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+ | {{Updated|12|4|23}} |
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+ | {{CountryPageHeader|SCA_retail_outlet_Kampala,_2-12-13.jpg|[[Kawesa Mukasa]], of the [[Solar Connect Association]], reported in July 2017 that they had sold over 250 solar cookers, 100 [[retained heat cooker]]s, and 250 [[:Category:Improved combustion stoves|improved combustion stoves]] each month. These results have made it possible for the business to be self-sustaining.}} |
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==Events== |
==Events== |
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+ | {{UgandaEvents}} |
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+ | {{CalendarAndPastEvents}} |
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+ | =={{FeaturedProjectTitle}}== |
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+ | [[File:Solar Connect Assoc. store, 6-5-17.png|300px|thumb|The [[Solar Connect Association]] store in Mbarara, [[Uganda]]. ''Photo credit: [[Solar Connect Association]]'' ]] |
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+ | *{{NewJan18}}'''Self-sustaining and profitable, a solar cooker business thrives in Uganda''' - The [[Solar Connect Association]], under the direction of [[Kawesa Mukasa]], reported in July 2017 that they have been able to sell monthly over 250 solar cookers, 100 [[retained heat cooker]]s, and 250 [[:Category:Improved combustion stoves|improved combustion stoves]]. These results, and the profits they have generated, have made it possible for the business to be self-sustaining. With guidance from [[Solar Cooking KoZon]], their approach has been to hire local employees, and to make a long term commitment to the areas where they work. [[Media:How_Solar_Connect_Association_Sustains_the_Solar_Cooking_Business_Mukasa.pdf|Read more...]] |
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+ | {{SignificantProjectLink}} |
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− | See [[Calendar of events]]. |
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+ | =={{HeadingNews}}== |
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− | ==News and recent developments== |
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+ | *{{NewDec23}}'''December 2023: NJUBA solar cooking introductory project''' - The [[NJUBA Children Relief]] project took place within the Mpigi and Zombo districts, and ran from January 2022 until June 2023. Women from these areas were surveyed to assess their cooking needs and preferences. A [[solar box cooker]] design was developed and and distributed to the participants in the study, and a group of local women were trained to help teach and follow-up with the new solar cooker users. Meticulous records were keep during the study trial period. The cookers were enthusiastically endorsed by study participants, but changing weather patterns provided challenges. [[NJUBA Children Relief|Read more...]] |
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+ | :::<gallery widths="260" spacing="small"hideaddbutton="true"columns=3> |
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+ | NJUBA 1, 11-16-23.png|Built on a base with wheels, the solar stoves are easily moved to various locations |
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+ | NJUBA 2, 11-16-23.png|The exciting arrival of the NJUBA Solar Stoves |
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+ | NJUBA 3, 11-16-23.png|Arranging different size cooking pots inside the solar cooker |
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+ | </gallery> |
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+ | :::::::::::''Photo credit: Daniel Plattner, CEO NJUBA Children Relief'' |
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+ | *{{NewOct23}}'''September 2023: ECOCA pilot stove program:''' - [https://www.mercycorps.org Mercy Corps] in partnership with the [[Denmark|Danish]] company [[Pesitho]], has initiated a pilot program at the [[Bidibidi Refugee Camp]] in [[Uganda]] to make PV-powered ECOCA induction stoves available to residents of the camp. The program will provide a pay-as-you-cook method of payment for residents. As in other refugee camps, the women are usually the most vulnerable, having to go the edges of the camp and beyond to gather what little [[Fuelwood|firewood]] is available for cooking. This leaves them open to possibly becoming victims of violence. The new stoves will help relieve that stress. When fully charged, the ECOCA has enough energy to cook three meals a day. The need for time-intensive firewood gathering disappears, as does the carcinogenic [[Household air pollution|smoke and pollution]] produced by wood fires. Women have more time to attend community meetings, socialize with friends, care for their families, or invest in [[Business development|income-generating opportunities]]. [https://www.mercycorps.org/blog/tech-innovations-help-build-food-security?akid=16339.1193500.kdLshd&rd=1&source=Y0ZWUMSTZMNZZ0831231&t=19&utm_campaign=enewsletter&utm_content=story1%2Buganda%2Baugust%2B31%2B2023&utm_medium=email&utm_source=cultivation Read more...] |
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+ | ::::<gallery widths="350" spacing="medium"hideaddbutton="true"columns=2> |
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+ | ECOCA induction stove by Pesitho, 4-11-22.png|The ECOCA induction stove with its cook pot and integrated battery, ''Photo credit: Pesitho'' |
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+ | Bidi Bidi ECOCA stove delivery, 9-29-23.png|The New PV-powered stoves arrive at the [[Bidi Bidi Refugee Camp]] ''Photo credit: Guya Francis'' |
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+ | </gallery> |
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+ | *{{NewJan23}}'''December 2022:''' Visit to [[Farmers with a Vision]] by Joshua Katagwa of Mayunge, [[Uganda]] and Maimuna Nangobi of Jinja Renewable Consult, Uganda. They were shown how the [[solar box cooker]] and the [[evacuated tube]] solar cooker are operated, and assembled. |
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+ | ::<gallery widths="270" spacing="small"hideaddbutton="true"> |
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+ | Farmers with a Vision is visited, 12-30-22 copy.png|Using the [[solar box oven]] is explained |
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+ | Farmers with a Vision is visited, 12-30-22 (2).png|Visiting the FWAV facility |
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+ | Farmers with a Vision is visited, 12-30-22 (3).png|The operation of the [[evacuated tube]] solar cooker is demonstrated |
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+ | </gallery> |
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+ | :::::::::::::::*''Photo credits: Farmers with a Vision'' |
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+ | *{{NewOct22}}'''October 2022: Solar Connect Association update''' - [[Kawesa Mukasa]], director of the [[Solar Connect Association]], is still making and selling solar cookers at his shop in [[Uganda]]. He mentioned he prefers the [[Haines 2.0]] for overall performance, and that it is in great condition after many years of use. The new conical solar cooker cooks faster, but they have not solved the problem of how to keep the pot stable when moving the reflector to follow the sun. He does not use glass lids, but wishes they were available. A lady in his shop makes [[Heat-retention cooking|insulated baskets]], selling for USD26. He primarily sells [[CooKits]], because he can easily get the materials to make them. |
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+ | [[File:Kiin solar food dryer, Uganda, 8-29-22.png|200px|thumb|The [[Kiin]] solar dryer, ''Photo credit: [[Bernhard Müller]]'']] |
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+ | *{{NewSep22}}'''August 2022:''' [[Bernhard Müller]] reports [[Ingelore Kahrens]], board member of [[Lernen - Helfen - Leben e.V.]], is in [[Uganda]] for a SES mission. She introduced the [[Kiin]] household size solar dryer already and is presently educating the women about making and using [[fireless cooker]]s. |
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+ | [[File:Solar tunnel dryer, Kenya, Müller, 1-4-22.png|thumb|300px|Solar tunnel dryer designed by [[Bernhard Müller]] for his partners in [[Kenya]] and [[Uganda]] ''Photo credit: [[Bernhard Müller]]'']] |
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+ | *{{NewJan22}}'''January 2022: Solar tunnel dryer design for Kenya and Uganda:''' - [[Bernhard Müller]] offered his design skills in helping to create a new [[:Category:Solar food drying#Solar_tunnel_dryers|solar tunnel dryer]] for his partners in [[Kenya]] and [[Uganda]]. A 10W solar panel powers a fan providing air flow, and enables the people who work with the dryer to charge their phones simultaneously. |
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+ | *{{NewNov21}}'''November 2021:''' [[Esther Nattabi]] now has a website for her social enterprise, [https://www.ugwal.org UGwal Clean Energy Ltd.], in Mengo Kampala, [[Uganda]]. |
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+ | *{{NewMay21}}'''May 2021: Building a business''' - [[Bernhard Müller]] reports that [[Esther Nattabi]] has recently purchased an acre of land near Kampala, [[Uganda]] to build a workshop for the production of [[:Category:Improved combustion stoves|improved combustion cookstoves]], [[Biomass briquette|biomass briquettes]], and [[heat-retention cooking|fireless cookers]]. The plan includes renting and opening a retail store in Kampala for sales of their products. |
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+ | *{{NewDec20}}'''November 2020: Hunger Aid Uganda - organized by [[Lernen - Helfen - Leben e.V.]]''' - The project is part of Hunger Aid Africa, which after a year in planning, began implementation this November. The main focus of the program is the reduction of fuel costs, leaving more resources for food, and also the reduction of exposure to toxic emissions. The project will be administered with help from [[Esther Nattabi]]. They will distribute solar cooking equipment and bio-mass briquettes for fuel. Read more detail of the project at: [[Media:Hunger Aid Uganda, Lernen Helfen Leben, 11-30-20.pdf.pdf|Hunger Aid Uganda, a project by Lernen Helfen Leben]] |
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+ | [[File:Solar restaurant, Uganda, 8-29-20.png|400px|thumb|The solar restaurant at the Hajjat Zam Hotel in Kampala, [[Uganda]] - ''Photo credit: [[Kawesa Mukasa]]'']] |
