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{{SeeAlso|Current news}}
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==2015==
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<tabber>Top News=<span style="display:one">'''Top news'''</span>
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{{Section|May 2015}}
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*{{Event}} '''Regional Solar Cookers International Conference coming in July''' - Registration is open to attend [[Solar Cookers International|SCI’s]] Regional Convention (North America) event on July 19, 2015 in Sacramento, {{State|California}} – focusing on Regional trends for the solar cooking sector. Be sure to register early. SCI Network Associates and other partners worldwide are invited. Unsolicited requests for travel funding will not be accepted. [http://www.solarcookers.org/events/north-america/#sthash.Va22Jl6R.dpuf More information...] [http://www.solarcookers.org/contact/ Contact SCI] directly about submitting an abstract or session idea for the Regional Conference. The deadline for submission is Friday, June 5th, 2015.
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[[File:WHO1.png|200px|right]]
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*'''World Health Organization passes resolution on air pollution:''' The WHO passed a resolution to combat global air pollution. According to the press release, "every year 4.3 million deaths occur from exposure to [[indoor air pollution]] and 3.7 million deaths are attributable to outdoor air pollution." The resolution calls for a strong focus on clean cooking technologies among other solutions such as improved monitoring of air pollution conditions and illnesses related to indoor and outdoor air pollution. [http://www.who.int/mediacentre/news/releases/2015/wha-26-may-2015/en/ Read more...]
   
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*'''Solar Cookers International announces two open positions: Development Director (now closed) and ''[http://www.solarcookers.org/about/career-and-internship-opportunities/director-communications/ Director of Communications]''
   
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[[File:CASEP_solar_box_oven_user_in_Guatamala,_5-21-15.png|thumb|300px|Women in [[Guatemala]] cook with a solar oven that they built themselves through a [[CASEP]] project. - ''Tom Cogill'']]
{{SeeAlsoCurrentNews}}
 
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*'''Long time solar cooking advocate, CASEP, is recognized by ''Nature'' magazine''' - William Lankford, founder and president of [[CASEP]], and Laura Brown, program coordinator, explain that after many years of coordinating solar cooking projects they have learned to focus their programs more on women's needs rather than the cooking technology. [http://www.nature.com/news/sustainability-clean-cooking-empowers-women-1.17562 Read more...]
   
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[[File:Andres3.png|300px|thumb| [[José Andrés]] photo courtesy of ''[[World Central Kitchen]]'']]
==August 2013==
 
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*'''Chef José Andrés discusses the importance of solar and efficient cooking''' - In an interview with MUNCHIES, [[José Andrés|Chef José Andrés]] describes when he first got excited about solar cooking, how solar and efficient cooking technology can help those in developing countries, and what he is doing to promote these technologies around the world. [http://munchies.vice.com/articles/jose-andres-wants-the-world-to-cook-with-sunlight-and-biofuel Read more...]
*'''The September 2013 issue of Solar Cooker Review is now available online.'''
 
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*'''Featured presentation''' from the [[SCInet Solar Cooking Convention 2014]]:<br />
<table style="margin-left:30px"><tr>
 
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::[[File:Kinne Edu tourism Model|thumb|none|300 px]]
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[[File:The Solar Cooking Solution-0|right|300 px|Solar cooking is a solution for nearly 3 billion people worldwide who cook over open fires. Some cannot afford to purchase food and fuel, or to make their water safe to drink. ]]
[[File:Scr_sep13.jpg|none|border|190px]]
 
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*'''The Solar Cooking Solution:''' [[Solar Cookers International]] has produced a new video called The Solar Cooking Solution which explores how solar cooking can help minimize deforestation, improve the health of those who cook indoors with traditional cook stoves, and reduce reliance on non-renewable fuels, specifically in developing countries.{{clr}}
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{{Section|April 2015}}
<td style="font-size:125%">&nbsp;&nbsp;[http://solarcooking.org/newsletters/scr_pdfs/scr_sep13.pdf Read the latest issue...]<br />...or see [[Solar_Cooker_Review#Back_issues|back issues]].</td></tr></table>
 
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*'''Nepal Earthquake''' In response to many inquiries regarding the recent tragic earthquake in [[Nepal]], SCI has published [http://www.solarcookers.org/what/disaster-preparedness/ Solar Cookers International’s Work for Disaster Preparedness].
   
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*'''Featured presentation''' from the [[SCInet Solar Cooking Convention 2014]]:<br />
[[File:Olivia_Kanyesigye_ICM_demonstration,_8-15-13.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Olivia Kanyesigye]] (in black suit) from the [[Solar Connect Association]], and Henk Crietee, from [[Solar Cooking Netherlands]], attend an [[Integrated Cooking Method|integrated solar cooking]] demonstration in [[Uganda]], August 2013.]]
 
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::[[File:Bradley Reciprocal Optical Test for Measuring Solar Cooker Performance|thumb|none|300 px]]
*'''Uganda NGO with proven profitability plans for expansion at new location''' - Henk Crietee, from [[Solar Cooking Netherlands]], was in [[Uganda]] for two weeks in early August to evaluate [[Solar Connect Association]] (SCA) project activities. During Crietee's visit, a piece of land was secured in Mbarara, on which SCA will construct a building to house a new Renewable Energy Center. Integrated solar cooking appliances will be produced, advertised and sold from this new location, which will offer better exposure for their products to local residents, tourists, and political leaders. While SCA has shown itself to be relatively self sufficient in terms of covering operation costs, through the sales of solar cookers, [[hay basket]]s and [[rocket stoves]], they cannot yet afford to construct a new building. Participation by Solar Cooking Netherlands with help in securing the land has been appreciated. Donors wishing to help contribute to the building construction can contact [[Solar Cooking Netherlands]]. This fledgling effort is another example that demonstrates solar cooking, and related integrated cooking methods, can become a successful business by incorporating local manufacturing, sales, and long term consumer support.
 
[[File:Soulsource_successful.jpg|thumb|250px|SolSource: [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scotfrank/solsource-cook-anything-under-the-sun Kickstarter project] a success]]
 
*'''One Earth Designs raises $142k on Kickstarter to fund solar cooking project''' - [[One Earth Designs]] successfully concluded its Kickstarter campaign to promote the [[SolSource|SolSource solar cooker]], raising a total of $142,413 out of a goal of $43,000 (331% of the goal) and meeting three stretch goals, with 507 people backing the project. Delivery of the cookers will happen in October 2013. Visit the [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scotfrank/solsource-cook-anything-under-the-sun SolSource Kickstarter page].
 
   
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[[File:Robert_Chiron_with_baked_bread.jpg|233px|thumb|[[Robert Chiron]]]]
==June 2013==
 
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*'''Bolivia Inti-Sud Soleil announces the sad passing of its founder, Robert Chiron''' - {{GoogleLinkAuto|http://www.boliviainti-sudsoleil.org/spip.php?article801|Read more}} about professor Chiron's significant contribution to the spread of [[integrated cooking]].
[[File:SolSource_cooker,_6-13.jpg|thumb|300px|The [[SolSource]] solar cooker]]
 
*'''Young entrepreneurs align with Kickstarter to promote their parabolic solar cooker''' - [[One Earth Designs]] began in 2008 to develop their [[SolSource]] parabolic cooker. In September 2010, the cooker won the Dutch Postcode Lottery Green Challenge. The design team continues their research on the cooker, with the goal it will be the world's first temperature-adjustable solar cooker with six discrete settings up to 1,000°C (1,832°F). It will provide users with the capacity to generate electricity, heat their homes, [[Water pasteurization|purify their water]] and cook with stored solar energy at night or on cloudy days. An article in ''gizmag'' explains that those wishing to help this fledgling company are offered the opportunity to purchase today's basic cooker for $249 USD, with free shipping in the continental [[USA]]. The projected retail price will be $399 USD, so this is a great way to help them out, and get a great deal. Delivery of the cookers will happen in October 2013. [http://www.gizmag.com/solsource-solar-powered-grill/27963/ More information...], [http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/scotfrank/solsource-cook-anything-under-the-sun?ref=recently_launched Kickstarter page]
 
   
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*'''Featured presentation''' from the [[SCInet Solar Cooking Convention 2014]]:<br />
[[File:SHE_World_refugee_day_promotion_2013.jpg|thumb|250px|A woman adjusts the [[solar panel cooker]] she received through [[Solar Household Energy]].]]
 
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::[[File:McArdle Factors that give funders confidence|thumb|none|300 px]]
*'''World Refugee Day focusses on the needs of displaced populations''' - World Refugee Day was established by the United Nations to honor the courage, strength and determination of women, men and children who are forced to flee their homes under threat of persecution, conflict and violence. Even though the day has passed, June 20th, awareness and action are continuing. [http://www.universalgiving.org/ Universal Giving] has organized a group of relief projects to help raise donations. 100% of the donation reaches the intended foundation and project. This year [[Solar Household Energy]] (SHE) is featured among the projects for their work promoting solar cooking worldwide. SHE is a global leader in this effort. Consider helping them. [http://www.universalgiving.org/lists/list.do?id=686 Donation information...]
 
   
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*'''You can now see all new content as it is added to the site by visiting this page:''' [[New content]]
*'''Solar Cookers International to dedicate more resources to the renamed Solar Cookers International Network'''<br />Since its founding in 2006, the Solar Cookers World Network has continued to expand. [[:Category:Solar Cookers International Network members|Network members]] now include over 500 NGOs, individuals, and manufacturers working in the field to advance the cause of solar cooking. At the same time, the Network’s wiki resource has grown to become an unparalleled resource for solar cooking knowledge worldwide. With contributions of articles and photos from Network members and monetary and administrative support from [[Solar Cookers International]] (SCI), this wiki now contains nearly 2000 articles, covering all aspects of solar cooking design and promotion. Today SCI renews its commitment to the Solar Cookers World Network and its corresponding Wiki. SCI will direct more resources toward both. In the near future, SCI will ask all Network members to give us their feedback to help us prioritize our efforts to assist in areas of greatest need. Read the “Letter from the Executive Director” in the [http://solarcooking.org/newsletters/scr_pdfs/scr_jun13.pdf June 2013 issue of Solar Cooker Review] for more information about SCI’s Strategic Plan for 2013-2018. To communicate SCI’s renewed and expanded commitment to the Network, starting today, June 1, 2013 the name of the Network and Wiki will change, but not their substance. The Solar Cookers World Network will become the Solar Cookers International Network (SCInet); the Solar Cookers World Network Wiki will become the Solar Cookers International Network Wiki. SCI welcomes your input. Please contact SCI at [mailto:info@solarcookers.org info@solarcookers.org] if you have questions or comments.
 
   
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{{Section|March 2015}}
*'''The June 2013 issue of Solar Cooker Review is now available online''' - [[Solar Cooker Review|Read the issue here...]]
 
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[[File:Chennai school 1.JPG|thumb|right|225px|Solar energy concentrator at Ramakrishna Mission’s Students’ Home]]
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*'''Investment brings large-scale solar cooking to Chennai school for orphans and underprivileged boys''' - Starting in 2013, a partnership between the UNDP, [[India]]'s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, and the Global Environment Facility, led to a project to install an [[ARUN®100]] solar concentrator at the Ramakrishna Mission’s Students’ Home. The system provides enough energy to cook 3,000 meals per day and reduces LPG consumption by half, which leads to a savings of US$8,000 per year. [http://www.in.undp.org/content/india/en/home/ourwork/environmentandenergy/successstories/the-sun-in-the-kitchen/# Read more...]
   
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[[File:Solar_cooking_workshop_3,_C.V._Raman_College,_3-30-15.png|thumb|400px|"Solar Cooking for a Healthy & Better Life" at the Bhubaneswar Club in {{State|Odisha}}, [[India]] March 2015 - ''C.V. Raman College'']]
==May 2013==
 
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*'''Women's Day event in India promotes solar cooking''' - Sanjib Rout, Chairman of the [[C.V. Raman College of Engineering]] organized a workshop on "Solar Cooking for a Healthy & Better Life" at the Bhubaneswar Club in {{State|Odisha}}, [[India]] to raise awareness of the potential of solar cooking for commercial applications.
[[File:SOLAR ENERGY|thumb|right|300 px|[[Faustine Odaba]], an environmentalist popularly known as "Mama Solar", uses solar energy to make most of her meals. Published Sept. 2012]]
 
*'''An inspired environmentalist shares her tips and techniques for solar cooking''' - [[Faustine Odaba]] lives in [[Kenya]], and has been promoting solar cooking since the early nineties. Her reputation with solar cooking efforts is well known and she is lovingly referred to as "Mama Solar". In the accompanying video she offers practical solar cooking tips and techniques, and describes the features of different types of cookers. She also explains the advantage of using [[heat-retention cooking]] to complement solar cooking. It is inspiring to see how she careful crafts every scrap of recycled material into useful household products. She gently reminds everyone "The sun can bring a meal to your table."
 
   
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*'''Show your solar cooker design to the United Nations Development Program''' - The UN is now assessing what viable small and institutional-sized solar cookers are available in the marketplace for widespread distribution in emergency situations. Proposals must be submitted by 5 p.m. Friday, March 27, 2015. [https://www.ungm.org/Public/Notice/33124 Read more...]
[[File:Touloum_refugee_camp_1.jpg|thumb|250px|A mother with her child watch over the [[solar panel cookers]] at the [[Touloum Refugee Camp]].]]
 
*'''Solar cookers preparing food for 130,000 people daily at the refugee camps in Chad''' - [[Derk Rijks]], a volunteer with the [[KoZon Foundation]], recently responded to [[Jewish World Watch]] with this note of appreciation. "Last week I was at the [[Touloum Refugee Camp]]. The chief of the workshop, Fatimé, told me there were new arrivals. We walked over to the last of the dunes and there was one woman who had just walked in with four kids, sitting in the sand. Her village was bombed one week ago, and she had fled to escape the Janjaweed, walking for seven nights. Fatimé looked at me, I nodded, 'yes', and in the next few hours she had her cooker and started her solar cooker training, even before she had a shelter. No words needed, no paper needed. That is the way your contribution works." He also explains that in the six camps where they work in [[Chad]], and in the villages of the population around the camps about 29,000 families now do solar cooking, and about 130,000 people are eating solar cooked meals. In this part of the world solar cooking works about 300 days a year. From the empty bags of the food shipped in by the World Food Programme, and the snippets of aluminum foil and cardboard left over from the manufacture of the cookers, the refugees make "[[haybasket|thermos baskets]]" to keep the food, cooked between 1 p.m. and 4 p.m., warm until the evening meal at 5 p.m. or 8 p.m. They do not have to search for wood so much any more and there are far fewer conflicts for that reason. As one of the elected representatives of the women refugees said: "Solar cooking brings us justice and peace".
 
   
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[[File:Refugee_drawing1.jpg|right|300px|thumb|[http://1-louise-meyer.artistwebsites.com/index.html Solar cooker drawings by refugees]]]
==April 2013==
 
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*'''Solar cooker drawings by refugee users now available online''' - [http://1-louise-meyer.artistwebsites.com/index.html View drawings...]
[[File:Sunoven.jpg|300px|thumb|The [[Sun Oven]] [[solar box cooker]]]]
 
*'''Interesting facts about the Sun Oven''' - The [[Sun Oven]] is manufactured by [[Sun Ovens International]] primarily in Elburn, {{state|Illinois}}, [[USA]]. Recently [[Paul Munsen]], the company 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. The company has 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, 42% of the Sun Ovens sold worldwide are sold in the state of {{state|Utah}}, USA. Munsen believes 70% 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...]
 
   
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*'''Show your solar cooker to the Global Alliance''' - The [[Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves]] maintains a catalog of approved stoves, including ten solar cookers and one [[heat-retention cooking]] device. See the [http://catalog.cleancookstoves.org/#/stoves catalog] You can apply to have your solar cooker added. [http://catalog.cleancookstoves.org/content/stoves/new Read more...]
[[File:Trust_in_Education_CooKit_3,_4-17-13.jpg|thumb|300px|The [[Trust in Education]] variation of the [[CooKit]], which uses recycled Peet's Coffee bags for the [[reflective material]].]]
 
*'''Solar panel cookers headed to Afghanistan use recycled coffee bags for reflective material''' - The solar cookers are distributed by [[Trust in Education]] located in Kabul, [[Afghanistan]]. They are a [[CooKit]] variation, and are being produced at a box manufacturing company in San Leandro, {{state|California|CA}}, [[USA]]. The [[reflective material]] used for the [[solar panel cooker]]s comes from Mylar coffee bean bags, recycled from Peet’s Coffee & Tea headquartered in Berkeley, {{state|California}}. They are cut open and cleaned by adults with developmental disabilities from [http://futures-explored.org/ Futures Explored] in Lafayette, California. With the reflective interior surface facing out, the bags are then stapled to the cooker panels by Afghan workers. So far, 2,000 cookers have been delivered to Afghanistan, and over 20,000 bags have been collected from Peet’s (keeping many Mylar bags out of the landfill). The new cookers are working very well, and are appreciated.
 
   
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*'''New solar cooking organization in India''' - On January 23, 2015 [[Solar Cookers India]] was formed. [[Janak McGilligan|Dr. Janak Palta McGilligan]] has graciously offered her services as the Honorary Executive Director of this new organization, which will work in close partnership with [[Solar Cookers International]].
==March 2013==
 
[[File:GACC_conference_2013_attendees_.jpg||thumb|300px|Solar cooking innovators at the '''Clean Cooking Forum 2013''' in Phnom Penh, [[Cambodia]]]]
 
*'''Solar cooking promotors at the GACC conference''' - The [[Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves]] sponsored the '''Clean Cooking Forum 2013''' in Phnom Penh, [[Cambodia]] from March 18-22, 2013. The global solar cooking community and the [[Solar Cookers World Network]] is being represented by [[Crosby Menzies]] (South Africa), [[Gabrielle Simbriger-Williams]] (US), [[Sanu Kaji Shrestha]] (Nepal), [[Scot Frank]] (US/China), [[Nguyen Tan Bich]] (Vietnam), Yasaya (Nigeria), [[Alex Kee]] (Malasia), [[Catlin Powers]] (US/China), and [[Julie Greene]] (USA), who took the adjacent photo. The group held a solar cooking demonstration for attendees. The participation by these advocates of solar cooking helps to build the alliance with [[Rocket Stove|fuelwood cookstove]] advocates, and helps spread the message of the [[integrated cooking method]].
 
   
[[File:Kiosco_SOLAR_cart,_2-27-13.jpg|thumb|250px|The [[Kiosco SOLAR]] ready for business]]
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[[Image:Janak_McGilligan.jpg|150px|thumb| [[Janak McGilligan|Dr. Janak Palta McGilligan]]]]
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*'''SCInet member wins national award''' - [[Janak McGilligan|Dr. Janak Palta McGilligan]] won the prestigious national Padmashri award for distinguished achievement in social service on January 26, 2015. The Padma Awards is one of the highest civilian awards given in [[India]]. As former Director and Founder of the [[Barli Development Institute for Rural Women]], she pioneered [[parabolic solar cooker|solar parabolic cooking]] for [[institutional solar cooking]].
[[File:Kiosco_SOLAR_cart_sales,_2-27-13.jpg|thumb|250px|The solar powered food cart has been a success at the Carnival of Puna in [[Argentina]].]]
 
*'''The solar powered food cart business is flourishing in northern Argentina''' - With help from [[Fundación EcoAndina]] and [[WISIONS Initiative]], there has been a successful launch of solar powered food carts in northern [[Argentina]]. During the celebrations of Carnival of Puna, which spans almost all of February, the intrepid promoters of the sun's energy walked a few new solar kiosks through the streets in Tilcara, Humahuaca, La Quiaca, Purmamarca and Uquía, tourist sites the northern province of Jujuy. Each [[Kiosco SOLAR]] consists of a wheeled trolley, waterproof roof, and a [[parabolic solar cooker]]. "People are incredulous and astonished when the cart is in operation," says Marta Rojas, responsible for opening a kiosk this month in Tilcara. As a safety concern, there has been a need to begin to replace traditional food carts, where typically food is cooked directly over gas canisters or open fires.
 
