar cookers at Life is Beautiful event in National Geographic - In an article for National Geographic, Chef José Andrés writes about his pop-up restaurant, Sunny Day, which he opened at the Life is Beatufiul event in Las Vegas, NV. Sunny Day used solar cookers to cook their signature dish, vegetarian tacos, during the day and clean-burining ethanol in the evening. Read article...
  • Lapin Kulta Solar Kitchen Restaurant featured in The Guardian - Lapin Kulta Solar Kitchen Restaurant, the traveling solar restaurant from Catalan designer Martí Guixé, Chef Antto Melasniemi and Lapin Kulta beer, was featured in an article in The Guardian as an innovative user of solar energy. The piece discusses the journey of this experimental solar restaurant, including how they were able to cook in Finland in -15°C. Also featured are new innovations in photovoltaic technology, a new apartment in Hamburg, Germany which grows algae for fuel with solar energy, and simple method for water disinfection. Read article...
Basin-from-above-web

Bjorn Qorn makes popcorn for sale with their In-the-ground solar cooker.

  • Another business uses solar cooking to prepare their product - New-member Bjorn Qorn located in New York, USA, has created a large In-the-ground solar cooker to cook their locally-harvested corn for sale as popcorn.

November 2014

  • José Andrés discusses solar and efficient cooking in Time Magazine - As part of the "What I'm Thankful For" series, celebrity chef, José Andrés, explains that he is thankful that his family has a simple and safe method to cook their food, and how solar cooking and other fuel-efficient cooking methods are bringing this benefit to the world's poor, for whom access to traditional cooking fuels is becoming more difficult and expensive every year. Read more...
Hillary_Rodham_Clinton_Cookstoves_Future_Summit

Hillary Rodham Clinton Cookstoves Future Summit

  • Hillary Clinton acknowledges solar cooking's role in solving cooking fuel crisis - In her keynote speech at a Global Alliance meeting, Hillary Clinton stated that students from the Clinton School of Public Service had traveled overseas to teach solar cooking.
  • Create an account and log in to turn off most of the ads on this site.
  • EG Solar has created a clever animated video short explaining the benefits of solar cooking - Visit EG Solar.
The_Solar_Cooker_by_EG_Solar_e.V.-0

The Solar Cooker by EG Solar e.V.-0

October 2014

Andres2
  • José Andrés debuts Sunny Day pop-up restaurant at Life is Beautiful festival - At the Life is Beautiful festival in Las Vegas, NV, José Andrés debuted Sunny Day, his new solar-powered pop-up restaurant. His goal for the new pop-up restaurant is to educate Americans about clean cooking around the world. Interview with José Andrés.
Wonderbag image, 11-13-13

Sarah Collins with the Wonderbag

  • Heat-retention cooker receives world attention - Wonderbag reports that over 650,000 of the brightly colored heat-retention cooking bags have been distributed worldwide.
Morpho Solar, IEEE Spectrum, 10-9-14

Guro Seim, the CEO of Morpho Solar, and Catlin Powers, COO of One Earth Designs, prepare a meal on a SolSource solar cooker. - Morpho Solar

Solar_Cooker_Success_in_Afghanistan!

Solar Cooker Success in Afghanistan!

  • Solar cooking in the Navajo nation - Raquel Redshirt presented her solar cooker design at the TEDxABQ 2014 conference in Albuquerque, NM on September, 6 2014. She stated that her solar cooker was a more health-conscious option in her community which has a high rate of diabetes.
  • Global Hope Network International delivers solar cookers to Afghanistan - The Global Hope Network International reports its recent success in transporting 300 solar cookers to rural villages in central Afghanistan where all 300 were purchased by villagers.
  • Gourmet cook shifts to solar catering - Pierre-André Aubert used a mobile solar kitchen unit with an 8m² Scheffler Reflector, mounted on a trailer, in summer 2014 to cook for various events in the south of France. More info... -

September 2014

Scr sep14
   Read the Fall 2014 issue of Solar Cooker Review
...or see back issues.
Cal_Poly_San_Luis_Obispo_Solar_Cooker_Research

Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Solar Cooker Research

Under the direction of physics professor Dr. Peter Schwartz, a team of physics and engineering students at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo in California are conducting research on a simplified Scheffler reflector design that could be used by people in developing countries to heat water and cook food. They are also researching hybrid technologies that combine the use of a solar reflector and a Rocket Stove for uninterrupted cooking.