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+ | *{{NewAug20}}'''August 2020: New solar restaurant''' - The solar restaurant at the Hajjat Zam Hotel located in Kampala, [[Uganda]], is operated by [[Kawesa Mukasa]] of the [[Solar Connect Association]], and is now open on a limited basis due to Covid-19. |
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+ | [[File:Ester_Nattabi_distribute_fireless_cookers,_Uganda,_6-29-20.png|thumb|300px|Esther Nattabi produces and delivers fireless basket cookers during the lockdown in Kampala, [[Uganda]]. ''Photo credit [[Bernhard Müller]]'' ]] |
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+ | *{{NewJun20}}'''June 2020: Fireless cookers for Kampala Uganda:''' - [[Esther Nattabi]] produces and delivers fireless basket cookers during the lockdown in Kampala. She has the Facebook group: [https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q===fireless%20cookers%20%2Fbaskets&epa=SEARCH_BOX fireless cookers /baskets]. |
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+ | [[File:Palabek_Refugee_Camp_-_January_2020.jpg|right|300px]] |
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+ | *{{NewJan20}}'''January 2020: Haines 2.0 Solar Cookers for Refugees in Uganda''' - Thirty-three women in the [https://www.facebook.com/Palabek-Refugees-Settlement-137065603582559/ Palabek Refugee Community] in northern Uganda received [[Haines 2.0]] Solar Cookers and were extensively trained in how to use them. The project was organized by the Gulu-based [https://www.facebook.com/The-Alliance-for-African-Assistance-72775234833/ Alliance for African Assistance] in partnership with the [https://www.facebook.com/AREProject/ African Refugee Education Project], the [https://www.facebook.com/San-Diego-Rotary-Club-129450843798790/ San Diego Rotary Club], [[Solar Household Energy]] and the [[Solar Connect Association]] of Uganda. The goal is to establish 33 women in the community as long-term solar cooking enthusiasts. Three of the women will be selected by their peers as to conduct periodic surveys to evaluate the long term use and adoption of the cookers, and the possibility of establishing a sustainable solar cooker enterprise in the community. |
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+ | *{{NewJul20}}'''December 2019:''' '''Solar Cooking KoZon update (text borrowed from Solar Cooking KoZon December 2019 newsletter):''' In August [[Solar Cooking KoZon]] brokered a deal with WISE to co-sponsor the project proposal ‘Clean and Energy Efficient Cooking Program’. The proposal was created after a visit by this group to SCA, with a request for support for their ISC programme. The first step has been made: five ladies from five different communities received basic ISC training at SCA in Biharwe. Each lady received two cooking appliances. The next step would be that the women organise an ISC demonstration day in their own community in order to further scale up. SCK pays for a large part of SCA’s costs, about € 1,000. Triodos Foundation bears the costs of the local WISE organisation, approx. € 2,500. |
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− | *'''June 2012: '''Last year was the first year that the Mbarara Production and Distribution Centre, designed by [[Solar Connect Association|Solar Connect Association, ]] operated independently without financial and operational support from [[Solar Cooking Netherlands|Solar Cooking Foundation The Netherlands]]. A resounding success and exactly what we at [[Solar Cooking Netherlands|SCN]] as well as our Solar Connect friends had and have in mind.<br />The objective was to realise the sustainable introduction of energy-saving cooking techniques and methods with financial and operational support from [[Solar Cooking Netherlands|SCN]] of limited duration and aimed at reaching a cost-covering activity after three years. This goal has now been reached in Mbarara! The necessary production, information and training by local female instructors, marketing, sales and business volume, have been realised and will provide a positive and sustainable contribution to the socio-economic development of women and families in the region. In this first year of autonomy, [[CooKit]] sets were produced, demonstrated, sold to and used by almost 3000 households. [[Solar Connect Association|SCA]] targets for the next few years aim at a further increase in production and distribution in the region. |
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− | *'''April 2011:''' The project initiated by [[Ron Mutebi]] to manufacture solar cookers in [[Uganda]] is moving forward. Hopefully, production will begin this April. In a recent interview with ''The EastAfrican'' 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 More Information...] |
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+ | *{{NewJul19}}'''July 2019: Green Day celebration in Kampala''' - [[Bernhard Müller]] reports that [[Esther Nattabi]], an active solar cooking advocate in Uganda, presented solar and [[fireless cooker]]s at the "Green Day“ organized by the leading NGO Joint Energy and Environment Project in Kampala on Saturday, July 27th. ''Photo credit: [[Bernhard Müller]]'' |
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− | *'''July 2011:''' [[Light Gives Heat]] on their solar cooking workshop in [[Uganda]]: "We have given up any notions that we can bring about health simply by stumbling upon it in the same way that we stumbled upon destruction. There must be changes in the way that we think and live. To bring about these changes we teamed up with [[Solar Cookers International]] (SCI). With the help of SCI we are enabling the SUUBI and EPOH artisans to cook their food and boil their water with the free power of the sun. This reduces the emissions of charcoal that the women would normally use, benefiting the women monetarily and environmentally. One artisan reported that she spends $5 a week on charcoal. With the help of LGH, she can make a one-time purchase of a solar cooker for about $5, and save on the weekly expense of charcoal." [http://www.lightgivesheat.org Read more...] |
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+ | ::<gallery widths="250" spacing="small" hideaddbutton="true" > |
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+ | Ester Nattabi, Ugandan promoter, 7-29-19.png|Ester Nattabi presents solar and fireless cooking concepts at Green Day in Kampala, Uganda. |
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+ | Green Day demo, Uganda, 7-29-19.png|Solar cookers on display at Green Day. |
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+ | Green Day demo 2, 7-29-19.png|An interested group follows the cooking demonstration. |
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+ | </gallery> |
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+ | [[File:GoSol_oven_in_Uganda,_10-30-18.png|thumb|300px|GoSol has introduced a community solar oven in Gulu, Uganda. - ''Photo credit: GoSol'']] |
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− | *'''April 2011:''' [[Europastry]] is working with [[Sol Solidari]] to reduce poverty and desertification in Africa ([http://www.europastry.com/eng/noticia46.php English], [http://www.europastry.com/noticia64.php español]) |
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+ | *{{NewOct18}}'''October 2018: Community solar baking oven commissioned in Gulu''' - A new solar [[array]] style oven has been installed by Lorin Symington of [[GoSol.org]]. GoSol reports the new oven is capable of baking 30-35 kg of bread per day. GoSol has trained 12 local youths from Smart-up Factory, a local NGO, in operating the oven. [https://chimpreports.com/solar-powered-baking-oven-commissioned-in-gulu/ More information...] |
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− | [[File: |
+ | [[File:Uganda,_Haines_cooker_evaluation,_7-13-18.png|thumb|200px|Acceptance of the Haines 2.0 Solar Cooker evaluated at Ugandan refugee camps. ''Photo credit: [[Roger Haines]]'']] |
+ | *{{NewJul18}}'''July 2018: Haines Cooker evaluation''' - [[Solar Household Energy]] has joined with a number of organizations to evaluate acceptance of the [[Haines 2.0 Solar Cooker]] in [[refugee camps]] in Northern Uganda. Partners include the Rotary Clubs of San Diego, {{state|California}}, [[USA]] and Gulu, Uganda, the Alliance for African Assistance, African Refugee Education Project, [[Solar Connect Association]], and the U-Touch Technology Center. Last April, eight Rotarians, including SHE board member [[Roger Haines]], traveled to northern Uganda to demonstrate the cooker. The Alliance for African Assistance will produce the cookers in Gulu, and hopes to scale up to make more cookers available in northern Uganda. |
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− | *'''April 2011: 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 More Information...] |
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+ | [[File:AfriShiners_workshop,_Uganda,_6-26-18_copy.jpg|thumb|300px|Workshop participants gather at 2018 AfriShiners in Kampala, Uganda. ''Photo credit: AfriShiners'']] |
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− | [[File:SCI_Kisumu_3-7-11.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Uganda]] LGH Director, Amberle Reyes, visits [[Solar Cookers International]] demonstration in Kisumu.]] |
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+ | *{{NewJun18}}'''June 2018: AfriShiners workshop a success in Kampala''' - The three-day international workshop on clean cooking and food processing included 23 participants, from various countries around the world. This was the second year for the workshop, which was hosted by the [http://www.givinghope.awamu.ug Giving Hope Foundation]. The event organizer and [[Lernen - Helfen - Leben e.V.]] board member was [[Bernhard Müller]]. [[Faustine Odaba]] led a workshop on [[Heat-retention cooking|fireless cookers]]. Other activities included a visit to a local solar stove testing facility. [[Media:Preliminary01Official.pdf|Program information...]] |
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− | *'''March 2011: [[Light Gives Heat]] visits [[Solar Cookers International]] demonstration in Kisumu, [[Uganda]]''' - Light Gives Heat is a non-profit promoting grass-root economic sustainability and creative endeavors in [[Africa]]. Ugandan 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 cooker]]s, 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 fireless baskets to Jinja and demonstrate first-hand their effectiveness to all their employees. Light Gives Heat has received an 8,000 USD grant to supply their Uganda Artisans with these solar cookers. [http://www.lightgivesheat.org More Information]. |