   
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*'''Apply for the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards:''' [[Solar Cookers International]] has a unique opportunity to nominate projects from SCInet members for the 2015 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards. All materials must be in English. [http://www.fbbva.es/TLFU/tlfu/ing/microsites/premios/fronteras/presentacion/index.jsp Read more...]
*'''Survey participants are being recruited to document solar cooking use in the USA''' - Natalia Blackburn of Blackburn Engineering is conducting a survey to begin to determine how solar cooking usage may be able to reduce traditional consumer energy demand in the [[USA]]. While individual savings may be small, when the big picture is considered, Natalia believes that wide use of solar cookers can add up to substantial savings for utilities. The objective of this study is to develop a set of protocols to measure energy savings and dollar savings attributable to the use of solar cookers in U.S. residential households. The survey will be conducted with a fifteen-minute phone interview, or the group of twenty-five questions can be answered by email. Respondents will be contacted via email to set up an interview. If you are a resident of the USA and have been solar cooking for at least eighteen months, consider participating in this pioneering effort by emailing [mailto:natalia.a.blackburn@gmail.com natalia.a.blackburn@gmail.com]. Natalia hopes to complete data collection by the end of March, 2013. [[USA Solar Survey|More information...]]
 
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{{Section|February 2015}}
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[[File:ISES logo.png|right|220px]]
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*{{Event}}'''International Solar Energy Society webinar on Solar Food Processing for Income Generation''' - On March 11, the [[International Solar Energy Society]] (ISES) will be hosting a webinar on how [[solar food processing]] can be used for [[income generation]]. "Expert speakers will show examples of how solar food processing can be a profitable business venture. The panelist speakers will present case studies where individuals and companies use solar cooking techniques to earn their living and have made a successful and professional business." Presenters include:
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** [[Rolf Behringer]] of [[Solare Zukunft]]
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** [[Heike Hoedt]] of [[Solare Brücke]]
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** [[Michael Götz|Dr. Michael Götz]] of [[Cocina Solar México]]
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** [[Wolfgang Scheffler|Dr. Wolfgang Scheffler]] of [[Simply Solar]]
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::The webinar will be held from 3:00pm - 4:30pm GMT (7:00am - 8:30am PST/10:00am - 11:30pm EST). [http://www.ises.org/index.php?id=269 More info and registration...]
   
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*'''Apply for the SEED Award''' - The SEED Awards recognize "the most promising, innovative and locally-led start-up social and environmental enterprises in countries with developing and emerging economies. The independent SEED International Jury of experts selects enterprises which have the potential to make real improvements in poverty eradication and environmental sustainability while contributing to a greener economy." Apply by March 31, 2015. [http://www.seed.uno/awards/about.html Read more...]
*'''The March 2013 issue of Solar Cooker Review is now available online'''
 
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*'''SCInet welcomes new members this month:'''
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**[[Pat Browne]], a solar cooking promoter in {{state|California}}, [[USA]]
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**[[ATP GreenTech Pvt Ltd]], a leading supplier of solar cookers and sustainable living promoter in {{state|Delhi}}, [[India]] along with their CEO [[Charanjit Khurana]]
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**The [[SELCO Foundation]], a sustainable lifestyle foundation in [[India]]
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**[[Atul Sagade]] a solar cooking promoter in {{state|Maharashtra}}, [[India]]
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**[[Garden of God Naturestead]], promoting solar cooking in Lagos, [[Nigeria]]
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**[[Sun Frost]], makers of the [[Sun Frost Cooker-Sterilizer]]
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**[[Friends of Solar Cooking Arizona, USA]], organized by [[Berta Nelson]]
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{{Section|January 2015}}
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*'''Missed the SCInet Solar Cooking Convention 2014?''' - [[SCInet Solar Cooking Convention 2014#On-demand video presentations|Watch all of the presentation videos on demand...]]''' '''
   
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*'''Celebrity chef José Andrés wants to cook cleaner this year''' - Writing in National Geographic, [[José Andrés]] discusses his New Year's Resolutions which include the goal to "cook cleaner"! [http://theplate.nationalgeographic.com/2015/01/28/jose-andres-my-new-years-resolutions/ Read article...]
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<td style="font-size:100%">&nbsp;Read the [http://solarcooking.org/newsletters/scr_pdfs/scr_mar13.pdf March 2013 issue]<br />...or see [[Solar_Cooker_Review__#Back_issues|back issues]].</td></tr></table>
 
   
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[[File:Solar_Cooking_in_the_Sahel_map,_1-19-15.png|thumb|Solar Cooking in the Sahel - ''NOWCAST''|300px]]
==February 2013==
 
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*'''Available sunshine in the Sahel region of Africa documented''' - Authors, Beth Newton, Sophie Cowie, [[Derk Rijks]], Jamie Banks, Helen Brindley, and John h. Marsham have published a well-documented analysis of the potential sunshine available for solar cooking in the Sahel region, particularly in northern [[Chad]] where a number of Sudanese [[refugee camps]] are located. [[TchadSolaire]] has been training both refugees and the indigenous population to solar cook in the region since 2005. Even along river population centers where clouds tend to form, solar cooking is possible for over 330 days a year. Read more: [[Media:Solar_Cooking_in_the_Sahel,_NowCast,_1-19-15.pdf|Solar Cooking in the Sahel]] - ''NOWCAST''
   
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*[[File:Keshav Srushti 1.png|thumb|right|350px|Thousands of students gather in Mumbai, India for a record-breaking solar cooking event.]]'''15,000 students in Mumbai solar cook and set world-record''' - In an event organized by [[Keshav Srushti]], 15,000 students from 80 schools in Mumbai, [[India]] set a new world record for the largest-ever solar cooking gathering. Each student was given a solar cooker and taught how to assemble and use it as part of a national campaign to spread awareness of the importance of solar technology. C Vidyasagar Rao, governor of {{State|Maharashtra}} and Ashish Shelar, minister of state, Power, Coal & New Renewable Energy, attended the record-setting gathering. Read more at: [http://www.iamin.in/en/mumbai-north-west/news/over-15000-students-create-new-world-record-solar-cooking-50453 Over 15,000 students create a new world-record in solar cooking]
*'''SCI seeks an experienced solar cook to help with Hurricane Sandy relief''' - [[Solar Cookers International]] is looking for a teacher in New York or New Jersey, [[USA]], whose students and families were affected by Hurricane Sandy to lead a solar cooking workshop. SCI will provide basic resources and materials for a classroom of students to learn how to solar cook to help their families’ recovery efforts this spring and summer. For more information, please contact Julie Greene, Executive Director, at [mailto:julie@solarcookers.org julie@solarcookers.org] or (916) 455-4499.
 
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[[File:R20-bakery-March-2014.jpg|175px|thumb|[http://regions20.org/about/news/121-invitation-to-tender-for-solar-ovens-under-the-framework-of-our-solar-bakery-project-in-burundi Regions 20] inagurates the new [[solar bakery]] project in Burundi.]]
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*'''The solar bakery project in Burundi is up and running!''' - Each solar oven for the new [[bakery]] in Gitega, [[Burundi]], is capable of baking hundreds of loaves of bread each day. The ovens will allow the users to save over 150 tons of [[firewood]] each year, which results in the reduction of around 277 tons of [[Greenhouse effect|greenhouse gas emissions]] annually. The project creates a new economic opportunity for the local bakers, now in a smoke-free setting. Read more at: [http://regions20.org/about/news/154-r20-and-local-partner-cirid-host-inauguration-ceremony-of-solar-bakery-project-in-gitega-burundi R20 and local partner, CIRID, host inauguration ceremony of solar bakery project in Gitega, Burundi]
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|-|Other News=<span style="display:one">'''Other news'''</span>
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{{Section|May 2015}}
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[[File:Davao_City_Jail_solar_hot_water,_5-27-15.png|thumb|300px|Inmates at the Davao City Jail use solar preheated water for cooking. ''photo credit: Karlos Manlupig'']]
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*'''Solar heated water saves firewood in the Philippines''' - Inmates at the Davao City Jail in the [[Philippines]], have begun to use solar preheated water for cooking. Not directly solar cooking, but none the less, a type of [[integrated cooking]] that is saving [[fuelwood|firewood]]. By preheating the water, cooking time is reduced 20 - 30 minutes. The system was provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross. A guard said the facility used to have a truckload of firewood delivered three times a week. Now, it needs only a single delivery every two weeks. [http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/693157/davao-jail-goes-solar-for-cooking Read more...]
   
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[[File:Soroptimist_international2.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Sai, one of the recipients of a solar cooker as part of "See Solar, Cook Solar", proudly poses with her pot of cooked cassava, a root crop native to Fiji.]]
[[File:GACC_Forum_2013_photo.jpg|right|200px]]
 
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* '''New solar cooking for Fiji''' - [[Soroptimist International]] completed the first solar cooking installation in Fiji as part of their "See Solar, Cook Solar" program. The goal of the program is to provide a cleaner and more environmentally friendly cooking solution for women in rural and island locations. [http://www.soroptimistinternational.org/blog/post/820-see-solar-cook-solar----fiji Read more...]
*{{Event}}'''March 18-22, 2013: (Phnom Penh, Cambodia)''' The [[Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves]] is sponsoring the '''Clean Cooking Forum 2013''', to be held in [[Cambodia]]. As with the five Biennial Partnership for Clean Indoor Air Forums, this will be an excellent opportunity for the household energy community to come together and share what is working around the world, what is causing it to work, and what we can do more of, better, or differently. This will an important event for solar cooking promoters to attend, share information, and show unity in a common mission. [[Julie Greene]], the Executive Director of [[Solar Cookers International]], will be attending and acting as representative for the Solar Cookers World Network. She has offered to any Network member wishing to address a particular concern, but unable to attend, to please [mailto:julie@solarcookers.org contact her] to pass along a discussion topic. [http://www.cleancooking2013.org Registration information...] See other [[Calendar of events|events]].
 
   
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*'''Solar cooking in [[Pakistan]]''' - [http://tribune.com.pk/story/889097/innovate-this-fry-a-sunny-side-up-with-the-power-of-the-sun/ Fry a sunny-side up with the power of the sun] - ''The Express Tribune''
[[File:Solar_Food_Processing_Network_group_photo,_2-14-14.jpg|thumb|300px|Attendees at the 2013 Solar Food Processing Network conference.]]
 
*'''The Solar Food Processing Network meets to discuss international standards''' - The [[Solar Food Processing Network]] (SFPN) held a regional workshop in January 2013 at the Muni Seva Ashram in Goraj, Vadodara, Gujarat, [[India]]. This gathering was a follow-up to the 2009 AFPN conference held in Indore, India in 2010. Workshop participants heard from food marketing and technology experts. Conference organizers, [[Deepak Gadhia]] and [[Rolf Behringer]] held discussions on local and international marketing, village industries, packaging, policy interventions, R&D, and effective monitoring and evaluation of projects. Attendees discussed the formation of an international solar food standard and shared their own practical experiences using solar technology for food processing. Visit the [http://www.solarfood.org Solar Food Processing Network] to see a muscial video of the event and videos of solar food processing projects in [[Burkina Faso]].
 
   
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[[File:Solrmatic1.png|200px|thumb|right|The Solrmatic with the company's [http://makerfaire.com/ 2015 MakerFaire] Editor's Choice award.]]
[[File:Sustainable_Rural_life_Hot_Pot,_2-13-13.jpg|thumb|295px|Workshop participants receive their [[HotPot]] solar cooker from Sustainable Rural Life in [[Mexico]].]]
 
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*[[Solrmatic]] was awarded with Editor's Choice at the [http://makerfaire.com/ 2015 MakerFaire].
*'''The durable HotPot solar panel cooker has worked well in Mexico''' [http://fmcn.org/sustainable-rural-life/?lang=en Sustainable Rural Life] is the new face of the HotPot Initiative that was launched by the [[Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature]] in 2003. Delivering [[HotPot]] solar cookers and training communities how to use them has served as an effective introduction to clean cooking, and has provided an alternative to burning [[fuelwood]] in indigenous communities around the country. Approximately 20,000 HotPots have been distributed throughout sixteen states in [[Mexico]]. Last year, 464 were purchased by MFCN and delivered by local partners, and 445 [[fuel-efficient woodstove]]s of various types were also delivered between March and September. At SRL they believe that using the HotPot, together with fuel-efficient cookstoves, is the best option to improve cooking habits in Mexico. Read more at [[Media:Mexico_Sustainable_rural_life,_2-13-13.pdf|Sustainable Rural Life: Update 2012]].
 
   
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[[File:Ben_3_Firewood_Stove_-_Seifert_2015.jpg|thumb|250px|The [[Ben 3 Firewood Stove]]]]
[[File:Momentum for Change Women for Results Trailer|right|300 px]]
 
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*'''Six liters of water brought to a boil with only 350 g of wood''' - [[Dieter Seifert]] writes: Today I have made tests with the [[Ben 2 and 3 Ben Firewood Stoves]]. It is almost unbelievable, but the efficiency is always higher than 40% and if one does not heat up too fast (i.e., the power under 1.5 kW is), the result is almost no smoke and approximately 350 g thin wooden sticks can bring 6 liters of water to a boil in 25 minutes. Of course cooking is much more convenient with a large parabolic solar cooker (We have used the [[AlSol 1.4]] for many years.). The Ben ovens are so easy to prepare (2 sheets provided with holes and bending, drilling a ring and three legs and turn, turn 4 bars hairpin-shaped and assemble everything) that the cost in [[firewood]] crisis regions would be well below $10 USD. The combination of [[heat-retention cooking]] and {{Cat|Fuel-efficient wood stoves}} with the solar cooker is ideal. The solar cooker can do much more than just cooking. It is a peace-creating technology that is so urgently needed.
*'''United Nations partners with the Rockefeller Foundation to showcase women’s role in solving climate change''' - In September 2012, the UN announced that the Rockefeller Foundation had awarded a grant to the [[United Nations Climate Change Secretariat]] to launch, Momentum for Change: Women for Results, an initiative to inform governments, the media and the public about “the role of women in solving climate change”. According to the announcement: “The use of efficient energy systems at the household level (e.g. solar cooking stoves and ovens) can reduce emissions and harness the potential of women as actors in the overall solution to climate change.” The mention of solar cookers in the Rockefeller Initiative may help to raise the profile of and attract additional funding for existing and future solar cooking projects. Applications will be accepted beginning March 8, 2013, International Women’s Day. [[United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change|Read more about the program and how to qualify...]]
 
   
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{{Section|April 2015}}
==January 2013==
 
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*[http://www.timesofoman.com/News/50827/Article-Omani-students-build-solar-cooker-that-feeds-100-people Omani students build solar cooker that feeds 100 people] - ''Times of Oman''
   
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*'''Two solar cooker models now for sale in Niger''' - The social enterprise [[Sahara Sahel Foods]] (SSF) offers two models of solar cookers for sale: the [[Dierkx box cooker]] and the [[BlazingTube]]. SSF is based in Zinder, [[Niger]].
[[File:Worlds Largest Solar Cooking Class|thumb|right|300px|2,044 middle school students learn to prepare lunch with solar cooking.]]
 
*'''World's largest solar cooking class takes place in India''' - On January 19, 2013, middle school students gathered on the grounds of JES College in Jalna, [[India]] to be trained in the use of a simple [[solar panel cooker]]. After a quick breakfast, and guidance from 205 trainers, a record-breaking 2,044 students each assembled his or her own solar cooker and placed prepared ingredients inside to cook. After speaker presentations, the students were able to enjoy the lunch they had cooked themselves. This event, sponsored by [[Simplified Technology for Life]], demonstrates that India is quite serious about introducing solar cooking to young students.
 
   
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[[File:Leéiyen_teaches_the_use_of_solar_box_cookers_and_the_--SODIS--_approach_to_water_pastuerization,_11-15-14.png|thumb|300px|Leéiyen teaches the use of [[solar box cooker]]s and the [[SODIS]] method of [[water pasteurization]] in [[Cameroon]], November 2014.]]
[[File:Cooking Traditional African Cornmeal in a Solar Cooker (Filmed in Chad in 2009)-0|thumb|right|300px|Traditional African Cornmeal in a Solar Cooker, filmed at the [[Touloum refugee camp]] in [[Chad]].]]
 
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*'''A Development and Information Center, '''DevICe,''' has been established in Tatum, Kumbo, north of Bamenda in [[Cameroon]].''' After two weeks of training, the staff continues to test different types of solar ovens, provide information about [[water hygiene]], and help with simple [[water quality analysis]]. They will also look into solar cooking. The center is run by voluntary work with a small budget. However, they are able to use a professional pyranometer from Kipp & Zonen. The [http://www.ingenjorerutangranser.se/projekt/solrenat-vatten-wadis-water-disinfection-i-samverkan-med-le%C3%A9iyen-systems-i-kamerun project] is run in partnership with [[Engineers Without Borders - Sweden]], and sponsorship by Inpsecta, a technical consulting company in [[Sweden]].
*'''This simple solar cooker cooks well left unattended, providing time for other activities''' - The accompanying video was made in 2009 by [[Patricia McArdle|Pat McArdle]] and [[Karyn Ellis]] at the [[Touloum Refugee Camp]] in eastern [[Chad]], and features the [[CooKit]] solar cooker. It shows how the traditional cornmeal porridge is well-suited to the slow even baking provided by the [[solar panel cooker]]. The cooking food does not require the constant stirring of cooking over an open fire, allowing the women to spend time in the shade pursuing business opportunities, talking with friends, or completing other tasks.
 
[[File:Solar_Circle_program_in_Tanzania,_1-10-13.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Solar Circle]] public service exchange program in [[Tanzania]]]].
 
*'''Solar Circle uses barter system to distribute 3000 solar cookers in Tanzania''' - The NGO [[Solar Circle]] has learned many things from their solar cooking program in Masasi, southern [[Tanzania]]. People will use solar cookers if they are efficient and affordable, which is often a problem for subsistence farmers who are most in need of the cookers even when the cookers are heavily subsidized. However, they have also learned that people will work hard to earn a solar cooker. The group has created a bartering system with community leaders. The community chooses a service project and the beneficiaries organize and oversee the effort. Participants earn an solar oven for their involvement. So far, the program has distributed more than 3000 solar ovens, and built 40 houses for people who are sick, elderly, widowed, or disabled. Because the community chooses the project and beneficiary, there’s an eagerness to work together. Surrounding villages have heard of the cookers and the program, so spreading the word has been easy. They cannot keep up with demand. The barter program relies on external help with finances, but community service represents the same effort that of money earned in outside employment. Solar Circle values that effort, and raises what money it can from friends to expand the program. {{FeaturedProjects}}
 
[[File:Solar_Cooking_in_China,_SHE_report_photo,_1-9-13.jpg|thumb|275px|Residents in northwestern [[China]] using their [[parabolic solar cooker]]]]
 
   
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*'''AFRES moves forward with solar cooking initiative''' - According to [[Joseph Odey]], Chairman of the [[Association for the Reduction of Carbon Emission]], the initiative is being sponsored at present by the Global Environmental Facility Small Grant Programme, GEF-SGP under the support of UNDP to provide alternative energy source for use in place of [[firewood]] in New Bussa community of Niger State. Under the first phase of the project, 50 youths were trained in building solar cookers. Some members of the communities who took part in a demonstration on how the solar cooker works in Tungan Ibrahim, Salamatu Maigari and Salamatu Sale, said using the solar cooker was faster and better than using firewood. [http://allafrica.com/stories/201504081452.html Read more...] - ''allAfrica''
[[File:ADES_box_cooker_(with_PV)_6-29-11.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Electro Solar Cooker]] with built-in photovoltaic panels.]]
 
*'''Solar cooking promoter adds photovoltaic cells to a solar box cooker''' - The [[Electro Solar Cooker]] is being produced by the [[Association pour le Développement de l'Energie Solaire]] (ADES), a Swiss nonprofit that promotes solar cooking in [[Madagascar]]. ADES recognized another solar energy opportunity that would work well with their solar cooking promotion. As long as the solar cooker is used for a few hours each day for cooking, why not build in strips of photovoltaic cells to create some electricity? The power is stored in batteries attached under the cooker. Fully charged, the unit can power 12 volt lights or a radio for a few days and recharge cellphones. The multiple functions may compliment and encourage the use of this solar appliance.
 
