Uganda

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[edit] Recent News and Developments

  • February 2007: Email report from Kawesa Mukasa: Since last July, we have made some progress in disseminating solar cookers in rural areas of western Uganda. Some three hundred CooKits have have been distributed in the villages of Kikokwa, Ruharo and Orukiga Refugee Settlement in Mbarara District found in western Uganda. Our association is partnering with the KoZon Foundation and we are to disseminate two thousand solar cookers by 30th December 2007 in the above mentioned villages. We now use cassava paste as glue on aluminium foil for Cookits. We make the glue ourselves. The idea is from the KoZon Foundation. We had the previledge to receive Mrs. Clara Thomas and Mr. Henk Crientee from Holland last December (2006) on a solar cooker field visit to our project. They were able to see a clusters of over 70 CooKits from three villages and they were only limited by time, they could have seen many more. One organisation we supported to introduce solar cookers in Eastern Congo called Projet Enviromentale de Virunga (Pevi) is now producing solar cookers independently from the Solar Connect Association but they lack materials. This is the same thing with another one in Burundi called Association Burundais pour la Protection des Oiseaux (ABO) in Bunjumbura-Burundi. They too need cheap aluminium materials and support. We shall be grateful to hear news about your projects and activities. Let us share information actively so as to contribute in our own small way to mitigattion of climate change and conservation of our beautiful forests and savannah woodlands.

[edit] The History of Solar Cooking in Uganda

A number of small and medium scale projects have been initiated in Uganda, a country frequently touted as making good development progress, economically and politically. Interestingly, several of the small projects have been undertaken by organizations serving disabled persons. One, led by Amos Byakagaba, coordinator of the Welfare Society for Disabled People, demonstrates a range of solar cooker types in many public venues. They have targeted 23,000 families in Uganda as appropriate for training in the use of solar cookers (Solar Cooker Review, November 2001). A similar organization, Disabled Technicians of Uganda, also demonstrates and promotes solar cooking (Solar Cooker Review, September 1997).

Another project includes Ultra-Tec, Inc., which is a company selling Global Sun Ovens, with plans to collaborate in manufacturing when demand is sufficient. An active organization, The Creative Center of Mbale, has taught many people to make and use solar cookers in the Mbale Solar Cooking Project

Substantial momentum appears to have occurred in this country, with the creation of a national promotional group, the Solar Connect Association (SCA), headquartered in the Kampala area. This group has been in existence for nine years, and reports that they have taught 20,000 persons to solar cook, and have produced 10,000 solar cookers in that time. They even have recruited and trained employees of the Virunga National Park Environment Project, located in the Democratic Republic of Congo, home of the famous mountain gorillas.

SCA has utilized solar box cookers and also has assisted in the distribution of the parabolic cookers of EG Solar in Germany. The most commonly used, the real "workhorse", is the inexpensive cardboard CooKit that can be made by individuals for an expenditure of 60 cents. In 2004,1,161 new trainees were reported, with 1,354 various types of cookers made.

The solar devices are not only used to feed households, they are also employed in income generating activities, including baking cakes and bread, canning fruits, and pasteurizing water. The group's leader, Kawesa Mukasa, credits the work to his meeting Ulrich Oehler, a legendary figure in solar cooking and the founder of the ULOG group, in Switzerland, then researching many sources for additional information. One person can truly make a huge difference (http://www.solarconnect.4t.com).

A rather unusual project has also been reported in Uganda. The Health Technology Development Centre of the Ministry of Health of that nation reports successful use of solar cookers as sterilizers, as well as preparers of food in hospital and health centres. They have also developed a pasteurizer for use in purifying water for hospital use. Attempts to disseminate solar technologies have been slower than desired, and therefore they have also attempted to analyze barriers and consider methods to eliminate those barriers. Those methods have included collaboration with various international/national institutions, use of local materials that fosters job development, and the development of local standards for construction and installation of the technology.

This group believes in the technology and suggests that creative means to disseminate solar cooking more broadly will be needed, including demonstrations and multiple training opportunities.

It has been recently noted that in the villages of Kikokwa, Ruharo, Biharwe and Orukiga Refugee Settlement in Mbarara in Western Uganda, women trained by th Solar Connect Association use solar cookers quite frequently in the dry season and even in the rainy season when the sun comes up. The total number of participating households in these four villages will reach over 2000 by the end of 2007.

[Information for this section was taken originally from State of the Art of Solar Cooking by Dr. Barbara Knudson]

[edit] Climate, Culture, and Special Considerations

Solar Cookers International has rated Uganda as the #8 country in the world in terms of solar cooking potential (See: The 25 countries with the most solar cooking potential). The estimated number of people in Uganda with both sun and fuel scarcity in 2020 is 7,500,000.

[edit] See also

[edit] Documents

[edit] Reports

[edit] Articles in the media

[edit] Audio and video

[edit] Contacts

[edit] NGOs based in or working in the Uganda

[edit] Individuals

[edit] Manufacturers and vendors

[edit] See Also

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