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+ | [[File:Roger_Haines_meets_with_the_Alliance_for_African_Assistance_to_discuss_solar_cooker_distribution.,_photo_-_Roger_Haines_.png|thumb|250px|[[Roger Haines]] meets with the Alliance for African Assistance to discuss distributing solar cookers in Uganda. ''Photo credit: Roger Haines'' ]] |
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− | *'''December 2010:''' [[Ron Mutebi]] returned to [[Uganda]] in November to check progress on the new solar oven assembly plant, and reports it is scheduled to open in January, with oven sales beginning in the new year. Mutebi says that at least 1,000 individuals in Uganda have expressed interest in purchasing the ovens. “Everyone who has seen the performance of the [[Sun Oven]] wants to get one,” Mutebi told Ugandans Abroad. “This is regardless of gender, class, or educational background.” During his trip, Mutebi did a demonstration of the solar oven to Vice-President Gilbert Bukenya. “In a few minutes of seeing the oven cook and the temperatures that it was accumulating, he literally pulled out his wallet and paid in U.S. dollars for four ovens to be delivered to his country home.” - ''Ugandans Abroad'' |
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+ | *{{NewOct17}}'''October 2017: Dedicated solar cooking proponent visits Kenya and Uganda''' - [[Roger Haines]], CEO of [[Haines Solar Cooker]]s, spent most of the first half of 2017 by attending and networking at the [[6th SCI World Conference 2017]] in [[India]], and then traveling throughout central Africa to promote various solar cooking projects. The seeds for the Kakuma festival began at the conference. Next he met with solar cooker entrepreneurs [[Camily Wedende]], [[Dinah Chienjo]], and [[John Amayo]] in Nairobi, [[Kenya]], and then toured the situation in Uganda. He met with the [http://www.alliance-for-africa.org Alliance for African Assistance] in Gulu to find ways to distribute subsidized [[Haines Solar Cooker]]s. At the end of April he was back in Kenya at the [[Kakuma Refugee Camp]] to help with the planned festival. [[Faustine Odaba]] was on hand to help the student participants use their new solar cookers to best effect. Read in more detail about Roger's trip at: [[Media:Roger's_India_and_Africa_trips_2017.docx.pdf|Roger Haines trips to India and Africa, 2017]] |
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− | *'''December 2010:''' Mbarara project has nearly reached break-even status. The [[Solar Connect Association]], Uganda, had the ambitious objective to sell 3400 cooking sets in the Mbarara region in 2010. That is 60% more than the previous year and it achieved close to a 100% success rate! The objective to continue under its own steam in 2011 is now within reach. By now, approx. 7,600 households in the Mbarara region cook with solar energy techniques (approx. 45,000 people). Sales for 2011 are anticipated at 6,000. The number of villages served grew from 10 to 15, the number of female instructors increased, training and information meetings through women's circles increased steadily as well as the production of [[CooKits]], hay baskets for [[heat-retention cooking]] and Lorena Stoves (a fuel-saving stove). Quality of products and services improved and was closely monitored by means of consumer evaluations. Next to financial support, [[Solar Cooking Netherlands]] provides project support, professional expertise and consultancy and helps finding operational partners and donors. A lot of attention was devoted to marketing and sales training, the business approach to production and the strengthening of the financial administration. |
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+ | [[File:Edward_Sembajjwe_demonstrates_the_Heliac_solar_cooker,_6-22-17.png|250px|right]] |
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− | [[File:Ron_Mutebi_Uganda_photo_9-1-10.jpg|thumb|200px|Ron Mutebi demonstrates a [[Global Sun Oven]]]] |
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+ | *{{NewJun17}}'''June 2017: World Environment Day celebration''' - [[Edward Sembajjwe]] of [[Disabled Technicians Uganda Limited]] built and demonstrated the [[Heliac Solar Cooker]] at the 5 June 2017 national World Environment Day celebration in Ibanda, western Uganda. This partnership was formed at the [[6th SCI World Conference 2017]] at Muni Seva Ashram in Gujarat, January 2017. With materials and instructions from Heliac, Sembajjwe and Disabled Technicians Uganda manufactured the Heliac Fresnel-lens solar cooker locally. |
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− | *'''September 2010:''' An immigrant from [[Uganda]], now residing in Chicago, [[USA]], has used the first portion of a $100,000 business competition prize to begin setting up an operation in his homeland to produce and distribute solar ovens. [[Ron Mutebi]] won his prize at the African Diaspora Marketplace competition in [[Uganda]] in Washington in January. Mutebi arranged to ship from Chicago the components for 365 solar ovens and tools to assemble them in July. The shipment is scheduled to arrive in Uganda in October. In November, Mutebi will travel to Uganda to oversee the completion of an assembly plant and the training of staff to produce, distribute and service the cookers, made by [[Sun Ovens International]] in Elgin, Illinois. The ovens will appear in Ugandan markets in January 2011. |
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+ | [[File:Solar Connect Assoc. store, 6-5-17.png|300px|thumb|The [[Solar Connect Association]] store in Mbarara, Uganda. ''Photo credit: [[Solar Connect Association]]'' ]] |
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− | [[File:Instructors_and_end-users_in_Uganda_.jpg|thumb]] |
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+ | *{{NewJun17}}'''June 2017: Sustainable solar cooker business in Mbarara''' - The [[Solar Connect Association]], under the direction of [[Kawesa Mukasa]], has been able to sell 280 solar cookers, 110 [[hay basket]]s, and 260 [[:Category:Fuel-efficient wood stoves|fuel-efficient wood stoves]] monthly. These results, and the profits they have generated, have made it possible for the business to be self-sustaining. [https://vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/solarcooking/images/a/a7/How_Solar_Connect_Association_Sustains_the_Solar_Cooking_Business_Mukasa.pdf/revision/latest?cb=20170313173007 Read more...] |
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− | *'''July 2010:''' [[Hans Le Noble]] reports record [[CooKit]] sales. For the third year running, [[Solar Cooking Netherlands]] (SCN) has worked together with [[Solar Connect Association]] (SCA) in Uganda. In addition to information delivery about and lobbying for the use of solar energy and wood-saving cooking techniques in Uganda, SCA produces and sells the complete range of related cooking appliances. SCA also takes care of the requisite training for the users, mainly women, in the Mbarara district in southern Uganda, close to the borders with [[Rwanda]] and [[Tanzania]]. SCA is by now active in 10 rural villages and has a smoothly running shop plus information centre in the town of Mbarara. In the past 2 years, nearly 4,200 households (about 25,000 people) switched to solar energy and wood-saving cooking techniques. It is expected that in the current year another 2,200 households will follow. A household thus saves on average €0.50 per day or €180.- per year, a considerable amount for “low-income” households! Millions of kilos of [[charcoal]] and [[firewood]] are saved annually! Hence less deforestation! The Mbarara programme is supposed to reach its break-even point by the end of 2010 and will from on then continue to operate as an independent and self-supporting unit. Energy-saving cooking will then become an accepted and sustainable alternative for a large part of the Ugandan population and will reduce its need for development aid. In November 2009, Hans Le Noble paid a working visit as ([https://www.pum.nl/iPublish/iPublishContent.nsf/$$Homepage?login&Language=EN/ PUM]) Netherlands senior expert to the SCA Mbarara project. Improved or new production and marketing techniques such as direct selling, market expansion, production outsourcing and attention to quality and design were recommended, discussed and implemented. All this has contributed to the record sale of 750 CooKits in the 4th quarter of 2009! Two instructors/marketers work fulltime in Mbarara together with 14 female instructors and 1 instructor (indeed, one man!) on a commission basis, plus another saleswoman/instructor in the shop. Demonstrations and training meetings were organised every day in villages as well as in town. To promote even further ‘integrated solar and fuel-saving cooking’, a sales and distribution centre is to be opened in the Kampala region, hopefully as early as in 2010. This centre will buy the solar CooKits from the Mbarara production centre, which will create a sounder production basis. Financing discussions are under way with other NGOs. The objective is to distribute 2,200 CooKits in the first 12 months of 2010. |
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+ | *{{NewMar17}}'''March 2017:''' [[Disabled Technicians Uganda Limited]] and [[Heliac]], Denmark began a technology-sharing partnership at the [[6th SCI World Conference 2017]] in [[India]]. [[Edward Sembajjwe]] is constructing Heliac’s Fresnel lens solar cooker in Uganda. |
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+ | *{{NewMar17}}'''March 2017:''' The [[Solar Connect Association]] reports: "If you are going to western Uganda to visit Queen Elizabeth National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest for Mountain Gorilla tracking, the SCA is located nine miles away on Mbarara-Masaka Highway from Mbarara at the Biharwe trading center just opposite the Igongo Country Hotel and Cultural Museum. Their building is just opposite the gate of the hotel. Many tourists also stop there for lunch and sightseeing. They have a Renewable Energy Center Building there selling and displaying solar cookers and other energy saving stoves Monday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m." |
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− | *'''June 2010:''' The [[Obia Solar CooKit Group]] sprang from the project started by 13-year-old [[Max Ozimek]] in Obia in 2008. Since that time a group of men and women (calling themselves the Obia Solar Cookit Group) has continued to use the cookers and is now (June 2010) working to train others in the village and surrounding areas. |