   
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{{Section|March 2015}}
==December 2012==
 
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[[File:Tajikistan 1.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Sadarbek Tohirbekov with the solar cooker provided by Little Earth. Photo by Little Earth.]]
[[File:SHEP_workshop_2009.jpg|thumb|250px|Recent [[Solar Health and Education Project]] workshop.]]
 
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*'''Solar cookers for Tajikistan''' - [mailto:little.earth.tajikistan@gmail.com Little Earth], a Tajik environmental [[NGO]], provided a solar cooker to the village of Roshorv (located at an altitude of more than 3000m) in the Bartang Valley of Tajikistan’s Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast. Sadarbek Tohirbekov, a teacher of Russian language at the local school, took delivery of the [[Parabolic solar reflectors|parabolic cooker]] though the each resident of the village has access to it. Tohirbekov said, "to prepare a lunch or dinner [without a solar cooker], we use about half a kilo of bush kindling and then a couple of kilos of firewood and three kilos of dried manure or coal. For example, just to boil five to seven liters of water requires about three to five kilos of bush. A solar kitchen can greatly reduce the consumption of firewood and other fuels, even if you use it only once a day." [http://globalvoicesonline.org/2015/03/26/renewable-solar-tajikistan-pamirs/ Read more...]
*'''Solar cooking has created a business opportunity for a group of women in Zambia''' - The [[Solar Health and Education Project]] (SHEP) has initiated a project at a community-based nursery school in Livingstone, [[Zambia]] for unschooled mothers. Previously, their only source of income had been illegally making charcoal. During the course of the program, they learned how to make and use the [[CooKit]] solar cooker as an income generating activity. Thier next step was to create a registered group called [[Solar Ventures]] (SV). They have been holding SHEP-funded workshops at clinics, schools, agricultural shows (where they won 1st place for the most interesting booth in 2011), and government-sponsored functions on energy and conservation. The group was also invited to Lusaka to run a three-day workshop for a [[United Kingdom|UK]] based nonprofit organization. Without question, their lives are different now since their introduction to solar cooking.
 
   
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[[File:Solar_cooking_workshop_3,_C.V._Raman_College,_3-30-15.png|thumb|400px|"Solar Cooking for a Healthy & Better Life" at the Bhubaneswar Club in {{State|Odisha}}, [[India]] March 2015 - ''C.V. Raman College'']]
[[File:Indoor_Air_Polution_map-deaths.jpg|thumb|300px|Annual deaths from [[indoor air pollution]] by region]]
 
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*'''Solar cookers for Women's Day in India''' - To recognize Women's Day on March 8th, Sanjib Rout, Chairman of the [[C.V. Raman College of Engineering]] organized a workshop on "Solar Cooking for a Healthy & Better Life" at the Bhubaneswar Club in {{State|Odisha}}, [[India]]. Its purpose was to create awareness among housewives, hoteliers and commercial organizations to adopt solar cooking as an alternative method for cooking.
*'''New study estimates four million deaths globally from household cooking smoke occur each year''' - The recently released "Global Burden of Disease 2010", funded by the Gates Foundation and just published in [http://www.thelancet.com/themed/global-burden-of-disease The Lancet], comes to this conclusion, and is double the previous accepted estimate. The study isolated the effects of [[Indoor air pollution|cooking smoke]] only. There appears to be a shift from communicable children's diseases to non-communicable disease in adult populations as the major health threat affecting developing countries. The cooking problem is compounded by the fact that achieving a fifty percent reduction in cooking smoke does not correlate to a fifty percent reduction in respiratory disease. Substantial smoke reduction is required to see significant improvement. Read more about the [http://www.cleancookstoves.org/media-and-events/press/new-study-estimates-4-million-from-household-cooking-smoke-each-year.html cooking related air quality findings] from the [[Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves]] press release.
 
   
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*'''[[Solvatten]] reports that their water heating system is currently being used 180,000 people in over 60 countries.'''
[[File:KoZon_Mali_November_2012.jpg|right|200px]]
 
*'''A successful Integrated Cooking project cooking in Ségou, Mali''' - In 2009, [[KoZon]], a Dutch NGO promoting solar cooking in the Sahel, and [[AFIMA]], a Malian NGO promoting the development of rural women, began a joint project in Ségou, a region of [[Mali]] where solar cookers had not been introduced. In five villages (Dioro, Babougou, Koila Bamanan, Kominé, Soké), they trained four groups of 25 women (selected by the village chiefs) in the practice of [[Integrated Cooking]]. They received kits containing: two [[CooKit]]s, to cook meals when the sun shines; a [[fuel-efficient woodstove]], for use when there’s no sun; and a [[heat-retention cooker]] to allow even more food to be cooked in the first two. In addition to a short hands-on training workshop, the project ensured that all participants were visited several times after the course to solve problems, and provide extra tips, and encouragement. In the final evaluation, in May 2012, external experts established that more than 80% of the participants--in some villages nearly 100%--used these technologies daily. As intended, they are now saving some 1,800 tons of fuel wood per year. The evaluators also found that many women appreciate having more free time each day, since they do not have to tend a fire when solar cooking or using the heat-retention cooker. They use their time for other activities including running small businesses. Buying less firewood also saves them a lot of money. It’s no surprise that the evaluators spoke of integrated cooking as a great means of relieving poverty! {{FeaturedProjects}}
 
   
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::[[File:Solar Cooker|thumb|right|400px|The Staatliche Realschule students in Bad Tölz, [[Germany]] demonstrate the simple assembly of a [[parabolic solar cooker]].]]
[[File:SolSource_S1.jpg|thumb|200px|The [[SolSource S1]]]]
 
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*'''German group produces parabolic assembly video''' - The [http://www.respectfortheearth.com/who-we-are/ Comenius Multilateral Project 2012-2014] is a collective effort between seven secondary schools located across Europe, with the objective to show respect for the earth, and to change people's perception of how alternative energy can now be easily incorporated into our daily lives. The Staatliche Realschule in Bad Tölz, [[Germany]], has put together a video showing the assembly of a [[parabolic solar cooker]] using simple tools.
*'''One Earth Designs introduces their new parabolic solar cooker''' - Working with rural communities in western [[China]], [[One Earth Designs]] (OED), a Beijing/Hong Kong-based company, founded by Americans [[Catlin Powers]] and [[Scot Frank]], has developed the [[SolSource S1]], a portable parabolic solar cooker designed for use by nomadic communities. The S1 can boil a liter of water in ten minutes. Durable and weather resistant materials ensure a longer lifespan. It has a total weight of 18 kilos including a sturdy base design capable of withstanding the high winds typically encountered in the Himalayas. OED’s other solar cooker design, the [[SolSource S2]] will be the world's first temperature adjustable solar cooker with six discrete settings up to 1,000 degrees Celsius. It will provide users with the capacity to generate electricity, heat their homes, [[Water pasteurization|purify their water]] and cook with stored solar energy at night or on cloudy days.
 
   
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[[File:Hot_Pot_featured_at_the_GACC_launch_of_EE_handbook,_3-16-15.jpg|thumb|300px| The [[HotPot]] solar cooker featured at the [[GACC]] launch of their "Empowered Entrepreneur Handbook" event. - ''Julie Greene'']]
*'''Started twelve years ago, this Chilean solar restaurant has become a desired tourist destination''' - The [[Delicias del Sol]] restaurant, known for serving excellent food, has become a tourist destination for the village of Villaseca, [[Chile]]. Begun in 2000 with an initial seating capacity of sixteen, the solar restaurant now seats 120. The dry central valley area receives over 300 days of sunshine a year, and like similar areas, traditional fuel sources are becoming ever more scarce and expensive. The tourists enjoy viewing the solar kitchen at work. Find out about many other solar restaurants and bakeries [[Solar restaurants and bakeries|here]].[[File:Restaurant's Ovens Powered by the Sun|thumb|right|300px|The [[Delicias del Sol]] restaurant has become a tourist destination for the village of Villaseca, [[Chile]] in 2012.]]
 
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*'''HotPot featured at GACC event''' - [[Julie Greene]], Executive Director of [[Solar Cookers International]], while attending the [[Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves]] launch party for their new "Empowered Entrepreneur Handbook", noticed the [[HotPot]] solar cooker being featured in a prominent location. Another step forward for solar cooking.
   
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*[http://www.moneylife.in/article/will-mini-micro-solar-remain-a-toy-for-the-middle-class-and-rich-in-india/40795.html Will mini-micro solar remain a toy for the middle-class and rich in India?] - ''Moneylife''
*'''Alternative energy funding groups offer options for technology promoters''' - The International Renewable Energy Agency(IRENA) is welcoming online applications with project summaries for concessional loans worth USD 50 million from the Abu Dhabi Fund for Development (ADFD) to facilitate renewable energy projects in developing countries, in the first of seven funding cycles totalling USD 350 million. Renewable energy projects must be government-led or government-guaranteed. Online applications close on 12 January 2013, 17:00 (Abu Dhabi local time). [http://www.irena.org/adfd More information...] The [[Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves]] is also offering funding possibilities for new businesses. The Alliance’s Spark Fund (Fund) launches its first round of funding with this Request for Proposal (RFP) as part of the strategy to strengthen supply and enhance demand in the cookstove and fuels sector through innovation and tailored entrepreneurial capacity development. Unfortunately the final submission date is January 10, 2013. [http://www.cleancookstoves.org/funding-opportunities/spark-fund-i.html More information...]
 
   
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*'''Water Boiling Test Results''' [[Bernhard Müller]]'s Water Boiling Test was conducted in February 2015 in Nairobi, [[Kenya]] comparing several types of [[solar panel cooker]]s. One liter of water was used in each cooker. All the cookers showed they were capable of pasteurizing water and cooking food. [[Media:Water_Boiling_Test_(Muller),_3-5-15.pdf|Water Boiling Test results - ''Bernhard Müller'']]
*'''Jewish World Watch, originator of the Solar Cooker Project for Sudanese refugees, reviews their current programs at several of the refugee camps in Chad''' – As a result of a joint security force between [[Chad]] and [[Sudan]], violence against women has declined some since the project began seven years ago. [[Cord]], their partner at the [[Farchana Refugee Camp|Farchana refugee camp]], sees solar cooking as a way to keep girls in school, and not spending hours finding [[fuelwood]] for cooking. For others, the project has meant help for the environment and the air quality conditions for women previously using open fires. When the [[Jewish World Watch]] contingent first visited the camps many years ago, the refugees had just arrived and the encampment was meant to be temporary. The hope and expectation was that within a few months or a couple of years at most; they would return to their homes. But now, seven years later, it is clear that returning to Darfur is not a reality and the camps are turning into permanent settlements. As a result, the programs for the refugees must begin to move away from survival resources and begin to address ways of achieving self-sufficiency and permanence. In other words, helping to create a life, not an existence. Future larger scale solutions will be needed to address and benefit the surrounding communities, as well as the refugee camps, to help with the integration of the Sudanese residents. [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/diana-buckhantz/jewish-world-watch-solar-cooker-project_b_2259135.html Read more...]
 
   
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[[File:Friend_of_the_Old_bind_CooKit_edge.JPG|thumb|175px|[[Friends of the Old]] (FOTO) staff members bind the edges of new CooKits to make them more durable in Katito, Lower Nyakach, [[Kenya]]. - ''C. Cross'']]
*'''War weary citizens in Iraq to receive solar cookers''' - During a recent visit to villages in the Najaf-Karbala region of [[Iraq]], a trustee of the [[Lady Fatemah Trust]] (LFT) found that villagers were using two methods for cooking: The majority of families, living in abject poverty, use open [[fuelwood]] fires for cooking, heating and lighting, while a slightly more affluent minority uses appliances fueled by kerosene. In the first phase of this project, LFT intends to provide solar cookers to families living in the villages surrounding Karbala Barakat al-Zahra district, Al-Mahdiyeh Village One and Two, the al-Nedhal and al-Wala’ neighborhoods, as well as to families living on isolated desert farms. About 7000 [[solar panel cooker]]s will be needed to provide every family in the region with a cooker. The cookers to be used are an improved version of the [[Cookit]] solar cooker made from [[Plastic fluteboard|plastic fluteboard]] and manufactured by [[Matthew Rollins]]. Total project cost will amount to £105,000.00. [http://www.ladyfatemahtrust.org/appeals-by-country/iraq/453-eid-al-fitr-appeal-ease-the-burden-of-poverty-and-preserve-the-endangered-environment-of-iraq-provision-of-solar-cookers-to-7000-poor-rural-families More information...]
 
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*'''New CooKits being made more durable in Kenya''' - [[Friends of the Old]] (FOTO) staff members bind the edges of new CooKits to make them more durable in Katito, Lower Nyakach, [[Kenya]]
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[[File:Solar_Clutch_sheet_metal_cooker,_3-4-15.png|300px|thumb|[[Solar Clutch]] corrugated sheet metal [[solar panel cooker]] - ''Solar Clutch'']]
   
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*'''Innovative cooking and sheet metal solar cookers''' - [[Solar Clutch]], under the supervision of [[Steve Harrigan]], explored new ways to adapt local materials to create effective and inexpensive [[solar panel cookers]]. Local cooks in [[Mauritania]] have developed ways to mimic frying fish with their solar cookers. Several variations of [[CooKit]] style cookers were created from locally available and durable water resident cardboard and sheet metal. The material for each of these versions cost less than $5USD. Mauritania has also instituted a ban on local plastic bag production due to the trash waste created. The group then experimented with Sterlite brand food containers for the green house enclosure with great success. The box material is clear polypropylene, food grade and is the same material as the autoclave bag material. [http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/solarcooking/images/2/27/Mauritania_Solar_Clutch_Evaluation_2015.pdf/revision/latest?cb=20150226053406 Read more...]
==November 2012==
 
*'''Regional Solar Food Processing Network to be established in India''' - [[Rolf Behringer]] reports that the German NGO [[WISIONS]] has agreed to support the establishment in [[India]] of the first regional [[Solar Food Processing Network]]. A workshop to inaugurate this effort will take place in early 2013 ([[Events|date and location to be announced]]). The aim of the Solar Food Processing Network (SFPN) is to establish a global network of interested parties (NGOs, governments, farmers, and manufacturers) to develop and promote efficient methods of solar food processing and conservation. These are intended to help reduce poverty, improve local economic opportunities and health, and decrease environmental damage. In countries with high solar insolation, effective solar thermal production technologies will contribute to the sustainable development of small rural communities. SFPN is managed by the German NGO [[Solare Zukunft]] (Solar Future). It is financially supported by WISIONS, an initiative of the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy to foster practical sustainable energy projects.
 
[[File:Louise_Meyer_and_Regina_Benjaminto_2,_SHE,_11-21-12.jpg|thumb|250px|[[Louise Meyer]], of [[Solar Household Energy]], demonstrates solar cooking to the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Regina Benjaminto.]]
 
*'''Global advocate for solar cooking increases awareness''' - [[Solar Household Energy]] (SHE) has again had a busy summer and fall. [[Louise Meyer]] provided solar cooking demonstrations, including to the U.S. Surgeon General, Dr. Regina Benjaminto, and assisted the [http://nature.org Nature Conservancy] in [[Haiti]] to teach the [[Integrated Cooking Method]] as part of its larger reforestation program in the region. It is exciting and encouraging to see organizations such as SHE taking the promotion of solar cooking the next step, to increased global awareness. [http://www.she-inc.org/art.php?id=153 Read more about their efforts...]
 
   
  +
{{Section|February 2015}}
*'''The November 2012 issue of Solar Cooker Review is now available online'''
 
  +
*'''Through September 17, 2014: Nominations sought for Karl W. Böer Solar Energy Medal''' - The University of Delaware invites nominations for the medal, which also carries a cash award of $60,000. Applications are due September 17, 2014. The medal will be awarded to an individual who has made significant pioneering contributions in solar energy, wind energy, or other forms of renewable energy as an alternate source of energy through research, development, or economic enterprise. For more information, visit: http://www.energy.udel.edu/boer.html
   
  +
*'''Bolivia Inti-Sud Soleil''' - [[Media:Newsletter_février_2015.pdf|Newsletter, February 2015]]
<table><tr>
 
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File:Scr_nov12.jpg|none|border|175px
 
default [[Solar Cooker Review]]
 
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<td style="font-size:125%">&nbsp;Read the [http://solarcooking.org/newsletters/scr_pdfs/scr_nov12.pdf this issue]<br />...or see [[Solar_Cooker_Review#Back_issues|back issues]].</td></tr></table>
 
* '''TanzSolar wins the Green Africa Award for Business''' - In June of this year the annual [http://www.earthmauritius.org/#!__green-awards Green Africa Award] for Business was awarded to [[TanzSolar]] for championing environmental change in Africa. TanzSolar received the Award for bringing clean, renewable solar energy and electric lighting to villagers in Tanzania. TanzSolar received the Green Business & Environmental Management Award, one of ten categories. “We are thrilled and this is an enormous honor to receive such an award. It’s nice to be recognized for our hard work in solar energy in Africa,” said [[Marianne Walpert]], Founder and Director of TanzSolar.
 
   
  +
[[File:Faustine_Odaba,_in_Uganda,_2-11-15.png|thumb|100px|[[Faustine Odaba]] (Mama Solar) explains the use of a [[CooKit]] solar cooker.]]
*'''South Dakota foundation makes plans to have more solar cookers available in Haiti''' - [[Haiti Solar Oven Project]] board members and partners met the last weekend in October to set goals for 2013. In the next fiscal year, Haiti Solar Oven Partners will provide 2,280 units to families in [[Haiti]] participating in training and ownership of a solar oven.
 
  +
*'''"Mama Solar" continues her work''' - [[Faustine Odaba]], founder of [[NAREWAMA]], gives a presentation on cooking with the [[CooKit]] in Kyamulibwa, [[Uganda]] on February 11, 2015.
   
  +
:[[File:12TH FEB DD NEWS METRO SCAN MUMBAI.|thumb|none|500 px|News story four minutes into the video showing the thousands of students solar cooking at the Suryakumbha event]]
[[File:EmeraldPlanet - Paving the Way to 2050 (Future Earth 4) Technologies; Services; & Products|right|300px]]
 
*'''Former SCI board member Pat McArdle is interviewed on Emerald Planet''' - During the interview [[Pat McArdle]] discusses the history and mission of [[Solar Cookers International]], the importance of increasing access to solar cooking technology, Bob Metcalf's [[Portable Microbiology Laboratory]] for testing water in remote locations, the work of [[Jewish World Watch]] in [[Chad]], and more.
 
   
  +
*'''New SCInet members:''' SCInet welcomes new members [[Pat Browne]], a solar cooking promoter in {{state|California}} [[USA]], and [[ATP GreenTech Pvt Ltd]], a solar cooker manufacturer and sustainable living promoter in {{state|Delhi}}, [[India]] along with their CEO [[Charanjit Khurana]]. Also, the [[SELCO Foundation]], a sustainable lifestyle foundation in [[India]] and [[Atul Sagade]] a solar cooking promoter in {{state|Maharashtra}}, [[India]].
==October 2012==
 
   
  +
*'''India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is inviting comments on its Draft Solar Policy''' - Sunday, March 1, 2015 will be the deadline for comments. The ten-page document, available [http://mnre.gov.in/file-manager/UserFiles/modelsolarpolicy-2015.pdf here], outlines some of the government department’s thinking. “The Nodal Agency shall take necessary action to proliferate its application in feasible sectors including residential (solar water heaters, solar cookers, indoor air heating etc.), commercial & industrial sector (solar cooling, solar air dryers, large scale solar water heaters, large scale solar cooking utilizing solar concentrator technology, process heating etc.).” [http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/mnre-invites-solar-policy-comments_100018091/#axzz3RXpyxFQi Read more...]
[[File:Solar Cooked Snowbank Chicken Soup-0|right|300px]]
 
*'''Recent natural disasters show need for emergency cooking and water pasteurization''' - [[Bangladesh]] floods and landslides, June 2012; [[India]] floods July, 2012; [[Haiti]] floods and mudslides August, 2012; More India floods September, 2012; [[Vietnam]], [[Philippines]], Southern [[China]] typhoon, October 2012; Eastern [[United States]] hurricane October, 2012. All of these natural events disrupted people's lives, even changing them forever. In the recovery stages after natural disasters, people's basic needs don't change: they still need clean water, food, safety, and shelter. In the bleakest situations, solar thermal power can begin to meet two important needs: a solar oven can [[pasteurize water]] and cook food. If you are an experienced solar cook, please contact people in your circle of influence in these affected areas. Share your knowledge of solar cooker construction and use with people who need it most. This YouTube video shows solar cooking done in the snow after power was lost in northern Virginia in a February 2010 storm.
 