Dr._Bing_Gu,_CEO_California_Sunlight

Dr. Bing Gu, CEO California Sunlight

Dr. Bing Gu was interviewed at the SCInet Solar Cooking Convention 2014. His Fresnel lens solar thermal cooking device can reach 315° (600°F), can track the sun and can store heat for nighttime cooking. He is seeking investors so California Sunlight Corporation can begin mass production.

Sun Juicer image, 8-21-14

The Sun Juicer lightweight parabolic solar cooker

  • Successful Kickstarter for the Sun Juicer - Congratulations to Leonel Gotlibowski and the Sun Juicer on their successful Kickstarter campaign! They set a goal of $15,000 and raised a total of $19,152. They describe the Sun Juicer as an emergency ultralight, compact, parabolic solar cooker. Read more...

August 2014

Energy needs graph (image sharpened), Ajay Chandak, 8-12-14

Energy needs graph of the Ram Krishna Mission Student’s Home, Mylapore, Chennai, India - Ajay Chandak

  • Institutional solar cooker with heat storage allows cooking after sunset - Commissioned on October 26, 2013, the steam-based ARUN®100 solar cooking system at the Ram Krishna Mission Student’s Home, Mylapore, Chennai in India now allows early morning and evening cooking. The accompanying graph shows when they need to cook and when the mid-day sun recharges the system. Read more about it at: ARUN®100 with Thermal Storage at Ramkrishna Mission, Chennai - Ajay Chandak
Suryakumbh 2014

3,484 children from 80+ schools participated in the previous world's largest solar cooking class in Mumbai.

  • The stage is set for the next world's largest solar cooking workshop - A Bhayander, India based NGO, Keshav Srushti, in a bid to spread awareness on solar cooking, will be gathering 25,000 students from 500 schools across Mumbai on January 15, 2015 to cook solar-powered dishes. Read more...
  • Solar Cookers International contributes data for US-Africa Leaders Summit - President Barack Obama announced August 6th, 2014 that the U.S. NGO community invested over $1.5 billion in Africa in 2013 and anticipates investing another $4 billion over the next three years. Solar Cookers International (SCI) was one of the members of the InterAction network collaborating to collect data on U.S. NGO aid spending in Africa. See information on SCI’s current projects and the news release.
  • Solar Cookers International is hiring! - Based on needs identified at the recent SCInet Solar Cooking Convention, SCI is hiring a full-time Monitoring & Evaluation Specialist to promote data collection and project evaluation practices within the global solar cooking sector. Read full job description.

July 2014

  • New video from Pat McArdle where people from all around the world tell why they solar cook:
Yes_We_Do_Solar_Cook

Yes We Do Solar Cook

Sacramento festival 2014

Solar Cooking Festival 2014, Sacramento, California, USA

  • Solar cooking conference extols virtues of cookers to developing world (Sacramento Bee) - Hundreds of people Saturday cooked using only the power of the sun – a practice little used in the United States, but considered a liberating tool for women in developing countries that also helps curb greenhouse gas emissions. Read more...
Resilience mulitple pot fireless cooker, 7-7-14

A heat-retention cooker designed for multiple pots.

June 2014

WHO HAP deaths by location 2012
  • Household air pollution from cooking fires kills more people than malaria, tuberculosis, and AIDS combined - The journal Nature reports on a recent World Health Organization (WHO) report that states that 4.3 million people die annually from household air pollution caused by polluting biomass stoves used by one-third of the global population. However, efforts to introduce more efficient biomass stoves are failing. Read article in Nature: Global health: Deadly dinners

May 2014

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   Read the Spring 2014 issue of Solar Cooker Review
...or see back issues.
Earthbound Tech cooker test, 5-3-14

Reciprocal light testing, (Earthbound Technology photo)

Ewb-Iran-April-2014

Engineers Without Borders - Iran solar cooking workshop

  • Solar cooking advocate in Iran trains high school students - Soheil Salimi, a twenty-two year old civil engineering student, has started a chapter of Engineers Without Borders - Iran, and has begun organizing solar cooking workshops in his free time. His latest class was at the Hafez high school for girls. Read more about his projects on his personal page.