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+ | *{{NewJan17}}'''January 2017:''' [[Solar Cooking KoZon]] reports: A very prominent project right now is the Nakivale refugee camp. It is located in South West Uganda in the Isingiro district. Approximately 60,000 refugees from neighbouring countries live in the Nakivale camp and have lived there for many years. Our programme, in cooperation with other organisations, contributes to better living conditions. The project objectives have been set down in a Memorandum of Understanding and its formal launch was held on Thursday, 22 September 2016. The kickoff took place in a celebratory mood in the presence of the district governor and the camp commander. This is a 12-month project, a period during which at least 1,000 Solar [[CooKit]]s will be supplied. The refugees will thus have access to solar cooking tools. At the same time a group of about 20 people received training in the use and upkeep of CooKits, hay baskets, WAPIs and eco stoves. The "instructor" represent their village(s) and will in turn pass on their knowledge to others. |
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− | *'''April 2010:''' [[CEDESOL]] was nominated for the Global Leadership Award at the March 2009 meeting of the Partnership for Clean Indoor Air(PICA), which took place in Kampala, Uganda. The 262 partners of PICA made the gathering one of the largest of its kind so far. [http://www.pciaonline.org/ More Information on PICA] |
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− | *'''August 2009:''' [[Sport]] solar ovens from the [[Solar Oven Society]] (SOS) were launched at the Vegetable Oil Development Project (VODP) offices at Nakasero recently. [http://allafrica.com/stories/200908310836.html Read more]. |
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+ | *{{NewNov16}}'''November 2016: Makerere Students Assemble 'Made in Uganda' Solar Cooker''' - A solar cooker was unveiled last week at this year's annual general technology innovation exhibition organised by the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT), Makerere University. Dan Maire, the group leader, says they decided to pursue the idea of making a solar cooker last year. With everything needed in place, the group went on to assemble 80 units of solar cookers in July based on the [[Blazing Tube Solar]] design. [http://allafrica.com/stories/201611080060.html Read more...] |
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− | *'''August 2009:''' Karyn Ellis' blog about her trip the Obia village on the Uganda - [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo]] border: http://solarmoxie.blogspot.com/2009/08/follow-up-plans-for-ug-tz.html. |
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+ | [[File:Training_instructors_Nakivale_refugee_settlement_-_September_2016.jpg|thumb|300px|Training instructors at the [[Nakivale Refugee Settlement]].]] |
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− | [[File:United_Religions_Initiative_-_May_2009.jpg|thumb|200px|Photo shows Despina and [[Hannington Wako]] explaining how solar cookers work.]] |
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+ | *{{NewNov16}}'''September 2016:''' The [[Solar Connect Association]] (SCA) visited the [[Nakivale Refugee Settlement]] in Uganda where they met with the Assistant Camp Commander, Mr. Kintu Khalid. SCA instructors trained 20 people from different villages to be instructors themselves. The training dealt with solar [[CooKit]]s, [[Water Pasteurization Indicator]]s, [[Heat-retention cooking]], [[:Category:Improved combustion stoves|improved combustion stoves]], and the maintenance of same. Continued efforts at Nakivale, and also at the [[Oruchinga Refugee Settlement]], will be the priority for SCA in 2017. At Nakivale, SCA is currently working with the Julu camp that has about 22,000 refugees. They have distributed 60 solar cookers and 14 improved combustion stoves. In the Oruchinga Refugee Settlement, they have distributed 70 solar cooker cookers and 12 improved combustion stoves. SCA plans to sell 1,000 solar cookers in the two settlements by end of August 2017. [[Solar Cooking KoZon]] has contributed additional funding to help with the projects at Nakivale and Oruchinga. |
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− | *'''May 2009:''' Over the weekend [[United Religions Initiative]] visited the Bufuula community in eastern Uganda in the jinja district and carried out an awareness campaign with the local community in a bid to make them aware of solar cooking, cooker adaptation, and production. |
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+ | *{{NewNov16}}'''September 2016:''' The [[Solar Connect Association]] reports: "We had a staff meeting with the key players of manufacturing in Biharwe. We kicked off the project in the [[Oruchinga Refugee Settlement]] with the presence of the district governor, camp commander, and the project leader Mr. Buyinga Boaz. Additional information was handed over and demonstrations were made for many people. A local radio station broadcast an interview with one of our team members." |
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− | [[File:Dusty_Breeding1.jpg|thumb|300px|[[Dusty Breeding]], with a high-capacity Villager [[Sun Oven]]®]] |
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− | *'''March 2009:''' Indiana native [[Dusty Breeding]] first visited [[Africa]] in 2006, working with orphans and other malnourished children. He was so moved by the heartbreaking conditions he experienced that he decided to put his culinary arts background to use to help the children learn to bake bread for their own nourishment and to help lift themselves out of poverty. The nonprofit organization Breeding founded, [[LifeBread, Inc.]], is dedicated to empowering the people of impoverished nations through nutritional education and food preparation training as a means to curb the severity of world hunger. Breeding is enthusiastic about the use of solar ovens in his programs, and hopes to eventually equip an orphanage with a large commercial model capable of baking 400 loaves of bread daily. During one trip to [[Uganda]], Breeding planned to use a solar oven made out of a 50-gallon drum to help students bake rolls for 200 campers. |
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+ | [[File:KoZon_workshop_in_Uganda,_June_2016.png|thumb|300px| The [[Solar Cooking The Netherlands - KoZon]] organization with the [[Solar Connect Association]] conducted demonstrations with [[parabolic]] solar cookers and [[hay basket]]s in the Isingiro district of Uganda. ''Photo credit: Solar Cooking KoZon'']] |
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− | [[Image:Max_Omizek_Uganda_November_2008.jpg|right|300px]] |
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+ | *{{NewSep16}}'''September 2016: Outreach demonstrations in Uganda''' - [[Solar Cooking The Netherlands - KoZon]] with the [[Solar Connect Association]] conducted solar cooking demonstrations with [[parabolic]] solar cookers, and heat-retention cooking with [[hay basket]]s, in the Isingiro district of Uganda during the month of June. [https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=nl&tl=en&u=http%3A%2F%2Fsolarcookingkozon.nl%2Fnieuwe-ontwikkelingen-in-uganda%2F Read more...] |
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− | *'''November 2008:''' [[Solar Cookers International]]’s (SCI) recent collaboration with Uganda’s [[Solar Connect Association]] (SCA) was inspired by 13-year-old [[Max Ozimek]], an 8th grader from Ohio, USA. Last year, Max researched solar cookers for a science fair project, and learned how the simple devices can make a huge difference for people that lack cooking fuel. Max volunteers at a hospice, where he befriended Father [[Alexander Inke]], a priest from Obia, Uganda. While listening to Father Inke’s stories of life in Obia, Max was reminded of the African communities he had learned of while researching solar cookers and SCI’s projects abroad. Max thought solar cookers could help the women of Obia, many of whom must walk several miles to gather cooking fuel and household water. Max felt the need to help the small village of Obia, so he and his mother, Mary Lou, began raising funds and contacted SCI about how to proceed. Per SCI’s suggestion, Max and Mary Lou contacted SCA, which has promoted solar cookers in Uganda since the mid-1990s. SCA agreed to provide a five-day integrated cooking training for 22 women that Father Inke identified as community leaders capable of teaching others. [[Kawesa Mukasa]] and [[Olivia Kanyesigye]] instructed the group (and dozens of onlookers) how to build and use solar cookers and how to cook effectively with the least amount of fuel possible by supplementing solar cookers with [[Rocket Stove|fuel-efficient stoves]] and [[Heat-retention cooking]] retained-heat devices]] when the sun isn’t shining. Longtime SCI friend and supporter [[Mark Cotham]] volunteered his time to assist with this effort, and also provided a much-needed vehicle to be used for further trainings in Uganda. Max and SCI staff tested five local water sources in Obia. Participants were shocked to find that most of their water sources were contaminated with Escherichia coli and unsafe to drink. SCI taught them how to cheaply and effectively [[Water pasteurization|pasteurize the water]] with a solar cooker and a [[Water Pasteurization Indicator]] (WAPI). Some of the new solar cooks had already initiated small trainings in their regions just weeks after the workshop. Max is working to ensure these efforts continue by raising funds to purchase materials for extended trainings in Nebbi district, and keeping in close contact with SCI and SCA for follow-up visits over the next few years. SCI and SCA plan to team up again on an [[Integrated Cooking Method|integrated cooking]] and safe water workshop in 2009. |
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+ | [[File:Camily_Wedende_leads_trainer_training,_4-30-16.png|thumb|300px|[[Camily Wedende]] leads a training for future trainers.]] |
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+ | *{{NewApr16}}'''April 2016: Training future trainers of solar cooking''' - [[Camily Wedende]], group leader of [[Eldoret Student Projects]] in Eldoret, [[Kenya]], and member of Rotary Club of Eldoret, leads a Train-the-Trainers Workshop for the Rotary Club of Gulu, Uganda. The Uganda Rotary Club is preparing to distribute 500 [[Haines Solar Cooker]]s in northern Uganda and is learning more about solar cooking from Camily's years of experience building, teaching, and cooking with solar. |