   
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[[File:UNCHR_supplied_Blazing_Tube_solar_cooker_in_Burkina_Faso,_2-9-15.png|thumb|300px|A refugee in [[Burkina Faso]] uses a [[Blazing Tube Solar Appliance|Blazing Tube]] solar cooker supplied by UNCHR. - ''UNCHR'']]
[[File:Jeff_Waalkes_Afghan_woman,_10-18-12.jpg|right|300px]]
 
  +
*'''Solar cooking in Burkina Faso''' - A refugee woman in [[Burkina Faso]] cooks rice with a [[Blazing Tube Solar Appliance|Blazing Tube]] solar cooker. The stove is assembled in the [[USA]] and costs around $100USD. Oliver Lompo, UNHCR Environment Officer in Burkina Faso explained the impact the stove has had. “Beforehand, refugee women had to walk several hours a day to collect firewood. Since we have a lot of sunshine, the stove allows them to cook without spending any more time on firewood collection. And, more importantly, it does not produce any smoke - people love it.” - ''UNCHR''
*'''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 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]].
 
   
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*[http://www.theguardian.com/sustainable-business/2014/dec/09/we-want-the-black-hole-of-sunlight-solar-power-breaks-new-frontiers 'We want the black hole of sunlight': solar power breaks new frontiers] - ''The Guardian''
*'''Global conservation organization adopts solar cooking resolution sponsored by Solar Household Energy''' - The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has embraced a strong resolution sponsored by [[Solar Household Energy]] calling for increased support for solar cooking efforts worldwide. The measure was adopted in September at IUCN’s quadrennial World Conservation Congress in Jeju, [[South Korea]]. The organization recognized the health hazards of cooking over biomass fires, and the availability of current solar cooking technologies. Efforts continue to develop solar cookers that offer increased efficiency, are cost-effective to produce and distribute, and are sturdy enough to withstand extended use. [http://www.she-inc.org/art.php?id=149 Read more...]
 
   
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{{Section|January 2015}}
[[File:Great_picture_of_oven_activity.jpeg|thumb|300px|Students set a world record baking cookies with solar ovens to raise funds for solar cooking efforts in [[Haiti]].]]
 
  +
*[[Julie Greene]], Executive Director of [[Solar Cookers International]], was the Keynote Speaker at the Networking Workshop for Entrepreneurship in Renewable Energy hosted by PRINCE in Dhule, [[India]].
[[File:Traveling_Solar_Oven_2,_11-12-12.jpg|thumb|160px|[http://powerfromthesun.us/signup/ Sign up for the Traveling Solar Oven.]]]
 
*'''Students set a world record and bring awareness to the benefits of solar cooking''' - Students, parents, faculty, staff and friends gathered at Miami Country Day School located in Miami, {{state|Florida}}, [[USA]] on Friday, April 20, 2012 and set the Guinness Book of World Records™ for “The Most Cookies Baked in One Hour Using Solar Ovens”. Trays of unbaked cookies were placed in 40 smaller solar ovens, as well as, two [[Villager]] solar ovens. After the cookies were baked and 1225 counted....a World Record was set! The event raised over $18,000 USD, which was used to send the 40 solar ovens and a Villager oven to [[Haiti]]. The cookies baked in the event were donated to Feeding South Florida. The event was lead by [[Matthew Cohen]], a high school junior who has been actively involved in the solar oven movement for the past nine years. Cohen launched the website [http://powerfromthesun.us/ Power from the Sun] to educate people worldwide on the benefits of solar cooking and help raise money to send solar ovens to needy families in Haiti. Cohen’s latest project is aptly named “The Life Of The Traveling Solar Oven” and encourages students, parents, teachers, and local businesses to sponsor a solar oven. Participants are asked to use the solar oven, document their experience with video or photos and share it on their facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/PowerFromTheSun. The event will conclude on Earth Day 2013.
 
{{clr}}
 
   
  +
*'''José Andrés resolves to cook cleaner''' - Writing in National Geographic, [[José Andrés]] discusses his New Year's Resolutions which include the goal to "cook cleaner"! [http://theplate.nationalgeographic.com/2015/01/28/jose-andres-my-new-years-resolutions/ Read article...]
==September 2012==
 
[[File:Solvatten.jpg|thumb|150px|[[Solvatten]] water pasteurization system]]
 
*'''Swedish and Lutheran organizations sponsor water pasteurization efforts in Kenya''' - The Swedish Church and the aid agency Lutheran World Federation (LWF) are launching [[Solvatten]] in [[Kakuma Refugee Camp]] in [[Kenya]]. The goal of the project is to reduce environmental degradation by enabling people to use alternative sources of energy in the camp and in the host community that surrounds it. 

Supply of fire wood has been a problem in Kakuma region since the camp was set up in 1992 but it has escalated in the past two years, despite that the refugees are not allowed to harvest firewood directly from the bushes. This is attributed to the continuous massive influx of people into the camp leading to the environmental degradation through the harvesting of sticks from the available vegetation for firewood. Firewood has become very expensive and the UNHCR struggles to purchase and supply fuel to the growing population of refugees in the camp. The Solvatten is a solar [[water pasteurization]] device.
 
   
  +
[[File:TintTech_large_basket_being_fitted_to_foundation,_1-28-15.jpg|thumb|300px|TinyTech Plants large basket [[parabolic solar cooker]] being erected on its foundation. - ''Veljibhai Desai'']]
==August 2012==
 
  +
*'''Tinytech Plants is developing large solar baskets''' - Up to 12 meters in diameter, they are designed to cook for 1500-2000 people in one hour according to [[TinyTech Plants]] CEO [[Veljibhai Desai]]. At this time, it is one of the largest [[parabolic solar cooker|parabolic solar concentrators]] being developed in [[India]]. Presently, the concentrator has been erected on its foundation.
[[File:Farchana_Refugee_Camp_August_2012.jpg|thumb|191px|Refugee volunteers build solar cookers as part of the [[CORD]] project at the [[Farchana Refugee Camp]].]]
 
*'''Solar cooker project in Chad is in full swing''' - In the [[Farchana Refugee Camp]], a team of ten volunteers, refugees themselves, are putting together 2350 cookers! The cookers help prevent conflict between the Sudanese population in the camps and the local Chadian community, who are both competing for scarce firewood. Women, who traditionally collect wood to cook with, face violence outside the camps. The solar cookers need only the sun to cook food, one thing Chad has in abundance! [http://www.cord.org.uk/the-latest/latest-news/cord-latest/12-in-news-from-chad/562-solar-cooker-assembly.html Read more...]
 
   
  +
*'''Uzbekistan explores the potential of renewables''' - [[Uzbekistan]], still rich with gas and oil, has begun to adopt solar power, now being viewed as an underutilized resource. Micro solar projects providing electricity for lighting, heating, pumping water and solar cooking are now beginning to percolate into the countryside. Read more: [http://www.silkroadreporters.com/2015/01/27/uzbekistan-looks-solar-power/ Uzbekistan Looks to Solar Power] - ''Silk Road Reporters''
[[File:GUST Project - Solar Serve - Danang (Vietnam)|right|350px]]
 
*'''New video shows Vietnam Solar Serve's extensive solar cooking projects''' - A team of three French students came to visit [[Vietnam Solar Serve]]'s center. They had organized Global Universities Social Trip (GUST), a project that aims to raise students' awareness of social entrepreneurship in Asia. For six months they met many social entrepreneurs throughout Asia who worked on problems such as energy, communication, waste, [[water]], and housing. They created videos that presented the entrepreneurs' projects, the social issues they wanted to solve, and the challenges they had to overcome. Click the image on the right to see a video that they made on their visit to our Solar Serve Center in Danang. For more information on the Gust Project, visit the: http://www.gustproject.com or visit their [http://www.vimeo.com/gustproject Vimeo Channel].
 
*'''Dissertation posted:''' [[Media:Identifying_the_Barriers_to_the_Deployment_of_Solar_Cookers_in_the_Energy-Poor_Households_of_Sub-Saharan_Africa.pdf|Identifying the barriers to the deployment of solar cookers in the energy-poor households of sub-Saharan Africa]] - ''Sarah Cochetel''
 
*'''New video from [[Cord]] showing their solar cooking project in refugee camps in Chad'''
 
::[[File:Cooking up peace|450px|none]]
 
   
  +
*'''Assessing the lasting impacts of HotPot projects''' - [[Solar Household Energy]] is revitalizing relationships with previous partner the [[Mexican Fund for the Conservation of Nature]] (Fondo Mexicano para la Conservación de la Naturaleza, or FMCN) to assess long-term project outcomes. FMCN has distributed over 25,000 HotPots in [[Mexico]]. Quantifying the lasting impacts of these projects will prove [[HotPot]] long-term adoption and durability, demonstrating that the HotPot is a viable clean cooking solution. Read more: [http://campaigns.serverhost.net/index.php?action=message&l=773&c=19938&m=18692&s=181badfd23dafdc19b1e089aa04d1cb7 Assessing lasting impacts of HotPot projects in Mexico] - ''[[SHE]]''
==July 2012==
 
*'''Dr. Robert Metcalf discusses solar cooking on the Afternoon Edition (Saskatchewan, Canada)''' - [http://www.cbc.ca/video/player.html?clipid=2254960402&position=308475&site=cbc.news.ca listen to the recording]. [[Bob Metcalf|Dr. Metcalf]] is a founding member of [[Solar Cookers International]].
 
   
  +
*'''More HotPot solar cookers for the Gaga refugee camp in Chad''' - The [[Lutheran World Foundation]], now in charge of environmental activities in [[Gaga refugee camp]], wishes to partner with [[Solar Household Energy]] to expand the [[HotPot]] project with 2,500 more HotPots--enough to cover 80% of households. Based on the success of the earlier HotPot project in Gaga refugee camp, SHE is also exploring options to introduce solar cookers in [[Burkina Faso]] refugee camps.
==June 2012==
 
*'''Solar cooking heads to The Discovery Center''' - [[Central Valley Solar Cookers]], founded by [[Carl Peters]], is one of the most successful solar cooking clubs in the [[USA]]. Located in Fresno, {{State|California}}, the group now has 111 members. They recently had their First Annual Solar Cooking Festival, which was a huge success. They now have enough money to buy materials to build a solar cooker for use at [http://www.thediscoverycenter.net/4901/35918.html The Discovery Center], a free non-profit science education facility. The park is fully self-funded and situated on six acres. Carl thinks a [[solar panel cooker|panel]] type cooker would be the safest type. It would be a nice addition to ultimately see solar cookers in our parks instead of only charcoal and wood burning BBQs.
 
   
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*'''Solar Household Energy plans''' - [http://campaigns.serverhost.net/index.php?action=message&l=773&c=19938&m=18692&s=181badfd23dafdc19b1e089aa04d1cb7 Read 2014 SHE project summaries, with plans for 2015.] - ''[[SHE]]''
*'''New video:''' The need for a more durable solar cooker for desert refugee camps
 
::[[File:A more Durable Solar Cooker for Desert Refugee Camps.m4v|none|400px|]]
 
   
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*'''Experienced solar cooking promoter uses her skills in her hometown''' - [[Irene Perbal]] has explained how she used her experience promoting solar cooking in [[Sudan]] and [[Brazil]] to help out back in her home state of {{State|California}}, [[USA]]. She has been encouraging the use of solar cooking at local food banks. She began doing talks and seminars to train locals on how to build and use the cookers, including the underserved frequenting the food banks. Often her presentation includes sharing a lunch of solar cooked lasagne. [http://www.huffingtonpost.com/in-the-gold-country/thinking-globally-and-acting-locally_b_6535010.html Thinking Globally and Acting Locally] - ''Huffington Post''
* '''Solar Cookers World Network Facebook group reaches 600 members''' - [http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=16213904406 Join the discussion].
 
   
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[[File:Ashikaga1.jpg|thumb|right|300px|Attendees at the Japan Solar Cooker Preliminary Convention.]]
*'''Solar Cooking Hits the Mainstream''' - ''StarTides'' ([http://star-tides.net/node/2761 Read more...])
 
  +
*'''The first solar cooking convention in Japan''' - The Japan Solar Cooker Preliminary Convention was held on November 22nd and 23rd, 2014 at the [[Ashikaga Institute of Technology]]. The convention was led by [[Yuichi Nakajo|Professor Yuichi Nakajo]] with the goal of creating a network for manufacturers, distributors, traders, researchers, and others with a strong interest in solar cooking to collaborate. The event was attended by roughly 100 invited participants. Professor Nakajo is planning to hold a larger convention next year which will will be open to anyone interested in solar cooking.
   
  +
*'''Effort is being made to continue using solar power in Kyrgyzstan ''' - [[Kyrgyzstan]]’s BIOM ecological movement has provided the Bishkek Center for Rehabilitation of Homeless Children with alternative energy equipment as the state-run social facilities remain underfinanced in the country. In 2010, BIOM provided the Center with solar water heaters, solar ovens, and lighting equipment. According to Natalia Bogatova, coordinator of SPARE (School Project for Application of Resources and Energy), BIOM concluded a contract for installation and maintenance of the above equipment for three years, but its specialists continue providing technical maintenance of the solar equipment after the contract expired. [http://www.timesca.com/news/14904-solar-energy-for-kyrgyzstan-s-social-facilities Solar energy for Kyrgyzstan’s social facilities] - ''The Times Of Central Asia''
==May 2012==
 
*'''Pat McArdle describes the top ten solar cooking projects''' - [[Media:Ten most significant solar cooking projects-McArdle-2012.pdf|Read the document]].
 
   
  +
* [[Media:GACC_post-summit-report_.pdf|GACC has released their November 2104 Post-Summit Report]]
[[File:16-brick_rocket_stove_Mexico_2012.jpg|thumb|Sixteen-brick [[Rocket Stove]]]]
 
*'''Students flood southern Mexico integrated cooking class - '''Volunteers from the [[Rotary Club of Fresno]], California, led by [[Wilfred and Marie Pimentel]], teamed up with the Rotary Club of Tapachula Centenario, [[Mexico]], to host a five-day [[Integrated Cooking Method|integrated cooking]] workshop in Tapachula. This is the tenth grant project completed in Mexico by the Rotary Club of Fresno. Although only twenty students were expected to attend, ninety-one arrived on opening day to participate—a clear indication of the desperate need for affordable fuel-saving cooking devices in this region. Local instructors and expert solar cooks from Torreon and Oaxaca led the workshop. Participants learned to build three types of [[rocket stoves]]: mud and chopped grass, five gallon tin can, and sixteen brick, which were used to make tortillas. Students cut out cardboard sheets and glued them to pieces of aluminum foil to make solar panel [[CooKit]]s. A variety of meat, vegetable and egg dishes were prepared with the CooKits along with desserts like pineapple upside down cake. Students also learned how to use [[WAPI]]’s to [[pasteurize water]] with a CooKit. Finally, the instructors showed their ninety-one students how easy it is to make a [[retained heat cooker]] with a pillowcases and crumpled newspaper stuffed into a woven basket. [[Media:Tapachula Centenario - Fresno Rotary 2012.pdf|Read more...]]
 
   
  +
* [[Media:GACC_2014_meeting_summary,_Pat_McArdle,_1-21-15.pdf|Patricia McArdle responds to the GACC Post-Summit Report from the November 2014 conference.]]
*'''Deutsche Welle covers the work of [[ADES]] in [[Madagascar]]'''
 
:[[File:Solar Cookers - Saving Madagascar's Forests Global 3000|thumb|400px|none|thumb|Deutsche Welle covers the work of [[ADES]] in [[Madagascar]]]]
 
   
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[[File:Lightoven_III_training_with_Boy_Scouts_in_Pakistan.png|thumb|300px|The Boy Scout training, designed by [[Lightoven III]] is explained at a training event for Pakistani Boy Scouts. - suitable to take camping. - ''Hartmut Ehmler'']]
==April 2012==
 
  +
*'''Pakistani Boy Scouts are introduced to solar cooking''' - [[Hartmut Ehmler]] photographed this Boy Scout training event of his [[Lightoven III]] [[solar panel cooker]]. It is a lightweight portable design, suitable to take into the field for camping.
* '''Solar Cookers World Network Facebook group reaches 500 members''' - [http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=16213904406 Join the discussion].
 
   
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[[File:Solar_Cooking_in_the_Sahel_map,_1-19-15.png|thumb|Solar Cooking in the Sahel - ll-document|300px]]
[[File:Making Solar Cookers and more in Vietnam (Danang) .wmv|260px|right]]
 
  +
*'''Available sunshine in the Sahel region of Africa documented''' - Authors, Beth Newton, Sophie Cowie, Derk Rijks, Jamie Banks, Helen Brindley, and John h. Marsham have published a well-documented analysis of the potential sunshine available for solar cooking in the Sahel region, particularly in northern [[Chad]]. This is where a number of Sudanese [[refugee camps]] are located. [[TchadSolaire]] has been training both refugees and the indigenous population to solar cook in the region since 2005. Even along river population centers where clouds tend to form, solar cooking is possible for over 330 days a year. Read more: [[Media:Solar_Cooking_in_the_Sahel,_NowCast,_1-19-15.pdf|Solar Cooking in the Sahel]] - ''NOWCAST''
*'''Alternative energy organization in Vietnam enthusiastically promotes solar cooking''' - [[Vietnam Solar Serve]] has provided a recent video tour of their production facility in Da Nang, [[Vietnam]]. The resourceful group has been adapting solar cooker designs from other countries and developing their own solar energy products since 2000. Looking at the larger alternative energy picture, they also promote photovoltaic panels made in Vietnam and are working on designs for water and wind power turbines. They manufacture a variety of [[parabolic solar cooker|parabolic]] and [[Solar box cookers|box]] solar cookers.
 
   
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[[File:Sun_and_Ice_school_cookers_in_Mali,_1-19-15.png|thumb|300px|Mid-day meal being prepared at a Mali school - ''[[Sun and Ice]]'']]
==March 2012==
 
  +
*'''Only the cooking food is out in the sun at this Mali school''' - [[Stephan Zech]], with [[Sun and Ice]], posted this photo of a mid-day meal being prepared at a school in [[Mali]].
[[File:Golden_Temple,_Punjab,_India_3-19-12.jpg|250px|thumb|Golden Temple, Punjab, [[India]]]]
 
  +
*'''Solar cooking set to help preserve the Golden Temple in Punjab, India''' - To save the Golden Temple from the ill effects of pollution, the [http://www.peda.gov.in/eng/index.html Punjab Energy Development Agency] (PEDA) is developing a plan to prepare a daily meal of Langar dal with the help of a [[Scheffler Community Kitchen|solar steam cooking system]]. PEDA is the governmental agency promoting renewable energy within {{state|Punjab}}, [[India]]. To prepare Langar dal for 50,000 to 60,000 devotees daily at the Golden Temple requires one ton (909 kg) of dal to be cooked. A recent study has shown cooking dal with the help of steam will save at least 25 LPG cylinders per day and also reduce the effects of air pollution on the Golden Temple. PEDA chairman Manjeet Singh said that PEDA would bear the entire project cost. {{FeaturedProjects}}
 
  +
[[File:Mumbai1.jpg|thumb|right|300px|A student shows the dish he prepared in his solar cooker.]]
 
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*'''15,000 students in Mumbai solar cook and set world-record''' - 15,000 students from 80 schools in Mumbai, [[India]] set a new world-record for the largest ever solar cooking gathering. Each student was given a solar cooker and taught how to use it as part of a national campaign to spread awareness of the importance of solar technology. C Vidyasagar Rao, governor of Maharashtra and Ashish Shelar, minister of state, Power, Coal & New Renewable Energy, attended the record-setting gathering. Read more at: [http://www.iamin.in/en/mumbai-north-west/news/over-15000-students-create-new-world-record-solar-cooking-50453 Over 15,000 students create a new world-record in solar cooking]
[[Image:Solar_Oven_Partners_March_2008_2.jpg|thumb|200px|Five {{state|South Dakota}} State University football players volunteered to help [[Haiti Solar Oven Partners]] load a container with 1000 unassembled solar box cookers destined for Haiti.]]
 