April 2014

March 2014

Solar Women of Totogalpa baking photo 4-24-10

Nicaraguan group Solar Women of Totogalpa prepares baked goods for sale

  • How solar energy empowers women, youth in rural Nicaragua - Forty years ago Sabana Grande was ravaged by war. Now you will find people sitting under solar-powered lights, eating solar-cooked chicken, and drinking smoothies made by a bicycle-powered blender. Sabana Grande has embraced a solar culture that has transformed the community. Read more... (See also other solar restaurants and bakeries.)

February 2014

French solar food cart, 2-10-14

See Sun and Ice.

  • French solar cuisine done with style - Sun and Ice shares photos of one of their reflectors incorporated into a portable solar kitchen, created by one of their customers in France. The small, trailered construction is a rolling work of art. See more photos on the facebook page.

January 2014

SunFocus hybrid cooker 2, 1-29-14

The SunFocus Solar Oven

  • Hybrid solar cooker includes electrical back-up option - Since 2010, David Chalker, founder of the Sun BD Corporation, has been working on a version of a solar box cooker that includes an electrical heating element, rated at 465 watts / 120v. The SunFocus has a built-in thermostat which will turn off the electrical heating element once the cooker has reached 150°C (300°F). The cookers are made in Waterloo, New York, USA.
MiniSun12H rechargable lamp, 1-24-14

The MiniSun12H lamp recharges in sunlight.

  • Solar cooking works with solar lighting to help families save money - Stephen Pearson, founder of SUN-LIFE, has been helping residents of Ghana for many years save on cooking fuel expense by learning to use the CooKit solar cooker. His new goal is to help these families further reduce their kerosene usage by offering a low cost portable lamp to replace their fuel-burning lanterns. The new MiniSun12H lamp has an integrated photovoltaic panel to recharge the lamp during the day. The projected retail price for the lamp is $5 USD. His reasoning is; if a family can save on cooking fuel using the CooKit, then they will have enough money to be able to buy the new lamp. Using both approaches, the families should be able to save $50-100 USD on kerosene expense annually. Money is saved, and indoor air pollution is reduced. You can help him with this project by supporting his efforts at Indiegogo fund raising. You can learn more about the new lamp in this short video.
  • International aid organization seeks solar cookers for bakery in Burundi - The global relief organization R20-Regions of Climate Action has organized a solar bakery project in Rutegama, Burundi. Currently the bakery, in operation since 2006, has relied on wood-fired ovens, with the wood needing to be gathered by the women working at the bakery. They are soliciting proposals from tenders interested in providing three institutional solar ovens required to convert the bakery to solar. The ovens must be limited to three meters (a little under 10 ft.) in height, and if carried, weighing no more than 10 kg (22 lbs.). Update: new deadline of offers to be submitted by Friday 28th February 2014. Interested parties will find more information here: Invitation to Tender For Solar Bakery Project, Burundi. The scale of the project may be rather small, but the funding and implementation is coming from world leaders in the field of economic and environmental relief.
Chile box cookers 2, Guai Bao, 1-14-14

Recently constructed solar box cookers in Ovalle, Chile.

  • New solar cookers ready for distribution in Chile - Guai Bao, traveling in Chile, sent along this photo of newly constructed solar box cookers at a manufacturing facility in Ovalle. The cookers are well thought out. They are sturdy with insulated inner walls, and an internal high-back reflector to catch the sun. The front wall is low and slightly tipped forward to avoid blocking any sunlight. The external side reflectors appear to be able swing closed and protect the glass surface. They look ready to start cooking sitting on the small tables, which provides a convenient work height for users. The cooker construction is being supervised by Ruddy Viscarra. See more assembly photos on facebook.
Suryakumbh 2014

3,484 children from 80+ schools participated in the world's largest solar cooking class in Mumbai. Read more...

  • India raises the bar for the world's largest solar cooking class - "As many as 3,484 children from over 80 schools participated in the largest solar cooking initiative Suryakumbha on January 4th, which has qualified as an entry to the Guinness Book of World Records. The emergence of renewable sources of energy as an answer to the imminent exhaustion of conventional energy sources pushed a Bhayander NGO, Keshav Srushti, to start with the most influential members of society, children." The class was held in Mumbai, India. Read more...
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