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+ | [[File:Solar_Connect_Association_center_2015.jpg|thumb|300px|The Renewable Energy Centre.]] |
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+ | *{{NewJan16}}'''January 2016:''' Since 2007 [http://wildeganzen.nl Wilde Ganzen] and [[Solar Cooking The Netherlands - KoZon]] have supported the Solar Cooking project in Uganda, implemented by [[Solar Connect Association]] (SCA). In mid-2013 a business plan was decided on, including a schedule of [[Integrated Solar Cooking]] (ISC) activities during the following five years. In the course of 2014 it became clear that the objective of financial independence had been achieved. The business expanded from Mbarara in the South West. In 2014 construction of a Renewable Energy Centre with larger ISC production, training, and distribution facilities was started with financial support from Wilde Ganzen and SCN-KoZon. In its beautiful location on the main road between Uganda, [[Republic of Congo|Republic of the Congo]], [[Tanzania]], and [[Rwanda]], the building, fitted out with solar panels, is ready to continue and expand its activities. In short, SCA is the owner of a social Solar Cooking business for the production, marketing, and sale of solar and other energy-saving cooking appliances. The small Solar Cooking enterprise is doing well. In 2014 it sold 5,460 [[CooKit]] sets, 2,540 [[hay basket]]s and 5,040 [[wood-saving cooking appliance]]s. A promising development. In the year ahead solar lamps and very small solar panels will be sold as well. SCA is investigating which other energy-friendly appliances could best be marketed and included in the assortment of clean energy cooking appliances. In the coming years serious efforts will be made as well to expand the market into other regions in Uganda. |
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+ | [[File:Katherine_Russell_1.jpeg|thumb|right|300px|Katherine Russell with Nakawooya Victoria, 5, outside Nazareth Children’s Home in Nyendo, Uganda. Photo credit: The Summerville Journal of Science]] |
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− | *'''August 2008:''' [[Max Ozimek]], a 13 year old boy from the Cleveland area, won a science project on solar cooking last year. Doing some volunteer work at a local hospice he met Father Alexander Inke. Father Inke grew up in the village of Obia in the Nebbi District of Uganda, near the Congo border. Max learned about the hardships in Obia and deduced that solar cooking could help Obia in many ways. Rather than let her son’s dream languish, Max’s mom, Mary Lou, set about with extreme determination and the assistance of [[Solar Cookers International]]’s (SCI) [[Karyn Ellis]], SCI’s Director of International Program Development, to make an [[Integrated Cooking Method]] training project happen in Obia. The training course in Obia occurred from June 10th through June 15th. The course was primarily taught by [[Solar Connect Association]] (SCA) of Uganda with [[Kawesa Mukasa]] and [[Olivia Kanyesigye]] teaching solar cooking principles, [[CooKit]] construction, [[Water pasteurization|Solar Water Pasteurization]], [[Rocket Stove|Fuel-Efficient Stoves]] and [[Heat-retention cooking|Hay Basket]] use. [[Aid Africa]] representatives from nearby Gulu assisted in demonstrating a 6 Brick [[Rocket Stove]] made from adobe bricks and local materials. The CooKits, Hay Baskets and Rocket Stoves make Integrated Cooking possible, using the least amount of fuel and labor possible no matter the weather. Water Testing with SCI’s [[Portable Microbiology Laboratory]] (PML) was conducted by Miss Ellis as well; results of E-Coli presence in 5 local water sources was portrayed and the participants were taught to treat contaminated water with a CooKit. The 36 class participants were selected by Father Inke based on background, diversity, locale and leadership skills, and showed justifiable pride as the village and Chief watched them graduate from the training workshop on June 15th. The potential difference this project can make in the lives the people of Obia and surrounding environments can hardly be overstated. It is projected that class participants will teach others in surrounding villages how to construct and use CooKits, Hay Baskets and Fuel-Efficient Stoves to cook food and pasteurize water, as well as save the precious wood of their diminishing forests. Ways that Uganda’s SCA can build on its successful training and further Integrated Cooking in the area are being actively investigated. All this, because a mother believed in a son’s dream to help a priest’s far away village. |
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+ | *{{NewOct15}}'''September 2015:''' Katherine Russell, a 21-year-old woman from Summerville, {{State|South Carolina}}, [[USA]], is working to bring solar cookers to the Nazareth Children’s Home in Nyendo, Uganda. After her initial visit to Uganda in 2014, Katherine met John Martin, who lives in Walterboro, South Carolina, and is an experienced solar cooker builder. Katherine and John have held workshops to build solar cookers in South Carolina and plan to distribute them to the Nazareth Children’s Home along with [[pots]], pot holders, and [[Glazing|oven bags]] in 2016. [http://www.journalscene.com/article/20150925/SJ01/150929775/0/SJ Read more...] |
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+ | [[File:Faustine Odaba 4.jpg|thumb|right|250px|[[Faustine Odaba]] (Mama Solar) explains the use of a [[CooKit]] solar cooker in Uganda.]] |
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+ | *'''February 2015: "Mama Solar" celebrates 20 years of spreading solar cooking in East Africa''' - To mark 20 years of work to disseminate solar cooking in Africa, [[Faustine Odaba]], Director of Natural Resources and Waste Management Alliance ([[NAREWAMA]]), traveled to Uganda for 10 days to give presentations on solar cookers, fireless cookers, and gasifiers. Esther Nattabi of Awamu Biomass Energy, Kampala, assisted Faustine with the presentations. |
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+ | *{{NewJan16}}'''January 2015:''' The [[Solar Connect Association]] continues to increase its sales of [[Integrated Solar Cooking]] (ISC) products. The objective is to distribute 10,000 ISC cooking appliances per year. This includes parabolic reflectors! SCA operates independently from SCN. New construction in Biharwe continues to be delayed. SCN is sponsoring this new construction. HoAREC works together with six NGOs on the construction of 20 centres. In six of the 20 centres, CooKits, hay baskets, and WAPIs will be produced. Nine centres have been completed of which six are ready to start. Fikirte Regassa, SCN's representative at HoAREC is making tremendous efforts in assisting the work of the NGOs. This includes training sessions that she organises in the provinces where the centres will soon start production and sales. She also carries out many coordination tasks. Awara Amba has now produced enough ISC products to start focusing on sales. NGO ORDA is currently finalising its advisory tasks, including the organisation of a meeting with all Awara Amba authorities that will in future support the market development efforts. |
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− | *'''July 2008:''' [[Karyn Ellis]] of [[Solar Cookers International]] (SCI) writes, "In early June I set out to Uganda to assist with an Integrated Solar Cooking workshop in the small town of Obia, on the border of Congo. This project was initiated by Max and Mary Lou Ozimek of Ohio, and started with 13-year old Max winning a science project with a solar cooker last year. Max volunteers for a hospice where he met Father Alexander Inke, who made an impression on Max and quickly became a close family friend. As a result of many conversations with Father Inke about his village of Obia in NW Uganda, Max correctly deduced that solar cookers could make a substantial impact on a small village like Obia with very few resources. Max and Mary Lou contacted me at SCI, and Kawesa Mukasa at Solar Connect Association (SCA) and an integrated solar cooking workshop project was born. For those who don't know, Integrated Cooking is a fusion of solar cooking, along with hay baskets and fuel efficient stoves. The combination of these cooking techniques assure an 85% reduction in the amount of fuel used in any given area ~ an impact that helps considerably in areas where fuel resources are dwindling at a disconcerting rate. Needless to say, our 5-day workshop was a resounding success, supplemented nicely by a surprise visit from Aid Africa who put on an informative and educational demonstration on the fuel-efficient 6-Brick Rocket Stove. We are already receiving reports back that a good number of the 36 participants are reaching out to nearby communities and organizing demonstrations and workshops on their own. That's what it's all about! SCI and SCA will work together to provide adequate follow up as well as materials to ensure that future endeavors are productive and effective in the Obia area and Nebbi district". See the Photo Blog for the Uganda Integrated Cooking Workshop here: http://www.solarcookers.org/news/2008/06/uganda-integrated-cooking-workshop.html |
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+ | {{OldNewsLink}} |
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− | *'''April 2007:''' In the last six months of 2006, the [[Solar Connect Association]] (SCA) distributed 300 solar [[CooKit]]s in rural areas of western Uganda, including the villages of Kikokwa and Ruharo, as well as in the Orukiga refugee settlement. With support from its new partner the [[KoZon Foundation]], the SCA plans to disseminate an additional 2000 solar cookers in the western areas by the end of 2007. The SCA has worked with [[Project Environmentale de Virunga]] in the eastern [[Democratic Republic of the Congo|Congo]], near the habitat of the mountain gorillas, and with the [[Association Burundais pour la Protection des Oiseaux]] in Bunjumbura-Burundi. Both of these neighboring organizations reportedly need sources for low-cost [[Reflective materials|aluminum foil]] and other materials. '''''Contact:''''' ''[[Solar Connect Association]]'' |
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+ | =={{HeadingHistory}}== |
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− | *'''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 [[CooKit]]s 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 [[Cookit]]s. 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 [[Netherlands|Holland]] last December (2006) on a solar cooker field visit to our project. They were able to see a clusters of over 70 [[CooKit]]s 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 mitigation of climate change and conservation of our beautiful forests and savannah woodlands. |