  +
*'''South Dakota, USA nonprofit has delivered thousands of solar cookers to Haiti''' - [[Haiti Solar Oven Partners]] passed a milestone this spring by delivering another 1000 solar cookers as part of the relief effort resulting from the 2010 earthquake. This brings the total number of cookers they have taken to [[Haiti]] to over 5000. They had begun having solar cooking workshops in the country before the earthquake and have since stepped up their efforts. Currently, they are conducting an evaluation of their Haiti projects. {{FeaturedProjects}}
 
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*[http://gulfnews.com/news/world/india/children-to-learn-about-clean-solar-cookers-on-festival-day-1.1441341 Children to learn about clean solar cookers on festival day] - ''gulfnews.com''
*'''Global conservation gathering is approached with the solar cooking option''' - The [http://www.iucnworldconservationcongress.org IUCN World Conservation Congress] is the world’s largest conservation event. Held every four years, the Congress aims to improve how we manage our natural environment for human, social and economic development. It will take place from September 6-15, 2012 in Jeju, [[South Korea|Republic of Korea]]. Leaders from government, the public sector, non-governmental organizations, business, UN agencies and social organizations will discuss, debate and decide solutions for the world’s most pressing environment and development issues. The upcoming Congress has been approached by [[Solar Household Energy]] to present the case for solar cooking. Read more of their [http://portals.iucn.org/2012forum/?q=0494 proposal].
 
  +
*'''Solar Cooker Review''' - The March 2012 issue is now [http://solarcooking.org/newsletters/scr_pdfs/scr_feb12.pdf available online].
 
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*[http://www.moneylife.in/article/healthy-food-via-solar-cooker/40135.html Healthy food via solar cooker] - ''Moneylife''
*'''Spanish cooperative finds common ground promoting solar cooking''' - [[Sol Solidari]] was formed in 2008 by environmental and sanitation practitioners in [[Spain]] wanting to combine their expertise to help primarily rural countries in Africa. Most of their activity has centered on the promotion of solar cooking. Whenever is possible, the cookers are locally manufactured, and workshops on their use are carried out with the help of local leaders. Initially the cookers are distributed for free to create better exposure among the villagers. In the second phase, the solar cookers are sold, but mostly subsidized by Sol Solidari. Until now, the projects have taken place in [[Ethiopia]] and [[Mali]], but future plans include [[Cameroon]] and [[South Africa]].
 
  +
*'''Annual Maha SuryaKumba reaches for a lofty goal''' - The Bhayander based NGO, [[Keshav Srushti]], is committed to spreading awareness of solar cooking. Under the banner of [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CaKOTz7hDGU Maha SuryaKumba], they will be gathering students from 500 schools across Mumbai in Bhayander,[[India]], and then will be taking the festival to remote tribal villages. Hoping this year reach the magic number of 100,000 solar-powered prepared meals! Keshav Srushti has been accredited by the Guinness Book of World Records for having conducted the largest solar oven cooking class in January 2014 with 3,639 participants from 62 schools. The new goal of reaching so many students from remote areas will require financial support beyond the means of Keshav Srushti. Please contact [[Keshav Srushti]] If you can help, it will be appreciated. The NGO has announced there will now be an annual Maha SuryaKumba held on January 15th. [http://www.dnaindia.com/mumbai/report-mumbai-ngo-to-hold-maha-suryakumbh-with-25000-students-2009258 More information...]
[[File:Sol Solidari panaramic workshop, 2-25-12.jpg|650px|thumb|center|[[Sol Solidari]] solar cooking workshop]]
 
   
  +
*''' The solar bakery project in Burundi is up and running!''' - R20's East Africa Program Manager, Jini Sebakunzi, was at the inauguration ceremony for the new bakery in Gitega, [[Burundi]] this past November. The solar oven being used is the [[Villager Sun Oven]], manufactured by US-based company [[Sun Ovens International]]. Each oven is capable of baking hundreds of loaves of bread each day. Environmentally speaking, the oven allows the users to save over 150 tons of firewood each year, which results in the reduction of around 277 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually. In addition, by replacing the firewood with solar energy, the ovens will protect the bakers from inhaling harmful smoke. The twelve women trained to operate the new solar oven are motivated to see the the new enterprise become integrated with the community, and also to be able benefit economically for their efforts. Read more: [http://regions20.org/about/news/154-r20-and-local-partner-cirid-host-inauguration-ceremony-of-solar-bakery-project-in-gitega-burundi R20 and local partner, CIRID, host inauguration ceremony of solar bakery project in Gitega, Burundi]
==February 2012==
 
  +
::[[File:Boulangerie Solaire JTA 11.12.14|thumb|none|400 px|R20's East Africa Program Manager, Jini Sebakunzi, was at the inauguration ceremony for the new bakery enterprise in November, 2014. - ''Journal Télévisé Afrique (BURUNDI)'']]
[[File:Sun2Cook_3,_1-25-12.jpg|thumb|225px|The [[Sun2Cook]] solar panel cooker]]
 
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|-|New Content=<span style="display:one">'''New content'''</span>
*'''The Sun2Cook is a simple solar panel cooker''' - The [[Sun2Cook]], was designed by [[Heinz-Joachim Muller|Heinz-Joachim (Jo) Muller]]. The [[solar panel cooker]] takes shape from a single rectangular sheet of polypropylene sheet (core flute). With a few cuts and simple folds it is ready to cook. The steep back of the cooker makes it a good choice to take advantage of morning and late-day sunshine.
 
   
  +
{{Section|July 2015}}
*[[Patricia McArdle]] attended a workshop dealing with the construction and proper alignment techniques for [[Scheffler Community Kitchen]]s in Dhule, India: [[Media:Solar Cooking Workshop Dhule 2012 .pdf|Read her report]].
 
  +
*'''Added video:''' [http://www.sacbee.com/food-drink/article29224534.html SCI is featured on local Sacramento, California TV news] demonstrating how solar cookers allow a household to cook during the current heat wave without heating up the kitchen.
  +
*'''Added [[States of India]]''' to better identify locations, and provide state designation in [[Calendar of events]] postings.
  +
*'''Added article in the media:''' [http://www.iamin.in/en/mumbai-north-west/news/over-15000-students-create-new-world-record-solar-cooking-50453 15,000 students in Mumbai solar cook and set world-record]
   
  +
*'''Added article in the media:''' [http://regions20.org/about/news/154-r20-and-local-partner-cirid-host-inauguration-ceremony-of-solar-bakery-project-in-gitega-burundi The solar bakery project in Burundi is up and running]
[[File:GAM_6991.jpg|thumb|225px|The [[All Season Solar Cooker]] captures the first morning sun.]]
 
*'''The versatile All Seasons Solar Cooker cooks year-round '''- The [[All Season Solar Cooker]] is featured this month as a [[Solar panel cookers|solar panel cooker]] whose key feature is its adjustable, coordinated reflector array. The advantage of the ASSC is that it can efficiently capture the earliest morning sun, to begin cooking far earlier, and later, in the day than most other designs. The cooking pot maintains a level position regardless of cooker orientation. It also folds into a flat package that is easy to transport and ship. Visit the cooker article for plans that can be downloaded for free from designer [[Jim La Joie]]. SCI tests showed that bread could be baked easily in Seattle (47° N latitude) on February 3rd.
 
==January 2012==
 
[[File:K14_totalb.jpg|thumb|200px|[[AlSol 1.4]] parabolic solar cooker donated by [[ACCESO]].]]
 
*'''Spanish solar cooking promoter offers to donate cookers to other groups''' - [[ACCESO]] director, [[René Bijloo]], has made the generous offer to donate up to thirty [[AlSol 1.4]] [[parabolic solar cooker]]s to any non-profit humanitarian project providing solar energy options for rural areas around the world. Contact [[René Bijloo]] with detailed information about your program.
 
   
  +
*'''Added newsletter:''' [[Media:SMUD_Energy_News,_Summer_2015.pdf,_7-29-15.pdf|SMUD Energy Education News, Summer 2015]]
*'''Private equity firm invests over $11 million USD in Gadhia Solar''' - Private equity firm Zephyr Peacock has reportedly invested $11,000,000 USD in Mumbai-based [[Gadhia Solar]] in [[India]].. The solar energy company provides energy solutions by using parabolic concentrated technology and has implemented some of the world’s largest solar thermal systems during the past two decades. [http://www.vccircle.com/500/news/zephyr-peacock-invests-up-to-rs-50cr-in-gadhia-solar Read more...]
 
  +
*'''Added article in media:''' [http://theplate.nationalgeographic.com/2014/12/15/life-is-beautiful/ Solar Power Can Provide Hot Meals for the Masses] - ''National Geographic''
  +
*'''Added article in the media:''' [http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/article29231068.html Solar cookers sizzle in Sacramento heat] - ''The Sacramento Bee''
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*'''Added article in media:''' [http://www.lamorindaweekly.com/archive/issue0911/Lafayette-Man-Wins-2015-National-Energy-Globe-Award.html Lafayette Man Wins 2015 National Energy Globe Award] - ''Lamorinda Weekly''
  +
*'''Added article:''' [[Nichols Tracking Solar Cooker]].
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*'''Added video:''' [[:File:National Geographic Channel India 's Megakitchens 28 June 2015 21min 57sec 11 30am-1|National Geographic Channel India 's Megakitchen at Shirdi]]
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*'''Added video:''' [http://www.timesheraldonline.com/general-news/20150723/solar-academy-under-way-at-cal-maritime Solar academy under way at Cal Maritime] - ''Times-Herald NEWS''
  +
*{{Event}} Saturday, August 1, 2015: (Chico, California) [http://www.csuchico.edu/gateway/explore/Educational%20Activities.shtml A hands-on solar cooking workshop]
  +
*'''Added article in the media:''' [http://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2015/07/25/comment/solar-cookers/ Solar Cookers] - ''Pakistan Today''
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*{{Event}} Saturday, August 1, 2015: (Ringwood, Illinois) [http://www.nwherald.com/2015/06/30/mccd-offering-solar-cooking-class-in-ringwood-cary-playtime-insect-programs/as6k53f/ Solar cooking workshop]
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*{{Event}}July 24, 2015: (Coimbra, Portugal) [[Past_events#Portugal|See past events]]
  +
*'''Added video:''' [[:File:Scheffler mirror demonstrations.wmv|Wolfgang Scheffler explains the workings of two of his automatic tracking parabolic cooking systems, and the design of his solar food dryer.]]
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*'''Added video:''' [[:File:Mit der Sonne brutzeln Energiewende am eigenen Herd Unser Land BR|Sonnenstrahlen erzeugen Energie. Dass dieses Prinzip auch beim Kochen einfach und effektiv funktioniert, dürfte dagegen eher unbekannt sein. Möglich macht's der sogenannte Solarkocher.]]
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*'''Added article in the media:''' [http://www.motherearthnews.com/renewable-energy/solar-power/solar-cooking-zm0z15aszdel.aspx Everyday Solar Cooking] - ''Mother Earth News''
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*{{Event}} Sunday, August 9, 2015: (Mexicali) [https://www.facebook.com/events/407197859479723/ Refugio de Amor will be presenting a solar cooking workshop on building a solar cooker from recycled items]
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*'''Added article:''' [http://www.revelstokereview.com/lifestyles/311825611.html Laura Stovel is going off the grid this summer] - ''Revelstoke Review''
  +
*'''Information added:''' A dark colored covered bread pan size has been found from a Hong Kong vendor. [http://www.banggood.com/Rectangle-Nonstick-Toast-Box-Kitchen-Pastry-Bread-Baking-Pan-Bakeware-p-928305.html Banggood] and [http://www.ebay.com/itm/Rectangle-Nonstick-Box-Loaf-Tin-Kitchen-Pastry-Bread-Cake-Baking-Pan-Bakeware-XD-/141693457579?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20fd9694ab Ebay].
  +
*'''Updated article:''' [[Dieter Seifert]] has provided new, detailed instructions for building the [[Ben 2 and 3]] fuel-efficient woodstove
  +
*'''Added report:''' [[Media:Review_of_Thermal_Storage.pdf|Review on thermal energy storage with phase change materials and applications, October 2007]] - ''Science Direct''
  +
*'''Added video:''' [[:File:Solar cooking and handicraft 2002 Zanzibar|Early solar cooking video taken in Zanzibar off the coast of Tanzania]]
   
*'''Jewish World Watch provides substantial grant for the Farchana Refugee Camp''' - [[Jewish World Watch]] has provided a grant of $200,000 USD to the UK NGO [[Cord]] to provide [[CooKit]]s to refugees at the [[Farchana Refugee Camp]] in [[Chad]]. This new project brings the number of [[refugee camps]] where solar cooking projects are underway to ten. [http://goo.gl/p5g14 Read more...] {{FeaturedProjects}}
 
   
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{{Section|June 2015}}
[[File:Copenhagen_Solar_Cooker_Light,_Teong_Tan_variation.jpg|thumb|225px|[[Teong Tan]] variation of the [[Copenhagen Solar Cooker Light]]]]
 
  +
*'''{{Event}}July 17-18, 2015: (Faro)''' [[Celestino Ruivo]] at the School of Engineering, University of Algarve, Campus da Penha, Faro, [[Portugal]] will hold an open meeting of the Solar Kitchen from 9:30 a.m. - to the closing at 1 p.m. each day. He will comment on there weaknesses and strengths of various types of solar cookers and their possible applications in restaurants and canteens. The idea is to bring together many enthusiasts of solar cooking, and provide a moment of conviviality after the meeting of solar cooking with a shared lunch. [mailto:cruivo@ualg.pt Contact Prof. Ruivo] for more information.
*'''Featured solar panel cooker receives attention, and a suggestion''' - The [[Copenhagen Solar Cooker Light]] was featured here this past November, and [[Teong Tan]], an active participant in the Network, has suggested an alternate plate base design, which will shorten the assembly time and not require any bolts. His design for the base uses two sandwiched pieces of cardboard sewn together, creating sleeves for the reflector corners to slip into. [http://images4.wikia.nocookie.net/__cb20120103160123/solarcooking/images/7/78/Copenhagen_Solar_Cooker_Light_-_Alternate_Base.pdf Alternate Base Plate for the Copenhagen Solar Cooker Light]
 
  +
*'''New page:''' [[GoSun Grill]]
  +
*{{Event}}'''July 27-30, 2015: (Kampala)''' The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the [[Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves]] would like to invite you to participate in a Safe Access to Fuel & Energy (SAFE) Humanitarian Workshop on July 27-30, to be held at the Metropole Hotel in Kampala, [[Uganda]]. The objective of this workshop is to provide technical training for humanitarian staff on energy technology selection, fuel selection and processing, forestry management, monitoring and evaluation of energy programs, and more. [http://www.safefuelandenergy.org/news-events/event.cfm?e=16 More information] if you wish to participate. Hopefully the schedule will include solar cooking options.
   
  +
*{{Event}}'''Saturday, July 11, 2015: (Barstow, CA)''' The Desert Discovery Center located at 831 Barstow Road will host a solar cooker workshop from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Cost is $8 per person. [http://www.desertdispatch.com/article/20150622/NEWS/150629983 More information...]
*'''Indian Government budgets six hundred million dollars for solar cooking!''' - [[Ajay Chandak]] of [[Prince India]] reports that in the Indian government's latest five year plan, 30 billion INR (approx. $600 million USD) is budgeted for solar cooking in 500,000 schools across [[India]]. This will not only help in saving the environment, but it will expose millions of school children to solar cooking and build the confidence that these systems work. For more information on solar cooking in India, {{See|India}}.
 
   
  +
*[http://time.com/3914213/silicon-valley-tech-food/ How Silicon Valley Is Addressing the World’s Food Crisis] - ''TIME''
==December 2011==
 
[[File:IMG_2656.jpg|thumb|256px|[[SolarCooker Eco3]] solar cookers are distributed in [[Senegal]]]]
 
*'''Solar Cooking NV and Sol Suffit ship 630 solar cookers to Senegal''' - The project is a joint venture between [[Solar Cooking NV]] in the [[Netherlands]], and [[Sol Suffit]], a long time promoter of solar cooking in [[Senegal]]. The [[SolarCooker Eco3]] cookers will be introduced in Dakar and in eight villages next to Djoudj National Park. Local volunteers participated in workshops, and will be training others in the surrounding villages. Trainees were also made familiar with the method of [[Heat-retention cooking|heat retention cooking]]. They found it quite easy to make good quality hay baskets with inexpensive baskets(locally made) and empty rice bags filled with dry hay.
 
[[File:Sun-Funnel_photo,_12-11.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Sun-Funnel]] panel cooker]]
 
*'''A simple panel cooker makes advances in design''' - The [[Sun-Funnel]] cooker, designed by [[Teong Tan]], is similar to the [[Fun-Panel]] cooker, but with a different panel fold. The intent is to have a panel cooker that will be strong enough to support a cooking pot when the cooker is tipped back for better orientation to the sun. It also uses a stick placed through the cooker base to allow the pot to remain level while cooking.
 
   
  +
*{{Event}}'''Tuesday, June 23, 2015:''' The [[International Solar Energy Society]] is holding a free webinar on solar thermal technology with a focus on new business models and commercial-scale projects. Speakers will include Tobias Schwind, Managing Director of the Fresnel collector manufacturer Industrial Solar, David Hoedeman, Director of Solar Sales of Nextility, Nicholas Wagner, Analyst at the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and Christian Holter, Managing Director of the Austrian solar thermal turnkey system supplier SOLID. [http://www.ises.org/index.php?id=283 More information...]
==November 2011==
 
[[File:Copenhagen_Solar_Cooker_variations_11-11.jpg_.jpg|thumb|250px|Variations in ways to configure the [[Copenhagen Solar Cooker Light]].]]
 
[[File:Copenhagen_Solar_Cooker_Light_018.jpg|thumb|250px|The [[Copenhagen Solar Cooker Light]] prior to final assembly.]]
 
*'''Small, compact, and inexpensive solar panel cooker''' - The [[Copenhagen Solar Cooker Light]] is featured as an example of a nicely conceived [[solar panel cooker]]. It is flexible in it's design, as well as in the number of ways it can be configured. The components include a flat base plate, which flexible reflective panels are bolted to. Then using simple clamps, the cooker can be configured with a low open front and high back, or with more vertical sides for cooking when the sun is directly overhead. The designer, [[Sharon Clausson]], states that the curved shape of the cooker is more stable than typical panel cookers in windy conditions.
 
*'''Patent landscape report on solar cooking''' - The World Intellectual Property Organization commissioned an extensive report on the state of solar cooking, prepared by Scope e-Knowledge Center Private Limited based in [[India]]. The report validates the viability of solar cooking, a technology well-suited for a growing portion of the world's population. It also provides a number of examples of various designs that have applied for patents. [http://www.wipo.int/export/sites/www/patentscope/en/programs/patent_landscapes/reports/documents/final_solar_cooking_scope_website_version.pdf Read the report].
 
   
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*'''June 2015:''' [http://www.northjersey.com/news/education/bloomfield-fifth-graders-create-solar-ovens-1.1357965 Bloomfield fifth-graders create solar ovens] - ''NorthJersey.com''
*'''Celebrity chef [[José Andrés]] makes an impassioned plea for improved cookstoves and solar cookers to benefit the world's poor.'''
 
