Sunstove Organization

Field support in South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho, Swaziland and Mozambique, is needed to locate and finance local women to sell SUNSTOVE units for income. Shipping from South Africa is economical by truck or rail. As of August 1998, Rotary in India is sponsoring a program for SUNSTOVE production and distribution there. Assistance and suggestions for SUNSTOVE's work in Southern Africa and India are invited.

The SUNSTOVE is a proven, affordable, quality solar cooker that has been tooled, manufactured and used since 1992 in Southern Africa. The African SUNSTOVE is sold at cost, in Rands (about US$20) with the proceeds used to manufacture more units. Other than the research project study, only seed money has been donated to the project (tooling, US$8,000 and inventory, US$20,000).

Key SUNSTOVE materials are: l) A low cost housing which is blow molded from 75% recycled plastic bottles and 25% virgin material. The case is cheap, strong, light, UV resistant, weather proof and allows the aluminum sheet (walls and bottom) to be snapped into place over the insulations 2) Sloped internal walls and bottom are made from a scrap aluminum off-set (lithograph) printing plate which can be cleaned. 3) Wall insulation from fibreglass blanket, and bottom insulation of high density fibreglass to support the pots of food. 4) A clear cover of glass, plastic sheet or plastic film. In Africa "medium impact acrylic" was chosen because of low cost, availability and strength.

The SUNSTOVE Organisation is a non-profit company and has patents issued for the SUNSTOVE in India, South Africa and the USA. Rights have been given to Rotary in India and the SUNSTOVE Organization in South Africa, while Solar Cooker International has been given permission to use the reflector design in their CooKit.

[Text borrowed from http://www.sungravity.com/solar_cooking__overview.html.]