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− | *'''February 2007:''' The [[GEF Small Grants Programme]] funded a project by the [[Happy Childhood Foundation]]: The purpose of the project is to improve the tree cover in areas along River Malaba in Chawo parish. This will in the long term conserve the water catchment so that it contributes to the maintenance of the water quantity and quality. Trees are cut at a high rate by community members who make charcoal for sale. Most of the charcoal is used by households in urban centers for cooking and it is their main source of fuel. The project will work with up to 40 households in Busia town and provide them solar ovens at a subsidized price so that they can eventually stop using charcoal for cooking. In addition, the project will target the charcoal makers and involve them in alternative income-generating activities. Furthermore, community members will be involved in tree planting, especially indigenous tree species, along River Malaba in Chawo parish to improve tree cover.[[Mbarara]] |
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− | |||
− | ==The History of Solar Cooking in Uganda== |
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country frequently touted as making good development progress, economically and |
country frequently touted as making good development progress, economically and |
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+ | politically. |
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− | politically. Interestingly, several of the small projects have been undertaken by |
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+ | {{SubSection|Welfare Society for Disabled People}} |
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⚫ | organizations serving disabled persons. One, led by |
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+ | Several small projects were started by |
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− | |||
⚫ | organizations serving disabled persons. One, led by Amos Byakagaba, coordinator of the [[Welfare Society for Disabled People]], arranged demonstrations of several solar cooker types held at various public locations. They targeted 23,000 families in Uganda as appropriate for training in the use of solar cookers.<ref>[http://solarcooking.org/newsletters/scrnov01.htm#News%20You%20Send Solar Cooker Review, November 2001]</ref> A similar organization, [[Disabled Technicians Uganda Limited|Disabled Technicians of Uganda]], also conducts workshops to introduce solar cooking within the country ([http://solarcooking.org/newsletters/scrsept97.htm#News%20You%20Send Solar Cooker Review, September 1997]). |
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+ | {{SubSection|UltraTech}} |
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− | solar cookers in the [[Mbale Solar Cooking Project]] |
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+ | {{SubSection|Creative Center of Mbale}} |
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− | + | {{SubSection|Solar Connect Association}} |
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− | the Kampala area. This group has been in existence for nine years, and reports that they |
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− | + | of a national promotional group, the [[Solar Connect Association]] (SCA), headquartered in the Kampala area. This group, in existence since 1994, reported in 2003 that they had taught 20,000 persons to solar cook and had produced 10,000 solar cookers by that time. They even recruited and trained employees of the Virunga National Park |
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− | time. They even have recruited and trained employees of the Virunga National Park |
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+ | [[parabolic cooker]]s of [[EG Solar]] in [[Germany]]. The most commonly used through the 2000s was the real "workhorse," the inexpensive cardboard [[CooKit]] that can be made by individuals from inexpensive materials. In 2004, 1,161 new trainees were reported, with 1,354 various types of cookers made. Efforts continue to be made to find other more durable solar cooker options. The solar devices are not only used to feed households, they are also employed in |
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− | famous mountain gorillas. |
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− | |||
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+ | {{SubSection|Health Technology Development Centre}} |
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− | parabolic cookers of [[EG Solar]] in [[Germany]]. The most commonly used, the real |
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+ | The Health Technology Development Centre of the Ministry of Health of that nation reported successful use of [[Solar autoclave |solar cookers as sterilizers]], as well as cooks in hospital and health centers. They also developed a [[Water pasteurization|pasteurizer]] for use in purifying water for hospital use. |
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− | "workhorse", is the inexpensive cardboard [[CooKit]] that can be made by individuals for an |
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+ | {{SubSection|Oruchinga Refugee Settlement}} |
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− | expenditure of 60 cents. In 2004,1,161 new trainees were reported, with 1,354 various |
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− | types of cookers made. |
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+ | {{ArchivedPagesForHistory}} |
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− | |||
+ | =={{HeadingClimateCulture}}== |
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− | The solar devices are not only used to feed households, they are also employed in |
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− | pasteurizing water. The group's leader, [[Kawesa Mukasa]], credits the work to his meeting |
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− | in [[Switzerland]], then researching many sources for additional information. One person |
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− | can truly make a huge difference. |
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− | |||
− | A rather unusual project has also been reported in Uganda. The Health |
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− | Technology Development Centre of the Ministry of Health of that nation reports |
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− | successful use of [[Solar autoclave |solar cookers as sterilizers]], as well as preparers of food in hospital and health centres. They have also developed a [[Water pasteurization|pasteurizerfor]]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 |
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− | eliminate those barriers. Those methods have included collaboration with various |
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− | international/national institutions, use of local materials that fosters job development, and the development of local standards for construction and installation of the technology. |
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− | 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. |
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− | ''[Information for the above section was taken originally from [[Media:sam.pdf|State of the Art of Solar Cooking]] by Dr. [[Barbara Knudson]]]'' |
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− | The Nyanya-Kentale Kukama Butonde Group, based in the Rakai district in southwestern Uganda, is an environmental group who's activities include the promotion of solar cooking. They have been involved with distribution of the Global Sun Oven. David Sentongo, the group's chairman states, "Demand for the ovens is steadily increasing as the communities come to know about its benefits. We got fifteen ovens, which we distributed to a first group of our members. Out of the fifteen, we gave two to some people in the communities who are not our members, just to show those Sun Ovens are for everyone." The group would like to acquire an industrial-size unit that could be used as a community oven for baking. |
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− | ==Climate, Culture, and Special Considerations== |
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[[Solar Cookers International]] has rated Uganda as the #8 country in the world in terms of solar cooking potential (See: [[Media:25_countries_with_most_solar_cooking_potential.pdf|The 25 countries with the most solar cooking potential]]). The estimated number of people in Uganda with fuel scarcity but ample sun in 2020 is 7,500,000. |
[[Solar Cookers International]] has rated Uganda as the #8 country in the world in terms of solar cooking potential (See: [[Media:25_countries_with_most_solar_cooking_potential.pdf|The 25 countries with the most solar cooking potential]]). The estimated number of people in Uganda with fuel scarcity but ample sun in 2020 is 7,500,000. |
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In rural areas, access to energy services remains very poor as the appropriate mechanisms are still missing. Only 5% of the rural population is connected to an electricity supply and 93% still rely on biomass for cooking.[http://allafrica.com/stories/200807010044.html] |
In rural areas, access to energy services remains very poor as the appropriate mechanisms are still missing. Only 5% of the rural population is connected to an electricity supply and 93% still rely on biomass for cooking.[http://allafrica.com/stories/200807010044.html] |
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− | + | '''See also''' |
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+ | *{{WikipediaClimate|https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geography_of_Uganda}} |
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+ | *{{NewAug19}}{{EnergySituationEnergypedia}} |
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*[[Solar cooker dissemination and cultural variables]] |
*[[Solar cooker dissemination and cultural variables]] |
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==Resources== |
==Resources== |
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+ | {{ContinentInfo|Africa}} |
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− | ===Possible [[funders]] for solar cooking projects in Uganda=== |