   
  +
* [http://news.mongabay.com/2015/0616-ryking-interview-symington.html How solar thermal curbs pollution and improves health, interview with Lorin Symington] - ''Mongabay.com''
:[[Video:TEDxWashingtonCircle - José Andrés - FOOD & COMMUNICATION Recipes for Development|none|400px]]
 
  +
*Created [[Nicaragua news archive]] and [[Nigeria news archive]]
   
  +
*{{Event}}'''July 13-17, 2015: (San Bernardino)''' Elementary school students who take part in a math and science summer camp in July at California State University San Bernardino will get a chance to build a solar oven and a wind engine as they learn about green energy, mechanical engineering and other fields. [http://www.pe.com/articles/camp-770152-summer-learn.html More information...]
==October 2011==
 
   
  +
*'''October 2011:'''
[[File:Ted_logo.gif|right|250px]]
 
  +
::[[File:Bunker Roy Learning from a barefoot movement|thumb|none|335px|In Rajasthan, India, an extraordinary school teaches rural women and men -- many of them illiterate -- to become solar engineers, artisans, dentists and doctors in their own villages. It's called the Barefoot College, and its founder, Bunker Roy, explains how it works.]]
*'''TED Talks on solar cooking''' - [[Louise Meyer]] was joined by [[José Andrés]] and Marcela Valladolid for a TEDx WashingtonCircle presentation titled '''Food & Communication: Recipes for Development'''. Louise Meyer is a founding director of [[Solar Household Energy]], and a tireless and inspirational advocate of solar cooking technology. She has taught solar cooking in the [[refugee camps]] of East Africa and in villages from [[Zimbabwe]] to [[Mexico]]. José Andrés is an award-winning chef and restauranteur, who has made a substantial commitment of his time and resources to provide access to solar cooking in [[Haiti]]. The event was open to the public, and took place at the International Food Policy Research institute. You can watch the [http://tedxwashingtoncircle.com/tedxwashingtoncircle/2011-speaker-videos/ on-demand broadcast here].
 
   
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*'''May 2015:''' [[Media:Goodman, Joel H--Thru-Wall Kitchen Trailer with Unglazed Nonimaging Reflectors Studies abstract May 30-2015.pdf |Through wall kitchen trailer with unglazed non-imaging reflectors]] - ''[[Joel Goodman]]''
[[Image:Bolivia-Inti_blue_box_cookers_cropped.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Bolivia Inti-Sud Soleil]] solar cooker construction workshop]]
 
  +
*'''May 2015:''' [[Media:Goodman,_Joel_H--Thru-Wall_Kitchen_Trailer_with_Unglazed_Nonimaging_Reflectors_Studies_abstract_May_30-2015.pdf|Through the wall with unglazed non-imaging reflectors]] - ''[[Joel Goodman]]''
*''' Bolivia Inti-Sud Soleil reports a decade of success''' - [[Bolivia Inti-Sud Soleil]] reports they have distributed more than 20,000 ecological appliances since 2000. From these 20,000, 14,000 have been solar cookers, mainly distributed in the South American countries of [[Peru]], [[Bolivia]], [[Chile]], and [[Argentina]]. Additionally, 5,000 [[Rocket Stove]]s were distributed in the African countries of [[Benin]], [[Chad]], and [[Guinea]], as well as to the South American countries. Besides solar cookers and stoves, they have also provided [[Heat-retention cooking|fireless cookers]], [[Solar food drying|solar food dryers]] and solar showers. On November 5, 2011, the organization is sponsoring a national conference addressing deforestation in Africa to be held in their hometown of Nantes, [[France]]. [http://www.boliviainti-sudsoleil.org Registration and program information.] {{FeaturedProjects}}
 
  +
*'''May 2015: '''[[Media:HOUSE_Thru-wall_unglazed_solar_cooker_studies_May_20-2015.pdf|House Thru-wall unglazed solar cooker]] - ''[[Joel Goodman]]''
   
  +
*{{Event}}'''Saturday, June 13, 20, 27, 2015: (Boynton Beach, Florida)''' A monthlong series of seminars will show how to make a solar cooker, how to build a solar fan, how to make a solar battery charger and how to purify water using solar energy. Attendees will use recycled materials, such as old batteries, glass and plywood, to create solar cookers, fans, battery chargers and water purifiers. The seminars, held at HackLab, at 3491 High Ridge Road, will continue each Saturday through June 27. Hosting them are HackLab and Living Art Meta Programs, another nonprofit focused on sustainability. [http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/palm-beach/boynton-beach/fl-boynton-beach-hurricane-workshops-20150605-story.html More information...]
* '''Solar Cookers World Network Facebook group reaches 400 members''' - [http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=16213904406 Join the discussion].
 
   
  +
*'''June 2015:'''
[[File:Solvatten.jpg|thumb|149px|[[Solvatten]] water pasteurization system]]
 
  +
::[[File:Four solaire en Inde|thumb|none|335 px|Vidéo en Français langue expliquant le fonctionnement du système de cuisson solaire au temple principal de Shirdi, Inde, sert des milliers de personnes chaque jour un repas chaud.]]
*'''Water pasteurization system changes community health in Kenyan village''' - [[Solvatten]] is a compact, portable solar [[water pasteurization]] appliance about the size of a small suitcase. A recent follow-up study of new users in the Bungoma district in western [[Kenya]] showed a marked improvement in family health and student attendance. Before Solvatten use, 67% of the children in the families had irregular attendance at school as a result of being sick, often with waterborne diseases. After purchasing Solvatten the overall attendance of children at school has increased by an average of 87 percent, as stated by the parents. Before using the system the typical family had someone ill three to four times per month, and that has changed to only .03 times per month. Since waterborne diseases have all but disappeared, people are saving money on medicines and medical services.
 
  +
{{Section|May 2015}}
  +
*{{Event}}'''Saturday, June 6, 2015: (Bisbee, Arizona)''' The Bisbee Farmers’ Market will host the 13th annual Solar Cook-off and Expo at the market from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Vista Park Plaza in Warren, next to the Historic Warren Ballpark. Bring your own oven and participate or purchase one at the market and enjoy the many benefits of going solar. There will also be a workshop on building and using a solar dehydrator, along with plenty of recipes and all types of sustainable info. [http://svherald.com/content/community/2015/06/02/396546 More information...]
   
  +
*Added recent information on [[TinyTech Plants]]' [http://solarcooking.wikia.com/wiki/TinyTech_Plants#Large_Parabolic_Solar_Baskets Large Parabolic Solar Baskets].
*The [http://solarcooking.org/newsletters/scr_pdfs/scr_oct11.pdf October 2011 issue] of [[Solar Cooker Review]] is now available online. You can also [http://www.solarcookers.org/green subscribe] to receive this newsletter electronically.
 
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*{{Event}}'''Tuesday, June 9, 2015: (Washington D.C.)''' Join [[José Andrés]] for an all proceeds benefit for the [[World Central Kitchen]] at his Barmini restaurant at 5 p.m. You will Dine N Drink with José and an intimate party at this signature cocktail bar. Following the reception, ambassador ticket holders will have access to all VIP areas, food, drinks, and the after-party at Carnegie Library. [http://us4.campaign-archive1.com/?u=06ac91679649ec3adc1c73cc3&id=eea81dfed9&e=3cc83cec88 More information and tickets]
   
  +
*{{Event}}'''Friday, June 5, 2015:''' is '''World Environment Day'''. The UNEP theme is "Seven Billion Dreams, One Planet.Consume with Care." Kitchen waste is still at alarming levels. More needs to be done to promote composting unused food items.
*[[Media:The Case for Solar Thermal Cooking.pdf|The Case for Solar Thermal Cooking: Free Fuel—Zero Emissions]] - ''[[Patricia McArdle]]''
 
   
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*{{Event}}'''Monday, June 15, 2015: (Manila)''' The Asian Development Bank, ENERGIA, and the [[Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves]] invite you to a deep dive session on Unlocking Energy Access Impact, Investment, Scale and Sustainability through Gender-Sensitive Approaches. It will take place at Asian Development Bank Headquarters, 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City from 2 p.m.- 6p.m. Addressing gender issues is central to achieving energy access goals; gender-informed approaches are imperative for scaling adoption of energy services and technologies. [http://cleancookstoves.org/events/161.html More information and registration...]
==September 2011==
 
* '''Solar water pasteurization research study results now available online''' - [http://www.solvatten.se/documents/SROI.pdf Social Return on Investment (SROI), the value added for families before and after using SOLVATTEN in the Bungoma district in western Kenya]
 
   
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*{{Event}}'''Dimanche 07 juin, 2015: (Rouen)''' Un déjeuner solaire en Normandie! Dans le cadre d’Alternatiba, participez au déjeuner solaire qui aura lieu sur le Quai Rive Droite. Vous pourrez aussi assister aux démonstrations de cuisson solaire et écologique. Consultez le programme! Prix libre. Renseignements et inscription au déjeuner (obligatoire): [mailto:repas.solaire@gmail.com repas.solaire@gmail.com]
==August 2011==
 
*'''The Spendid Table radio show interviews SCI Board Member Patricia McArdle''' - [http://tinyurl.com/3qsmj8j Listen to Patricia discussing solar cooking in Afghanistan].
 
   
  +
*{{Event}}'''Mercredi 10 juin, 2015: (Angers):''' Les goûters du DD : les solaires ! Retrouvez nous à la Maison de l’Environnement de 14h à 17h, et participez à un atelier de cuisson écologique avec marmite norvégienne, cuiseur à bois économe et four solaire, pour confectionner un goûter pris ensuite en commun. Vos papilles apprécieront.
[[File:Wilson_solar_grill,_8-11.jpg|thumb|300px|Wilson solar grill uses latent [[heat storage]] to cook after sunset.]]
 
*'''New solar grill uses latent heat storage''' - Students at MIT are working on a case study for a new type of solar powered outdoor grill. Based on the technology from MIT professor [[David Wilson]], this grill will collect thermal energy from the sun and store it to allow cooking times for up to twenty-five hours at temperatures above 230°C (450°F). Wilson’s technology uses a [[Fresnel solar reflector]] to harness the sun’s energy to melt down a container of [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lithium_nitrate lithium nitrate]. The lithium nitrate serves as a solar battery. Due to its phase change reaction, the thermal energy is able to be stored for longer periods of time and at higher temperatures, by means of latent [[heat storage]]. Heat is then redistributed through convection, which allows for outdoor cooking. [http://barbequelovers.com/grills/a-solar-grill-prototype-for-a-greener-tomorrow A Solar Grill Prototype for a Greener Tomorrow] - ''BarbequeLovers.com''
 
   
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*{{Event}}'''Dimanche 21 juin, 2015: (Rouen)''' Pour ceux qui l’aurait raté, nouveau déjeuner solaire à Rouen! Renseignements [[Bolivia Inti-Sud Soleil]]: [mailto:relais76@boliviainti.org relais76@boliviainti.org]
==July 2011==
 
*'''Solar ovens, renewable energy offer hope for Afghanistan (Reuters)''' - At first, she noticed Afghan children hauling brush. Then, in Afghan family compounds, she noticed women tending small fires and trying to cook over them. But it wasn't until U.S. diplomat [and [[Solar Cookers International]] Board Member] [[Patricia McArdle]] realized how often it was sunny in Afghanistan that she put it together with a youthful memory of cooking with solar ovens and realized this was a low-tech option offering long-term hope to the war-torn nation, which is preparing for a draw-down of U.S. troops. At first, she noticed Afghan children hauling brush. Then, in Afghan family compounds, she noticed women tending small fires and trying to cook over them. But it wasn't until U.S. diplomat Patricia McArdle realized how often it was sunny in Afghanistan that she put it together with a youthful memory of cooking with solar ovens and realized this was a low-tech option offering long-term hope to the war-torn nation, which is preparing for a draw-down of U.S. troops. [http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/07/19/books-afghanistan-energy-idUSL3E7IC0T820110719 Read more...]
 
   
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*{{Event}}'''Saturday, June 20, 2015: (Faro)''' [[Celestino Ruivo]] at the School of Engineering, University of Algarve, Campus da Penha will hold an open meeting of the Solar Kitchen from 9:30a.m. - to the closing at 1 p.m. He will comment on there weaknesses and strengths of various types of solar cookers and their possible applications in restaurants and canteens. The idea is to bring together many enthusiasts of solar cooking, and provide a moment of conviviality after the meeting of solar cooking with a shared lunch. [[Media:ECOSOL_20_Junho_2015.pdf|More information and registration...]]
*'''July 2011 - June 2012: International opportunity for testing solar cooker designs''' - Originally announced as a one-time event Oct. 11-13, 2011 with a related conference, the solar cooker competition has been cancelled, and instead there will be a year-long opportunity for having solar cookers and fuel stoves tested free. India’s [[Promoters and Researchers in Non-Conventional Energy]] (PRINCE) group has updated standards for solar cookers, developed in conjunction with input from [[Members|SCWNet members]]. These universal testing standards will be used to evaluate the cookers by simulating real world conditions. Designers, manufacturers, NGOs and individuals are invited to submit solar cookers for [[testing]], and need not be present for the tests. While there will be no cash prizes, solar cookers will be rated on thermal performance, cost of manufacture and transport, and user convenience. Send cookers anytime between now and June 2012 to: Prof. [[Ajay Chandak]], PRINCE, Shamgiri, Opp Swagat Lodge, Agra Road, Deopur, Dhuli – 424005, Maharashtra, India. Include your usual instructions for consumers. If you wish your cooker returned, please arrange to cover return shipping costs. After testing, entrants will be contacted with results, and have the option of omitting their information in the publicly listed ratings. No reply from entrants within two weeks or so after receiving their results will be taken as consent to publish. Other questions? Email: [mailto:renewable.india@gmail.com renewable.india@gmail.com].
 
[[File:Dar_al_Noor_Mosque_demonstration_7-11.jpg|thumb|300px|Sampling solar cooked lentils, rice, potatoes, eggs, mixed vegetables, dahl, popcorn, tea, and for dessert, chocolate, yellow, lemon and spice cakes at the Dar al Noor Mosque, July 2011.]]
 
*'''July 2011: Solar cooking expo at northern Virginia mosque''' - Solar cooking in Islamic countries is on the rise, but its wide-spread acceptance as a significant way to reduce the damage caused by smoky cooking fires will need greater support from the international development community. [[Solar Cookers International]] (SCI) board member [[Patricia McArdle]] and [[Afzal Syed]] of the Dar al Noor Mosque congregation contributed to this goal by hosting a well-attended solar cooking demonstration at Syed's mosque in Manassas, Virginia on Saturday July 9. [[Solar Household Energy]] (SHE) co-founder [[Louise Meyer]] and two SHE volunteers from Washington DC also participated in this event. A popular DC radio show interview with McArdle about her novel [[Farishta]] two days before the event, drew large crowds from around the northern Virginia/DC metro region.
 
   
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*{{Event}}'''Sunday, July 19, 2015: (Sacramento)''' Registration is open to attend [[Solar Cookers International|SCI’s]] Regional Convention (North America) event – focusing on Regional trends for the solar cooking sector. Be sure to register early. SCI Network Associates and other partners worldwide are invited. Unsolicited requests for travel funding will not be accepted. [http://www.solarcookers.org/events/north-america/#sthash.Va22Jl6R.dpuf More information...]
[[Video:TAHA CHAMCHIHA Solar Cooking in the Sahel|thumb|300px|TAHA CHAMCHIHA Solar Cooking in the Sahel]]
 
*'''Solar Cooking in the Sahel''' - A Goedhart Film production, TAHA CHAMCHIHA Solar Cooking in the Sahel, documents daily life for the Sudanese refugees living in camps in bordering [[Chad]]. [[Tchad Solaire]] has trained over 12,000 women in the use of simple [[solar panel cooker]]s. These [[CooKits]] have provided the women additional free time normally spent searching for scarce [[firewood]]. Within each camp there is a workshop center where cookers are made for distribution to the other residents. Though the cookers are somewhat fragile, the women have appreciated being involved with the process of making the simple CooKits. The film also shows how the companion ''Guffah'' [[heat-retention cooker]] baskets are being assembled to use with the panel cookers to keep the food piping hot for dinner, served in the early evening.
 
   
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*Also: SCI is still seeking conference abstracts and proposed sessions that highlight innovation, and scalable project and production models. Submissions should be consistent with the SCI’s focus on global promotion of solar cooking and sustainable development. '''Deadline: Friday, June 5th, 2015'''. Submissions should be no longer than 150 words. The abstracts and proposed sessions should be related to an organization’s current or recent work in the solar thermal cooking sector with a focus on lessons learned. Joint submissions from multiple organizations proposing sessions are allowed and welcomed. Preference will be given to submissions from SCI partner organizations. [http://www.solarcookers.org/contact/ Contact SCI]
[[File:Global_Resource_Alliance_outside-_Kenya_-_October_2008.jpg|thumb|250px|A [[Global Resource Alliance]] workshop in [[Tanzania]]]]
 
* '''Global Resource Alliance receives generous grant from the Ferguson Foundation''' - The [[Global Resource Alliance]] will use this grant to offer 50 solar cooking workshops in the Mara Region of [[Tanzania]] and over 1,000 subsidized solar [[CooKit]]s. This, in addition to a grant from [http://www.weforest.org/ WeForest] and Deliotte Belgium to plant 130,000 trees over the next two years, will help restore this heavily deforested area and prevent many health problems and deaths related to [[smoke inhalation]].
 
   
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*{{Event}}'''May 2015:''' [http://www.tulsaworld.com/communities/glenpool/glenpool-students-celebrate-end-of-school-with-solar-cook-off/article_9f45dda5-a52d-521a-8731-d60407423b8f.html Glenpool students celebrate end of school with solar cook-off] - ''Glenpool World.com''
*'''United Nations report predicts growth in renewable energies based on the success of small-scale projects.''' - "The rapid growth of small-scale renewable energy applications in developing countries should underpin the continued expansion of the global renewables sector, despite a slump in investment levels at the start of this year. That is the view of Professor Ulf Moslener of the Frankfurt School of Finance and Management, the academic body that produced today's United Nations Environmental Programme report into green energy investments, who predicted that unconventional renewable energy technologies such as systems designed for cooking and [[Solar food processing|food processing]] will drive future investment in the sector." - ''Business Green'' ([http://www.businessgreen.com/bg/news/2086607/solar-cooking-heat-asias-green-energy-sector Read more...])
 
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*[https://www.yahoo.com/food/how-a-solar-grill-could-change-the-world-118788843176.html How a Solar Grill Could Change the World] - ''Yahoo Food''
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[[File:Ben_3_Firewood_Stove_-_Seifert_2015.jpg|thumb|100px|The [[Ben 3 Firewood Stove]]]]
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*[[Media:Ben_2_and_Ben_3_Production_-_May_2015.pdf|Detailed photos]] showing the production process for the [[Ben 3 Firewood Stove|Ben 2 and 3 Firewood Stoves]]
   
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*[https://www.facebook.com/pages/Solar-Renewable-Energy-in-Costa-Rica/759543047498081 Solar Renewable Energy in Costa Rica]
==June 2011==
 
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{{Section|April 2015}}
*'''Heat storage offers the possibility of solar cooking even when the sun isn't shining''' - Research is underway around the world using high-tech and low-tech means to accumulate heat during the day for cooking at night or early in the morning. See our article on [[Heat storage]] for more information.
 
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*'''February 2009:'''
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::[[File:Evolución de las Cocinas Solares - Magnum Astron|thumb|none|400px|Introducción al tema Cocinas Solares]]
   
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*[http://cleancookstoves.org/about/news/04-23-2015-emerging-from-the-darkness-new-process-aims-to-tackle-black-carbon.html Emerging From The Darkness: New Process Aims To Tackle Black Carbon] - ''[[Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves]]''
*'''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 [http://www.voanews.com/english/news/usa/arts/US-Womans-Afghan-Experience-Inspires-Novel-124293344.html here].
 
   
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*[[Media:How_to_overcome_firewood_crisis-Dieter_Seifert-April_2015.pdf|How to overcome the firewood crisis]] - ''[[Dieter Seifert]]''
*'''Solar Cookers International is now an official Partner in the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves''' - [[Solar Cookers International|SCI]] is delighted to be working with the [[Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves|Global Alliance]] on its goal of enabling 100 million households to adopt clean and efficient cooking solutions.
 
   
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*New [[Niger]] NGO added: [[Sahara Sahel Foods]]
*'''United Nations seeks public input on solar cooking''' - The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is asking for public input on methodological issues for solar cooking projects under the [[Clean Development Mechanism]]. Input is welcome from June 3 until July 3, 2011. Log in and give your input on [http://cdm.unfccc.int/public_inputs/2011/ssc_solar_meth/index.html this page of the UNFCCC site].
 