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− | *[http://www.kiva.org/about/aboutPartner?id=112 Micro Credit for Development and Transformation SACCO (MCDT SACCO)] |
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− | *[http://www.kiva.org/about/aboutPartner?id=84 Pearl Microfinance Limited] |
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− | *[http://www.kiva.org/about/aboutPartner?id=65 BRAC Uganda] |
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*See also general guidance on [[raising funds through grants and donations]] |
*See also general guidance on [[raising funds through grants and donations]] |
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+ | {{FacebookGroups}} |
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− | |||
− | ===Blogs=== |
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− | * http://jeffandmichelleinuganda.blogspot.com |
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===Reports=== |
===Reports=== |
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+ | *{{NewDec16}}'''October 2016:''' [[Media:How_Solar_Connect_sustains_a_Solar_Cooking_Business.pdf|How Solar Connect sustains the solar cooking business]] - ''[[Solar Connect Association]]'' |
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− | *'''March 2010:''' [[Media:Evaluation_of_Integrated_Cooking_SCN_project_Uganda_2008-9.pdf|Evaluation of Integrated Cooking]] by [[SCN]], |
+ | *'''March 2010:''' [[Media:Evaluation_of_Integrated_Cooking_SCN_project_Uganda_2008-9.pdf|Evaluation of Integrated Cooking]] by [[SCN]], Uganda, 2008 |
===Articles in the media=== |
===Articles in the media=== |
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+ | *{{NewDec17}}'''December 2017:''' [https://www.usnews.com/news/best-states/arkansas/articles/2017-12-10/arkansas-sixth-graders-design-ovens-for-uganda-community Arkansas Sixth-Graders Design Ovens for Uganda Community] - ''USNews'' |
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+ | *{{NewOct17}}'''October 2017:''' [http://girltalkhq.com/avon-ladies-renewable-energy-solar-sister-bringing-light-jobs-african-women/ The Avon Ladies Of Renewable Energy – Solar Sister Bringing Light & Jobs To African Women] - ''GirlTalkHQ'' |
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+ | *{{NewNov16}}'''November 2016:''' [http://allafrica.com/stories/201611080060.html Uganda: Makerere Students Assemble 'Made in Uganda' Solar Cooker] - ''allAfrica'' |
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*'''April 2011:''' [http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/business/-/2560/1129580/-/item/2/-/s6lphmz/-/index.html Uganda opts for solar cookers to boost energy and conserve forests] - '' The EastAfrican'' |
*'''April 2011:''' [http://www.theeastafrican.co.ke/business/-/2560/1129580/-/item/2/-/s6lphmz/-/index.html Uganda opts for solar cookers to boost energy and conserve forests] - '' The EastAfrican'' |
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*'''April 2011:''' [http://www.globalissues.org/news/2011/04/01/9134 Uganda: Sun Smiling on Renewable Energy Initiative] - ''Inter Press Service'' |
*'''April 2011:''' [http://www.globalissues.org/news/2011/04/01/9134 Uganda: Sun Smiling on Renewable Energy Initiative] - ''Inter Press Service'' |
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*'''November 2010:''' [http://www.4-traders.com/WESTERN-UNION-CO-33821/news/WESTERN-UNION-CO-Diaspora-Small-Business-Solutions-Seen-as-Key-to-Development-in-Africa-13501192/ WESTERN UNION CO : Diaspora Small Business Solutions Seen as Key to Development in Africa] - ''4-Traders'' |
*'''November 2010:''' [http://www.4-traders.com/WESTERN-UNION-CO-33821/news/WESTERN-UNION-CO-Diaspora-Small-Business-Solutions-Seen-as-Key-to-Development-in-Africa-13501192/ WESTERN UNION CO : Diaspora Small Business Solutions Seen as Key to Development in Africa] - ''4-Traders'' |
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*'''January 2010:''' [http://blogs.reuters.com/small-business/2010/01/21/u-s-program-helps-african-entrepreneurs U.S. program helps African entrepreneurs] - ''Reuters'' |
*'''January 2010:''' [http://blogs.reuters.com/small-business/2010/01/21/u-s-program-helps-african-entrepreneurs U.S. program helps African entrepreneurs] - ''Reuters'' |
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− | *'''August 2009:''' [http://allafrica.com/stories/200908310836.html Uganda: Solar Oven Launched] - '' |
+ | *'''August 2009:''' [http://allafrica.com/stories/200908310836.html Uganda: Solar Oven Launched] - ''New Vision'' |
− | *'''April 2009:''' [ |
+ | *'''April 2009:''' [https://web.archive.org/web/20090722002712/http://newvisionuganda.info/D/8/220/673244 Kiwatule Rotarians donate solar oven to women inmates] - ''New Vision'' from internet archive |
− | *'''April 2009:''' [http://newvisionuganda.info/D/8/220/673244 Kiwatule Rotarians donate solar oven to women inmates] - ''The New Vision'' |
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*'''June 2008:''' [http://allafrica.com/stories/200807010044.html Uganda: Let the Poor Have Their Own Energy Sources] - ''The Monitor (Kampala)'' |
*'''June 2008:''' [http://allafrica.com/stories/200807010044.html Uganda: Let the Poor Have Their Own Energy Sources] - ''The Monitor (Kampala)'' |
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===Audio and video=== |
===Audio and video=== |
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+ | *{{NewOct18}}'''October 2018:''' |
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+ | ::[[File:Solar Electric Cooking and Uganda, Pete Schwartz, Cal Poly Physics|none|400px]] |
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+ | *{{NewMar17}}'''January 2017:''' |
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+ | ::[[File:Kawesa Mukasa - How Solar Connect Association Sustains the Solar Cooking Business|none|400px]] |
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+ | *'''January 2012:''' |
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+ | *'''January 2010:''' |
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{{CountryContacts}} |
{{CountryContacts}} |
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[[Category:Countries]] |
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+ | [[Category:Countries with the greatest solar cooking potential]] |
Latest revision as of 01:24, 25 January 2024
Last edited: 4 December 2023
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Kawesa Mukasa, of the Solar Connect Association, reported in July 2017 that they had sold over 250 solar cookers, 100 retained heat cookers, and 250 improved combustion stoves each month. These results have made it possible for the business to be self-sustaining.
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Events[]
Featured international events[]
- 4-6 June 2024 (Bridgetown, Barbados): Sustainable Energy for All Global Forum - The event will be co-hosted by Sustainable Energy for All (SEforALL) and the government of Barbados. It is a platform for government, business and finance leaders, entrepreneurs, and youth and community representatives from around the world to come together to broker new partnerships, spur new investment, and address challenges at the nexus of energy, climate, and development. More information...
Online events[]
Requests for proposal[]
- Decentralized Renewable Energy Solutions utilizing Solar and Bio-Energy - Sustainable Energy Technologies and Assessments of ScienceDirect, is requesting guest-author submissions. The special issue, VSI: DRES is devoted to publishing research articles reporting the innovative designs and design interventions in solar thermal and bio-energy for decentralized energy systems (DES). It includes i) new and novel designs of prototype or commercial devices and technologies, their development, modeling and simulations and experimental validation; ii) innovations for processes, techniques, utilization, and applications; iii) novel use of materials for improving efficiency, performance, techno-economic feasibility, and sustainability and iv) research findings addressing the socio-economic, health and safety impacts, and life cycle assessments leading to proposing novel devices for DES. The Deadline for submission is 31 July 2024. More submittal information...
- See also: Global Calendar of Events and past events in Uganda
Most significant projects[]
- Self-sustaining and profitable, a solar cooker business thrives in Uganda - The Solar Connect Association, under the direction of Kawesa Mukasa, reported in July 2017 that they have been able to sell monthly over 250 solar cookers, 100 retained heat cookers, and 250 improved combustion stoves. These results, and the profits they have generated, have made it possible for the business to be self-sustaining. With guidance from Solar Cooking KoZon, their approach has been to hire local employees, and to make a long term commitment to the areas where they work. Read more...
News[]
- December 2023: NJUBA solar cooking introductory project - The NJUBA Children Relief project took place within the Mpigi and Zombo districts, and ran from January 2022 until June 2023. Women from these areas were surveyed to assess their cooking needs and preferences. A solar box cooker design was developed and and distributed to the participants in the study, and a group of local women were trained to help teach and follow-up with the new solar cooker users. Meticulous records were keep during the study trial period. The cookers were enthusiastically endorsed by study participants, but changing weather patterns provided challenges. Read more...
- Photo credit: Daniel Plattner, CEO NJUBA Children Relief
- September 2023: ECOCA pilot stove program: - Mercy Corps in partnership with the Danish company Pesitho, has initiated a pilot program at the Bidibidi Refugee Camp in Uganda to make PV-powered ECOCA induction stoves available to residents of the camp. The program will provide a pay-as-you-cook method of payment for residents. As in other refugee camps, the women are usually the most vulnerable, having to go the edges of the camp and beyond to gather what little firewood is available for cooking. This leaves them open to possibly becoming victims of violence. The new stoves will help relieve that stress. When fully charged, the ECOCA has enough energy to cook three meals a day. The need for time-intensive firewood gathering disappears, as does the carcinogenic smoke and pollution produced by wood fires. Women have more time to attend community meetings, socialize with friends, care for their families, or invest in income-generating opportunities. Read more...