   
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*[http://www.solarthermalworld.org/content/india-prince-offers-solar-cooking-workshops-new-entrepreneurs India: PRINCE Offers Solar Cooking Workshops for New Entrepreneurs] - ''Global Solar Thermal Energy Council''
[[File:Farishta,_a_novel.jpg|right|130px]]
 
*'''Listen to NPR’s Scott Simon interview SCI Board Member Patricia McArdle''' - [http://www.npr.org/2011/06/04/136928898/farishta-afghan-fiction-from-the-foreign-service Audio here]. The newly released novel ''[[Farishta]]'' by [[Solar Cookers International]] Board Member [[Patricia McArdle]] tells the compelling story of diplomat Angela Morgan. Stationed at a remote British Army outpost in northern [[Afghanistan]], Angela becomes frustrated at her inability to contribute to the country’s reconstruction. Slipping away disguised in a ''burka'' to provide aid to refugees, Angela becomes their ''farishta''—or "angel" in the local Dari language—and discovers a new purpose for her life. Farishta draws on the author’s experience as a diplomat in Afghanistan and her commitment to solar cooking. The importance and practicality of solar cooking is woven into the novel as Angela shares it with the local population. You can purchase ''Farishta'' at your local bookstore or [http://www.amazon.com/Farishta-Patricia-McArdle/dp/1594487960/ref=dp_return_2?ie=UTF8&n=283155&s=books online]. You can also [http://audio.cbsradionewsfeed.com/2011/06/02/14/RavivCBSNEWSINTERVIEWS-McArdlePatriciaFARISHTAnovelaboutAfghanistan1430_1801_1807480.mp3 listen to a recent interview] that Patricia McArdle did with CBS News.
 
   
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*Items added to any page are now marked "<span style="color:#E07C02;font-weight:bold;font-size:110%;"> NEW</span>" for 45 days after being added.
*'''Solar cooker and low-emission fuel stove innovation workshop this July in Oregon, USA''' - [[Solar Cookers International]] is proud to partner with the [[Aprovecho Research Center]] and join their Summer Stove Camp "Fuels of the Future" on the grounds of Aprovecho Labs in Cottage Grove, {{state|Oregon}}, [[USA]]. Those committed to improving the use of fuel for cooking will gather to spend one week learning, innovating, and creating improved designs and prototypes.
 
   
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*'''February 2015:''' {{GoogleLinkFromSpanish|http://ecoinventos.com/intikallana-tostador-solar-de-cafe-desarrollado-en-peru/|Intikallana. Tostador solar de café desarrollado en Perú|EcoInventos}}
==May 2011==
 
[[File:Solar_Trade_Fair_in_Totogalpa,_Nicaragua_5-11.jpg..jpg|thumb|300px|right|Women participants at the Solar Trade Fair in Totogalpa, [[Nicaragua]].]]
 
*'''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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*'''March 2012:'''
[[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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::[[File:Gasifier stove and other renewable fuel technologies.m4v|thumb|none|400px|Professor [[Ajay Chandak]] demonstrates some of his renewable and sustainable designs for a gasifier stove, institutional solar parabolic cookers and biodigesters.]]
*'''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]]. {{FeaturedProjects}}
 
   
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*'''February 15, 2014:''' [[Media:China-cdm_solar_cooking_project_paper(2014-02)final.pdf|SOLAR COOKING IN CHINA: CDM Registered Projects]] - ''Trish Sheehan ([[Solar Household Energy]])''
[[File:Lapin_Kulta_Solar_staff.jpg|300px|right]]
 
*'''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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*'''Saturday, April 18, 2015: (Kalamath Falls)''' A free program, “How to Build and Use a Solar Oven,” will be led by Brittany Johansen at 10:30 a.m. in the Klamath County Library, located at 126 S. 3rd St. She will explain the science behind passive solar heating and how to use and build a solar oven.
*'''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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*'''Amazon Smile donation program''' - Consider signing up for http://smile.amazon.com, and choose [[Solar Cookers International]] as your charity of choice. The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price from your eligible AmazonSmile purchases.
==April 2011==
 
*'''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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*[http://allafrica.com/stories/201504081452.html Nigeria: NGO Wants Solar Cooker for Nigeria] - ''allAfrica''
[[File:Ultra_Sun_Cooker,_Ron_Mutebi.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Ultra Sun Cooker]] to be manufactured in [[Uganda]] by [[Ron Mutebi]].]]
 
*'''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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*{{Event}}'''Saturday, April 11, 2015: (Sierra Vista)''' The Sierra Vista Community Market will celebrate Earth Day with an Earth Day trivia quiz, kid's activities, and a solar cooking demonstration in Veterans’ Memorial Park. [http://www.svherald.com/content/staff/2015/04/08/395331 More information...]
==March 2011==
 
*'''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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*{{Event}}'''Saturday, April 11, 2015: (Tucson)''' Join [[Citizens for Solar]] for the 33rd Solar Potluck and Exhibition happening at Catalina State Park. Experience the flavors of solar-cooked food and explore solar appliances, exhibitions (ovens, fountains, coolers, lights, electrical systems), and solar arts. The event is co-sponsored by Arizona State Parks. The event runs 10:00 a.m. - Sunset. [http://www.solarguild.org/2015-solar-potluck.html More information...]
*'''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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*'''2009:''' {{GoogleLinkAuto|1=http://www.globosol.ch/gs/images/Downloads/Projektueberblick%20International%201998-2009.doc|2=Table of all international projects from 1988 to 2009}} - ''[[GloboSol]]''
* '''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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*'''1991:''' [http://books.google.com/books/about/Chancen_solarer_Kochkisten_als_angepasst.html?id=c5JKAAAAYAAJ Chancen solarer Kochkisten als angepasste Technologie in Entwicklungsländern] (Google Books allows you to search this book, which contains a great deal of information about solar cooking international prior to 1991)
   
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*'''Added:''' [[Mali news archive]], [[Brazil news archive]], [[Chad news archive]], [[China news archive]], [[Costa Rica news archive]], [[Afghanistan news archive]], [[Argentina news archive]], [[Bolivia news archive]], [[Burkina Faso news archive]], [[Uganda news archive]], [[Madagascar news archive]], [[Mexico news archive]]
[[File:John_Wells_house_3-11.jpg|thumb|300px|John Wells at home in the {{state|Texas}} desert.]]
 
*'''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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*[[Media:Beyond_Firewood,_4-6-15.pdf|Beyond Firewood: Fuel Alternatives and Protection Strategies for Displaced Women and Girls]] - ''Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children''
[[File:SCI_Kisumu_3-7-11.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Uganda]] LGH Director, Amberle Reyes, visits [[Solar Cookers International]] demonstration in Kisumu.]]
 
*'''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...]
 
 
[[File:Phaeton_photo_3-11.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Phaeton]] array with comfortable, waist-high cooking console.]]
 
*'''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.
 
*'''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)]
 
   
  +
*'''March 2015:''' [[Media:Cook_fireless-Narewama2015.pdf|Cook fireless with enthalpy, not fuel]] - ''[[NAREWAMA]]''
==February 2011==
 
[[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...]
 
   
  +
*{{Event}}'''Saturday, August 8, 2015: (San Diego)''' [[Jim La Joie]], designer of the [[All Season Solar Cooker]], will present a 2 p.m. free class about solar cooking at the City Farmers Nursery located at 4832 Home Ave. He will cover the different types of solar cookers available and cooking techniques. When registering for the class you are offered a reduced price on an All Season's Solar Cooker. Sign up for this option prior to the class. [http://www.eventbrite.com/e/solar-cooking-101-free-class-tickets-15833596714?aff=es2 More information...]
* '''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...]
 
   
  +
*[http://www.timesofoman.com/News/50827/Article-Omani-students-build-solar-cooker-that-feeds-100-people Omani students build solar cooker that feeds 100 people] - ''Times of Oman''
*'''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]
 
   
  +
*'''August 2011:'''
[[Video:Solar-Powered Cooking Arrives in Southern Mexico|thumb|300px|thumb|[[Taqueria Poncho, solar street vendor]] arrives in Oaxaca, [[Mexico]].]]
 
  +
::[[File:KOMO4 News Solar in Seattle|thumb|none|500 px|Tom and solar cooking expert Linda Stein show anchor Mary Nam how to cook, take a hot camping shower, provide all the electricity for your home, and brighten up a room -- all with the sun!]]
*'''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.
 
   
  +
*Links to several construction manuals used at various times by the Solar Cooker Project team - [https://confluence.cornell.edu/display/SolarCooker/Solar+Cooker+Design+Manuals Solar Cooker Design Manuals]
==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...]
 
   
  +
*Added solar cooking link within [[Women’s NGO Network of Trinidad and Tobago]] article. [http://networkngott.org/networkngott/index.php?
* '''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...]
 
  +
</tabber>
   
  +
==2014==
* '''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...]
 
  +
{{Main|Solar cooking news archive 2014}}
   
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==2013==
[[Video:Greencook barbecue solaire COOKUP200|350px|right]]
 
  +
{{Main|Solar cooking news archive 2013}}
* '''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.
 
[[File:SCI_exhibition_at_the_UN_1-20-11.jpg|thumb|325px|[[Solar Cookers International]] exhibition at the UN.]]
 
* '''Solar Cookers International exhibition and reception at the United 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.
 
   
  +
==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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{{Main|Solar cooking news archive 2008}}
 
{{Main|Solar cooking news archive 2008}}
   
==Older news==
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==2006-2008==
*[http://solarcooking.org/news.htm Even older news]
+
:''Main article: ''[http://solarcooking.org/news.htm Solar cooking news archive 2006-2008]
   
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==1995-2005==
{{SeeAlsoCurrentNews}}
 
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:''Main article:'' [http://solarcooking.org/newsarchive.htm Solar cooking news archive 1995-2005]
 
[[Category:News archive]]
 
[[Category:News archive]]

Revision as of 22:55, 14 August 2015

Searchbox

See also: Current news

2015

Top news

May 2015

  • (EVENT) Regional Solar Cookers International Conference coming in July - Registration is open to attend SCI’s Regional Convention (North America) event on July 19, 2015 in Sacramento, California – focusing on Regional trends for the solar cooking sector. Be sure to register early. SCI Network Associates and other partners worldwide are invited. Unsolicited requests for travel funding will not be accepted. More information... Contact SCI directly about submitting an abstract or session idea for the Regional Conference. The deadline for submission is Friday, June 5th, 2015.
WHO1
  • World Health Organization passes resolution on air pollution: The WHO passed a resolution to combat global air pollution. According to the press release, "every year 4.3 million deaths occur from exposure to indoor air pollution and 3.7 million deaths are attributable to outdoor air pollution." The resolution calls for a strong focus on clean cooking technologies among other solutions such as improved monitoring of air pollution conditions and illnesses related to indoor and outdoor air pollution. Read more...
CASEP solar box oven user in Guatamala, 5-21-15

Women in Guatemala cook with a solar oven that they built themselves through a CASEP project. - Tom Cogill

  • Long time solar cooking advocate, CASEP, is recognized by Nature magazine - William Lankford, founder and president of CASEP, and Laura Brown, program coordinator, explain that after many years of coordinating solar cooking projects they have learned to focus their programs more on women's needs rather than the cooking technology. Read more...
Andres3

José Andrés photo courtesy of World Central Kitchen

  • Chef José Andrés discusses the importance of solar and efficient cooking - In an interview with MUNCHIES, Chef José Andrés describes when he first got excited about solar cooking, how solar and efficient cooking technology can help those in developing countries, and what he is doing to promote these technologies around the world. Read more...
  • Featured presentation from the SCInet Solar Cooking Convention 2014:
Kinne_Edu_tourism_Model

Kinne Edu tourism Model

  • The Solar Cooking Solution: Solar Cookers International has produced a new video called The Solar Cooking Solution which explores how solar cooking can help minimize deforestation, improve the health of those who cook indoors with traditional cook stoves, and reduce reliance on non-renewable fuels, specifically in developing countries.
April 2015

Bradley_Reciprocal_Optical_Test_for_Measuring_Solar_Cooker_Performance

Bradley Reciprocal Optical Test for Measuring Solar Cooker Performance

Robert Chiron with baked bread

Robert Chiron

McArdle_Factors_that_give_funders_confidence

McArdle Factors that give funders confidence

  • You can now see all new content as it is added to the site by visiting this page: New content
March 2015

Chennai school 1

Solar energy concentrator at Ramakrishna Mission’s Students’ Home

  • Investment brings large-scale solar cooking to Chennai school for orphans and underprivileged boys - Starting in 2013, a partnership between the UNDP, India's Ministry of New and Renewable Energy, and the Global Environment Facility, led to a project to install an ARUN®100 solar concentrator at the Ramakrishna Mission’s Students’ Home. The system provides enough energy to cook 3,000 meals per day and reduces LPG consumption by half, which leads to a savings of US$8,000 per year. Read more...
Solar cooking workshop 3, C.V

"Solar Cooking for a Healthy & Better Life" at the Bhubaneswar Club in Odisha, India March 2015 - C.V. Raman College

  • Women's Day event in India promotes solar cooking - Sanjib Rout, Chairman of the C.V. Raman College of Engineering organized a workshop on "Solar Cooking for a Healthy & Better Life" at the Bhubaneswar Club in Odisha, India to raise awareness of the potential of solar cooking for commercial applications.
  • Show your solar cooker design to the United Nations Development Program - The UN is now assessing what viable small and institutional-sized solar cookers are available in the marketplace for widespread distribution in emergency situations. Proposals must be submitted by 5 p.m. Friday, March 27, 2015. Read more...
Refugee drawing1

Solar cooker drawings by refugees

Janak McGilligan

Dr. Janak Palta McGilligan

  • Apply for the BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards: Solar Cookers International has a unique opportunity to nominate projects from SCInet members for the 2015 BBVA Foundation Frontiers of Knowledge Awards. All materials must be in English. Read more...


February 2015

ISES logo
The webinar will be held from 3:00pm - 4:30pm GMT (7:00am - 8:30am PST/10:00am - 11:30pm EST). More info and registration...
  • Apply for the SEED Award - The SEED Awards recognize "the most promising, innovative and locally-led start-up social and environmental enterprises in countries with developing and emerging economies. The independent SEED International Jury of experts selects enterprises which have the potential to make real improvements in poverty eradication and environmental sustainability while contributing to a greener economy." Apply by March 31, 2015. Read more...
January 2015

  • Celebrity chef José Andrés wants to cook cleaner this year - Writing in National Geographic, José Andrés discusses his New Year's Resolutions which include the goal to "cook cleaner"! Read article...
Solar Cooking in the Sahel map, 1-19-15

Solar Cooking in the Sahel - NOWCAST

  • Available sunshine in the Sahel region of Africa documented - Authors, Beth Newton, Sophie Cowie, Derk Rijks, Jamie Banks, Helen Brindley, and John h. Marsham have published a well-documented analysis of the potential sunshine available for solar cooking in the Sahel region, particularly in northern Chad where a number of Sudanese refugee camps are located. TchadSolaire has been training both refugees and the indigenous population to solar cook in the region since 2005. Even along river population centers where clouds tend to form, solar cooking is possible for over 330 days a year. Read more: Solar Cooking in the Sahel - NOWCAST
  • Keshav Srushti 1

    Thousands of students gather in Mumbai, India for a record-breaking solar cooking event.

    15,000 students in Mumbai solar cook and set world-record - In an event organized by Keshav Srushti, 15,000 students from 80 schools in Mumbai, India set a new world record for the largest-ever solar cooking gathering. Each student was given a solar cooker and taught how to assemble and use it as part of a national campaign to spread awareness of the importance of solar technology. C Vidyasagar Rao, governor of Maharashtra and Ashish Shelar, minister of state, Power, Coal & New Renewable Energy, attended the record-setting gathering. Read more at: Over 15,000 students create a new world-record in solar cooking
R20-bakery-March-2014

Regions 20 inagurates the new solar bakery project in Burundi.

Other news

May 2015

Davao City Jail solar hot water, 5-27-15

Inmates at the Davao City Jail use solar preheated water for cooking. photo credit: Karlos Manlupig

  • Solar heated water saves firewood in the Philippines - Inmates at the Davao City Jail in the Philippines, have begun to use solar preheated water for cooking. Not directly solar cooking, but none the less, a type of integrated cooking that is saving firewood. By preheating the water, cooking time is reduced 20 - 30 minutes. The system was provided by the International Committee of the Red Cross. A guard said the facility used to have a truckload of firewood delivered three times a week. Now, it needs only a single delivery every two weeks. Read more...
Soroptimist international2

Sai, one of the recipients of a solar cooker as part of "See Solar, Cook Solar", proudly poses with her pot of cooked cassava, a root crop native to Fiji.

  • New solar cooking for Fiji - Soroptimist International completed the first solar cooking installation in Fiji as part of their "See Solar, Cook Solar" program. The goal of the program is to provide a cleaner and more environmentally friendly cooking solution for women in rural and island locations. Read more...
Solrmatic1

The Solrmatic with the company's 2015 MakerFaire Editor's Choice award.

Ben 3 Firewood Stove - Seifert 2015

The Ben 3 Firewood Stove

  • Six liters of water brought to a boil with only 350 g of wood - Dieter Seifert writes: Today I have made tests with the Ben 2 and 3 Ben Firewood Stoves. It is almost unbelievable, but the efficiency is always higher than 40% and if one does not heat up too fast (i.e., the power under 1.5 kW is), the result is almost no smoke and approximately 350 g thin wooden sticks can bring 6 liters of water to a boil in 25 minutes. Of course cooking is much more convenient with a large parabolic solar cooker (We have used the AlSol 1.4 for many years.). The Ben ovens are so easy to prepare (2 sheets provided with holes and bending, drilling a ring and three legs and turn, turn 4 bars hairpin-shaped and assemble everything) that the cost in firewood crisis regions would be well below $10 USD. The combination of heat-retention cooking and Fuel-efficient wood stoves with the solar cooker is ideal. The solar cooker can do much more than just cooking. It is a peace-creating technology that is so urgently needed.
April 2015

Leéiyen teaches the use of solar box cookers and the --SODIS-- approach to water pastuerization, 11-15-14

Leéiyen teaches the use of solar box cookers and the SODIS method of water pasteurization in Cameroon, November 2014.

  • A Development and Information Center, DevICe, has been established in Tatum, Kumbo, north of Bamenda in Cameroon. After two weeks of training, the staff continues to test different types of solar ovens, provide information about water hygiene, and help with simple water quality analysis. They will also look into solar cooking. The center is run by voluntary work with a small budget. However, they are able to use a professional pyranometer from Kipp & Zonen. The project is run in partnership with Engineers Without Borders - Sweden, and sponsorship by Inpsecta, a technical consulting company in Sweden.
  • AFRES moves forward with solar cooking initiative - According to Joseph Odey, Chairman of the Association for the Reduction of Carbon Emission, the initiative is being sponsored at present by the Global Environmental Facility Small Grant Programme, GEF-SGP under the support of UNDP to provide alternative energy source for use in place of firewood in New Bussa community of Niger State. Under the first phase of the project, 50 youths were trained in building solar cookers. Some members of the communities who took part in a demonstration on how the solar cooker works in Tungan Ibrahim, Salamatu Maigari and Salamatu Sale, said using the solar cooker was faster and better than using firewood. Read more... - allAfrica
March 2015

Tajikistan 1

Sadarbek Tohirbekov with the solar cooker provided by Little Earth. Photo by Little Earth.

  • Solar cookers for Tajikistan - Little Earth, a Tajik environmental NGO, provided a solar cooker to the village of Roshorv (located at an altitude of more than 3000m) in the Bartang Valley of Tajikistan’s Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Oblast. Sadarbek Tohirbekov, a teacher of Russian language at the local school, took delivery of the parabolic cooker though the each resident of the village has access to it. Tohirbekov said, "to prepare a lunch or dinner [without a solar cooker], we use about half a kilo of bush kindling and then a couple of kilos of firewood and three kilos of dried manure or coal. For example, just to boil five to seven liters of water requires about three to five kilos of bush. A solar kitchen can greatly reduce the consumption of firewood and other fuels, even if you use it only once a day." Read more...
Solar cooking workshop 3, C.V

"Solar Cooking for a Healthy & Better Life" at the Bhubaneswar Club in Odisha, India March 2015 - C.V. Raman College

  • Solar cookers for Women's Day in India - To recognize Women's Day on March 8th, Sanjib Rout, Chairman of the C.V. Raman College of Engineering organized a workshop on "Solar Cooking for a Healthy & Better Life" at the Bhubaneswar Club in Odisha, India. Its purpose was to create awareness among housewives, hoteliers and commercial organizations to adopt solar cooking as an alternative method for cooking.
  • Solvatten reports that their water heating system is currently being used 180,000 people in over 60 countries.
SolaCooka

SolaCooka

The Staatliche Realschule students in Bad Tölz, Germany demonstrate the simple assembly of a parabolic solar cooker.

  • German group produces parabolic assembly video - The Comenius Multilateral Project 2012-2014 is a collective effort between seven secondary schools located across Europe, with the objective to show respect for the earth, and to change people's perception of how alternative energy can now be easily incorporated into our daily lives. The Staatliche Realschule in Bad Tölz, Germany, has put together a video showing the assembly of a parabolic solar cooker using simple tools.
Hot Pot featured at the GACC launch of EE handbook, 3-16-15

The HotPot solar cooker featured at the GACC launch of their "Empowered Entrepreneur Handbook" event. - Julie Greene

Friend of the Old bind CooKit edge

Friends of the Old (FOTO) staff members bind the edges of new CooKits to make them more durable in Katito, Lower Nyakach, Kenya. - C. Cross

  • New CooKits being made more durable in Kenya - Friends of the Old (FOTO) staff members bind the edges of new CooKits to make them more durable in Katito, Lower Nyakach, Kenya
Solar Clutch sheet metal cooker, 3-4-15

Solar Clutch corrugated sheet metal solar panel cooker - Solar Clutch

  • Innovative cooking and sheet metal solar cookers - Solar Clutch, under the supervision of Steve Harrigan, explored new ways to adapt local materials to create effective and inexpensive solar panel cookers. Local cooks in Mauritania have developed ways to mimic frying fish with their solar cookers. Several variations of CooKit style cookers were created from locally available and durable water resident cardboard and sheet metal. The material for each of these versions cost less than $5USD. Mauritania has also instituted a ban on local plastic bag production due to the trash waste created. The group then experimented with Sterlite brand food containers for the green house enclosure with great success. The box material is clear polypropylene, food grade and is the same material as the autoclave bag material. Read more...
February 2015

  • Through September 17, 2014: Nominations sought for Karl W. Böer Solar Energy Medal - The University of Delaware invites nominations for the medal, which also carries a cash award of $60,000. Applications are due September 17, 2014. The medal will be awarded to an individual who has made significant pioneering contributions in solar energy, wind energy, or other forms of renewable energy as an alternate source of energy through research, development, or economic enterprise. For more information, visit: http://www.energy.udel.edu/boer.html
Faustine Odaba, in Uganda, 2-11-15

Faustine Odaba (Mama Solar) explains the use of a CooKit solar cooker.

12TH_FEB_DD_NEWS_METRO_SCAN_MUMBAI.

12TH FEB DD NEWS METRO SCAN MUMBAI.

News story four minutes into the video showing the thousands of students solar cooking at the Suryakumbha event

  • India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) is inviting comments on its Draft Solar Policy - Sunday, March 1, 2015 will be the deadline for comments. The ten-page document, available here, outlines some of the government department’s thinking. “The Nodal Agency shall take necessary action to proliferate its application in feasible sectors including residential (solar water heaters, solar cookers, indoor air heating etc.), commercial & industrial sector (solar cooling, solar air dryers, large scale solar water heaters, large scale solar cooking utilizing solar concentrator technology, process heating etc.).” Read more...
UNCHR supplied Blazing Tube solar cooker in Burkina Faso, 2-9-15

A refugee in Burkina Faso uses a Blazing Tube solar cooker supplied by UNCHR. - UNCHR

  • Solar cooking in Burkina Faso - A refugee woman in Burkina Faso cooks rice with a Blazing Tube solar cooker. The stove is assembled in the USA and costs around $100USD. Oliver Lompo, UNHCR Environment Officer in Burkina Faso explained the impact the stove has had. “Beforehand, refugee women had to walk several hours a day to collect firewood. Since we have a lot of sunshine, the stove allows them to cook without spending any more time on firewood collection. And, more importantly, it does not produce any smoke - people love it.” - UNCHR
January 2015

  • José Andrés resolves to cook cleaner - Writing in National Geographic, José Andrés discusses his New Year's Resolutions which include the goal to "cook cleaner"! Read article...
TintTech large basket being fitted to foundation, 1-28-15

TinyTech Plants large basket parabolic solar cooker being erected on its foundation. - Veljibhai Desai

  • Tinytech Plants is developing large solar baskets - Up to 12 meters in diameter, they are designed to cook for 1500-2000 people in one hour according to TinyTech Plants CEO Veljibhai Desai. At this time, it is one of the largest parabolic solar concentrators being developed in India. Presently, the concentrator has been erected on its foundation.
  • Uzbekistan explores the potential of renewables - Uzbekistan, still rich with gas and oil, has begun to adopt solar power, now being viewed as an underutilized resource. Micro solar projects providing electricity for lighting, heating, pumping water and solar cooking are now beginning to percolate into the countryside. Read more: Uzbekistan Looks to Solar Power - Silk Road Reporters
  • More HotPot solar cookers for the Gaga refugee camp in Chad - The Lutheran World Foundation, now in charge of environmental activities in Gaga refugee camp, wishes to partner with Solar Household Energy to expand the HotPot project with 2,500 more HotPots--enough to cover 80% of households. Based on the success of the earlier HotPot project in Gaga refugee camp, SHE is also exploring options to introduce solar cookers in Burkina Faso refugee camps.
  • Experienced solar cooking promoter uses her skills in her hometown - Irene Perbal has explained how she used her experience promoting solar cooking in Sudan and Brazil to help out back in her home state of California, USA. She has been encouraging the use of solar cooking at local food banks. She began doing talks and seminars to train locals on how to build and use the cookers, including the underserved frequenting the food banks. Often her presentation includes sharing a lunch of solar cooked lasagne. Thinking Globally and Acting Locally - Huffington Post
Ashikaga1

Attendees at the Japan Solar Cooker Preliminary Convention.

  • The first solar cooking convention in Japan - The Japan Solar Cooker Preliminary Convention was held on November 22nd and 23rd, 2014 at the Ashikaga Institute of Technology. The convention was led by Professor Yuichi Nakajo with the goal of creating a network for manufacturers, distributors, traders, researchers, and others with a strong interest in solar cooking to collaborate. The event was attended by roughly 100 invited participants. Professor Nakajo is planning to hold a larger convention next year which will will be open to anyone interested in solar cooking.
  • Effort is being made to continue using solar power in Kyrgyzstan - Kyrgyzstan’s BIOM ecological movement has provided the Bishkek Center for Rehabilitation of Homeless Children with alternative energy equipment as the state-run social facilities remain underfinanced in the country. In 2010, BIOM provided the Center with solar water heaters, solar ovens, and lighting equipment. According to Natalia Bogatova, coordinator of SPARE (School Project for Application of Resources and Energy), BIOM concluded a contract for installation and maintenance of the above equipment for three years, but its specialists continue providing technical maintenance of the solar equipment after the contract expired. Solar energy for Kyrgyzstan’s social facilities - The Times Of Central Asia
Lightoven III training with Boy Scouts in Pakistan

The Boy Scout training, designed by Lightoven III is explained at a training event for Pakistani Boy Scouts. - suitable to take camping. - Hartmut Ehmler

  • Pakistani Boy Scouts are introduced to solar cooking - Hartmut Ehmler photographed this Boy Scout training event of his Lightoven III solar panel cooker. It is a lightweight portable design, suitable to take into the field for camping.
Solar Cooking in the Sahel map, 1-19-15

Solar Cooking in the Sahel - ll-document

  • Available sunshine in the Sahel region of Africa documented - Authors, Beth Newton, Sophie Cowie, Derk Rijks, Jamie Banks, Helen Brindley, and John h. Marsham have published a well-documented analysis of the potential sunshine available for solar cooking in the Sahel region, particularly in northern Chad. This is where a number of Sudanese refugee camps are located. TchadSolaire has been training both refugees and the indigenous population to solar cook in the region since 2005. Even along river population centers where clouds tend to form, solar cooking is possible for over 330 days a year. Read more: Solar Cooking in the Sahel - NOWCAST
Sun and Ice school cookers in Mali, 1-19-15

Mid-day meal being prepared at a Mali school - Sun and Ice

  • Only the cooking food is out in the sun at this Mali school - Stephan Zech, with Sun and Ice, posted this photo of a mid-day meal being prepared at a school in Mali.
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A student shows the dish he prepared in his solar cooker.

  • 15,000 students in Mumbai solar cook and set world-record - 15,000 students from 80 schools in Mumbai, India set a new world-record for the largest ever solar cooking gathering. Each student was given a solar cooker and taught how to use it as part of a national campaign to spread awareness of the importance of solar technology. C Vidyasagar Rao, governor of Maharashtra and Ashish Shelar, minister of state, Power, Coal & New Renewable Energy, attended the record-setting gathering. Read more at: Over 15,000 students create a new world-record in solar cooking
  • Healthy food via solar cooker - Moneylife
  • Annual Maha SuryaKumba reaches for a lofty goal - The Bhayander based NGO, Keshav Srushti, is committed to spreading awareness of solar cooking. Under the banner of Maha SuryaKumba, they will be gathering students from 500 schools across Mumbai in Bhayander,India, and then will be taking the festival to remote tribal villages. Hoping this year reach the magic number of 100,000 solar-powered prepared meals! Keshav Srushti has been accredited by the Guinness Book of World Records for having conducted the largest solar oven cooking class in January 2014 with 3,639 participants from 62 schools. The new goal of reaching so many students from remote areas will require financial support beyond the means of Keshav Srushti. Please contact Keshav Srushti If you can help, it will be appreciated. The NGO has announced there will now be an annual Maha SuryaKumba held on January 15th. More information...
  • The solar bakery project in Burundi is up and running! - R20's East Africa Program Manager, Jini Sebakunzi, was at the inauguration ceremony for the new bakery in Gitega, Burundi this past November. The solar oven being used is the Villager Sun Oven, manufactured by US-based company Sun Ovens International. Each oven is capable of baking hundreds of loaves of bread each day. Environmentally speaking, the oven allows the users to save over 150 tons of firewood each year, which results in the reduction of around 277 tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually. In addition, by replacing the firewood with solar energy, the ovens will protect the bakers from inhaling harmful smoke. The twelve women trained to operate the new solar oven are motivated to see the the new enterprise become integrated with the community, and also to be able benefit economically for their efforts. Read more: R20 and local partner, CIRID, host inauguration ceremony of solar bakery project in Gitega, Burundi
Boulangerie_Solaire_JTA_11.12.14

Boulangerie Solaire JTA 11.12.14

R20's East Africa Program Manager, Jini Sebakunzi, was at the inauguration ceremony for the new bakery enterprise in November, 2014. - Journal Télévisé Afrique (BURUNDI)

New content

July 2015


June 2015

  • (EVENT) July 17-18, 2015: (Faro) Celestino Ruivo at the School of Engineering, University of Algarve, Campus da Penha, Faro, Portugal will hold an open meeting of the Solar Kitchen from 9:30 a.m. - to the closing at 1 p.m. each day. He will comment on there weaknesses and strengths of various types of solar cookers and their possible applications in restaurants and canteens. The idea is to bring together many enthusiasts of solar cooking, and provide a moment of conviviality after the meeting of solar cooking with a shared lunch. Contact Prof. Ruivo for more information.
  • New page: GoSun Grill
  • (EVENT) July 27-30, 2015: (Kampala) The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves would like to invite you to participate in a Safe Access to Fuel & Energy (SAFE) Humanitarian Workshop on July 27-30, to be held at the Metropole Hotel in Kampala, Uganda. The objective of this workshop is to provide technical training for humanitarian staff on energy technology selection, fuel selection and processing, forestry management, monitoring and evaluation of energy programs, and more. More information if you wish to participate. Hopefully the schedule will include solar cooking options.
  • (EVENT) Saturday, July 11, 2015: (Barstow, CA) The Desert Discovery Center located at 831 Barstow Road will host a solar cooker workshop from 1:30 to 3:30 p.m. Cost is $8 per person. More information...
  • (EVENT) Tuesday, June 23, 2015: The International Solar Energy Society is holding a free webinar on solar thermal technology with a focus on new business models and commercial-scale projects. Speakers will include Tobias Schwind, Managing Director of the Fresnel collector manufacturer Industrial Solar, David Hoedeman, Director of Solar Sales of Nextility, Nicholas Wagner, Analyst at the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), and Christian Holter, Managing Director of the Austrian solar thermal turnkey system supplier SOLID. More information...
  • (EVENT) July 13-17, 2015: (San Bernardino) Elementary school students who take part in a math and science summer camp in July at California State University San Bernardino will get a chance to build a solar oven and a wind engine as they learn about green energy, mechanical engineering and other fields. More information...
  • October 2011:
Bunker_Roy_Learning_from_a_barefoot_movement

Bunker Roy Learning from a barefoot movement

In Rajasthan, India, an extraordinary school teaches rural women and men -- many of them illiterate -- to become solar engineers, artisans, dentists and doctors in their own villages. It's called the Barefoot College, and its founder, Bunker Roy, explains how it works.

  • (EVENT) Saturday, June 13, 20, 27, 2015: (Boynton Beach, Florida) A monthlong series of seminars will show how to make a solar cooker, how to build a solar fan, how to make a solar battery charger and how to purify water using solar energy. Attendees will use recycled materials, such as old batteries, glass and plywood, to create solar cookers, fans, battery chargers and water purifiers. The seminars, held at HackLab, at 3491 High Ridge Road, will continue each Saturday through June 27. Hosting them are HackLab and Living Art Meta Programs, another nonprofit focused on sustainability. More information...
  • June 2015:
Four_solaire_en_Inde

Four solaire en Inde

Vidéo en Français langue expliquant le fonctionnement du système de cuisson solaire au temple principal de Shirdi, Inde, sert des milliers de personnes chaque jour un repas chaud.

May 2015

  • (EVENT) Saturday, June 6, 2015: (Bisbee, Arizona) The Bisbee Farmers’ Market will host the 13th annual Solar Cook-off and Expo at the market from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. at Vista Park Plaza in Warren, next to the Historic Warren Ballpark. Bring your own oven and participate or purchase one at the market and enjoy the many benefits of going solar. There will also be a workshop on building and using a solar dehydrator, along with plenty of recipes and all types of sustainable info. More information...
  • (EVENT) Friday, June 5, 2015: is World Environment Day. The UNEP theme is "Seven Billion Dreams, One Planet.Consume with Care." Kitchen waste is still at alarming levels. More needs to be done to promote composting unused food items.
  • (EVENT) Monday, June 15, 2015: (Manila) The Asian Development Bank, ENERGIA, and the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves invite you to a deep dive session on Unlocking Energy Access Impact, Investment, Scale and Sustainability through Gender-Sensitive Approaches. It will take place at Asian Development Bank Headquarters, 6 ADB Avenue, Mandaluyong City from 2 p.m.- 6p.m. Addressing gender issues is central to achieving energy access goals; gender-informed approaches are imperative for scaling adoption of energy services and technologies. More information and registration...
  • (EVENT) Dimanche 07 juin, 2015: (Rouen) Un déjeuner solaire en Normandie! Dans le cadre d’Alternatiba, participez au déjeuner solaire qui aura lieu sur le Quai Rive Droite. Vous pourrez aussi assister aux démonstrations de cuisson solaire et écologique. Consultez le programme! Prix libre. Renseignements et inscription au déjeuner (obligatoire): repas.solaire@gmail.com
  • (EVENT) Mercredi 10 juin, 2015: (Angers): Les goûters du DD : les solaires ! Retrouvez nous à la Maison de l’Environnement de 14h à 17h, et participez à un atelier de cuisson écologique avec marmite norvégienne, cuiseur à bois économe et four solaire, pour confectionner un goûter pris ensuite en commun. Vos papilles apprécieront.
  • (EVENT) Saturday, June 20, 2015: (Faro) Celestino Ruivo at the School of Engineering, University of Algarve, Campus da Penha will hold an open meeting of the Solar Kitchen from 9:30a.m. - to the closing at 1 p.m. He will comment on there weaknesses and strengths of various types of solar cookers and their possible applications in restaurants and canteens. The idea is to bring together many enthusiasts of solar cooking, and provide a moment of conviviality after the meeting of solar cooking with a shared lunch. More information and registration...
  • (EVENT) Sunday, July 19, 2015: (Sacramento) Registration is open to attend SCI’s Regional Convention (North America) event – focusing on Regional trends for the solar cooking sector. Be sure to register early. SCI Network Associates and other partners worldwide are invited. Unsolicited requests for travel funding will not be accepted. More information...
  • Also: SCI is still seeking conference abstracts and proposed sessions that highlight innovation, and scalable project and production models. Submissions should be consistent with the SCI’s focus on global promotion of solar cooking and sustainable development. Deadline: Friday, June 5th, 2015. Submissions should be no longer than 150 words. The abstracts and proposed sessions should be related to an organization’s current or recent work in the solar thermal cooking sector with a focus on lessons learned. Joint submissions from multiple organizations proposing sessions are allowed and welcomed. Preference will be given to submissions from SCI partner organizations. Contact SCI
Ben 3 Firewood Stove - Seifert 2015

The Ben 3 Firewood Stove

April 2015

  • February 2009:
Evolución_de_las_Cocinas_Solares_-_Magnum_Astron

Evolución de las Cocinas Solares - Magnum Astron

Introducción al tema Cocinas Solares

  • Items added to any page are now marked " NEW" for 45 days after being added.
  • March 2012:
Gasifier_stove_and_other_renewable_fuel_technologies.m4v

Gasifier stove and other renewable fuel technologies.m4v

Professor Ajay Chandak demonstrates some of his renewable and sustainable designs for a gasifier stove, institutional solar parabolic cookers and biodigesters.

  • Saturday, April 18, 2015: (Kalamath Falls) A free program, “How to Build and Use a Solar Oven,” will be led by Brittany Johansen at 10:30 a.m. in the Klamath County Library, located at 126 S. 3rd St. She will explain the science behind passive solar heating and how to use and build a solar oven.
  • Amazon Smile donation program - Consider signing up for http://smile.amazon.com, and choose Solar Cookers International as your charity of choice. The AmazonSmile Foundation will donate 0.5% of the purchase price from your eligible AmazonSmile purchases.
  • (EVENT) Saturday, April 11, 2015: (Sierra Vista) The Sierra Vista Community Market will celebrate Earth Day with an Earth Day trivia quiz, kid's activities, and a solar cooking demonstration in Veterans’ Memorial Park. More information...
  • (EVENT) Saturday, April 11, 2015: (Tucson) Join Citizens for Solar for the 33rd Solar Potluck and Exhibition happening at Catalina State Park. Experience the flavors of solar-cooked food and explore solar appliances, exhibitions (ovens, fountains, coolers, lights, electrical systems), and solar arts. The event is co-sponsored by Arizona State Parks. The event runs 10:00 a.m. - Sunset. More information...
  • (EVENT) Saturday, August 8, 2015: (San Diego) Jim La Joie, designer of the All Season Solar Cooker, will present a 2 p.m. free class about solar cooking at the City Farmers Nursery located at 4832 Home Ave. He will cover the different types of solar cookers available and cooking techniques. When registering for the class you are offered a reduced price on an All Season's Solar Cooker. Sign up for this option prior to the class. More information...
  • August 2011:
KOMO4_News_Solar_in_Seattle

KOMO4 News Solar in Seattle

Tom and solar cooking expert Linda Stein show anchor Mary Nam how to cook, take a hot camping shower, provide all the electricity for your home, and brighten up a room -- all with the sun!

2014

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2012

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2009

2008

2006-2008

Main article: Solar cooking news archive 2006-2008

1995-2005

Main article: Solar cooking news archive 1995-2005