- December 2022: Visit to Farmers with a Vision by Joshua Katagwa of Mayunge, Uganda and Maimuna Nangobi of Jinja Renewable Consult, Uganda. They were shown how the solar box cooker and the evacuated tube solar cooker are operated, and assembled.
- Photo credits: Farmers with a Vision
- October 2022: Solar Connect Association update - Kawesa Mukasa, director of the Solar Connect Association, is still making and selling solar cookers at his shop in Uganda. He mentioned he prefers the Haines 2.0 for overall performance, and that it is in great condition after many years of use. The new conical solar cooker cooks faster, but they have not solved the problem of how to keep the pot stable when moving the reflector to follow the sun. He does not use glass lids, but wishes they were available. A lady in his shop makes insulated baskets, selling for USD26. He primarily sells CooKits, because he can easily get the materials to make them.
- August 2022: Bernhard Müller reports Ingelore Kahrens, board member of Lernen - Helfen - Leben e.V., is in Uganda for a SES mission. She introduced the Kiin household size solar dryer already and is presently educating the women about making and using fireless cookers.
- January 2022: Solar tunnel dryer design for Kenya and Uganda: - Bernhard Müller offered his design skills in helping to create a new solar tunnel dryer for his partners in Kenya and Uganda. A 10W solar panel powers a fan providing air flow, and enables the people who work with the dryer to charge their phones simultaneously.
- November 2021: Esther Nattabi now has a website for her social enterprise, UGwal Clean Energy Ltd., in Mengo Kampala, Uganda.
- May 2021: Building a business - Bernhard Müller reports that Esther Nattabi has recently purchased an acre of land near Kampala, Uganda to build a workshop for the production of improved combustion cookstoves, biomass briquettes, and fireless cookers. The plan includes renting and opening a retail store in Kampala for sales of their products.
- November 2020: Hunger Aid Uganda - organized by Lernen - Helfen - Leben e.V. - The project is part of Hunger Aid Africa, which after a year in planning, began implementation this November. The main focus of the program is the reduction of fuel costs, leaving more resources for food, and also the reduction of exposure to toxic emissions. The project will be administered with help from Esther Nattabi. They will distribute solar cooking equipment and bio-mass briquettes for fuel. Read more detail of the project at: Hunger Aid Uganda, a project by Lernen Helfen Leben
- August 2020: New solar restaurant - The solar restaurant at the Hajjat Zam Hotel located in Kampala, Uganda, is operated by Kawesa Mukasa of the Solar Connect Association, and is now open on a limited basis due to Covid-19.
- June 2020: Fireless cookers for Kampala Uganda: - Esther Nattabi produces and delivers fireless basket cookers during the lockdown in Kampala. She has the Facebook group: fireless cookers /baskets.
- January 2020: Haines 2.0 Solar Cookers for Refugees in Uganda - Thirty-three women in the Palabek Refugee Community in northern Uganda received Haines 2.0 Solar Cookers and were extensively trained in how to use them. The project was organized by the Gulu-based Alliance for African Assistance in partnership with the African Refugee Education Project, the San Diego Rotary Club, Solar Household Energy and the Solar Connect Association of Uganda. The goal is to establish 33 women in the community as long-term solar cooking enthusiasts. Three of the women will be selected by their peers as to conduct periodic surveys to evaluate the long term use and adoption of the cookers, and the possibility of establishing a sustainable solar cooker enterprise in the community.
- December 2019: Solar Cooking KoZon update (text borrowed from Solar Cooking KoZon December 2019 newsletter): In August Solar Cooking KoZon brokered a deal with WISE to co-sponsor the project proposal ‘Clean and Energy Efficient Cooking Program’. The proposal was created after a visit by this group to SCA, with a request for support for their ISC programme. The first step has been made: five ladies from five different communities received basic ISC training at SCA in Biharwe. Each lady received two cooking appliances. The next step would be that the women organise an ISC demonstration day in their own community in order to further scale up. SCK pays for a large part of SCA’s costs, about € 1,000. Triodos Foundation bears the costs of the local WISE organisation, approx. € 2,500.
- July 2019: Green Day celebration in Kampala - Bernhard Müller reports that Esther Nattabi, an active solar cooking advocate in Uganda, presented solar and fireless cookers at the "Green Day“ organized by the leading NGO Joint Energy and Environment Project in Kampala on Saturday, July 27th. Photo credit: Bernhard Müller
- October 2018: Community solar baking oven commissioned in Gulu - A new solar array style oven has been installed by Lorin Symington of GoSol.org. GoSol reports the new oven is capable of baking 30-35 kg of bread per day. GoSol has trained 12 local youths from Smart-up Factory, a local NGO, in operating the oven. More information...
- July 2018: Haines Cooker evaluation - Solar Household Energy has joined with a number of organizations to evaluate acceptance of the Haines 2.0 Solar Cooker in refugee camps in Northern Uganda. Partners include the Rotary Clubs of San Diego, California, USA and Gulu, Uganda, the Alliance for African Assistance, African Refugee Education Project, Solar Connect Association, and the U-Touch Technology Center. Last April, eight Rotarians, including SHE board member Roger Haines, traveled to northern Uganda to demonstrate the cooker. The Alliance for African Assistance will produce the cookers in Gulu, and hopes to scale up to make more cookers available in northern Uganda.
- June 2018: AfriShiners workshop a success in Kampala - The three-day international workshop on clean cooking and food processing included 23 participants, from various countries around the world. This was the second year for the workshop, which was hosted by the Giving Hope Foundation. The event organizer and Lernen - Helfen - Leben e.V. board member was Bernhard Müller. Faustine Odaba led a workshop on fireless cookers. Other activities included a visit to a local solar stove testing facility. Program information...
- October 2017: Dedicated solar cooking proponent visits Kenya and Uganda - Roger Haines, CEO of Haines Solar Cookers, spent most of the first half of 2017 by attending and networking at the 6th SCI World Conference 2017 in India, and then traveling throughout central Africa to promote various solar cooking projects. The seeds for the Kakuma festival began at the conference. Next he met with solar cooker entrepreneurs Camily Wedende, Dinah Chienjo, and John Amayo in Nairobi, Kenya, and then toured the situation in Uganda. He met with the Alliance for African Assistance in Gulu to find ways to distribute subsidized Haines Solar Cookers. At the end of April he was back in Kenya at the Kakuma Refugee Camp to help with the planned festival. Faustine Odaba was on hand to help the student participants use their new solar cookers to best effect. Read in more detail about Roger's trip at: Roger Haines trips to India and Africa, 2017
- June 2017: World Environment Day celebration - Edward Sembajjwe of Disabled Technicians Uganda Limited built and demonstrated the Heliac Solar Cooker at the 5 June 2017 national World Environment Day celebration in Ibanda, western Uganda. This partnership was formed at the 6th SCI World Conference 2017 at Muni Seva Ashram in Gujarat, January 2017. With materials and instructions from Heliac, Sembajjwe and Disabled Technicians Uganda manufactured the Heliac Fresnel-lens solar cooker locally.
- June 2017: Sustainable solar cooker business in Mbarara - The Solar Connect Association, under the direction of Kawesa Mukasa, has been able to sell 280 solar cookers, 110 hay baskets, and 260 fuel-efficient wood stoves monthly. These results, and the profits they have generated, have made it possible for the business to be self-sustaining. Read more...
- March 2017: Disabled Technicians Uganda Limited and Heliac, Denmark began a technology-sharing partnership at the 6th SCI World Conference 2017 in India. Edward Sembajjwe is constructing Heliac’s Fresnel lens solar cooker in Uganda.
- March 2017: The Solar Connect Association reports: "If you are going to western Uganda to visit Queen Elizabeth National Park, Bwindi Impenetrable Forest for Mountain Gorilla tracking, the SCA is located nine miles away on Mbarara-Masaka Highway from Mbarara at the Biharwe trading center just opposite the Igongo Country Hotel and Cultural Museum. Their building is just opposite the gate of the hotel. Many tourists also stop there for lunch and sightseeing. They have a Renewable Energy Center Building there selling and displaying solar cookers and other energy saving stoves Monday through Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m."
- January 2017: Solar Cooking KoZon reports: A very prominent project right now is the Nakivale refugee camp. It is located in South West Uganda in the Isingiro district. Approximately 60,000 refugees from neighbouring countries live in the Nakivale camp and have lived there for many years. Our programme, in cooperation with other organisations, contributes to better living conditions. The project objectives have been set down in a Memorandum of Understanding and its formal launch was held on Thursday, 22 September 2016. The kickoff took place in a celebratory mood in the presence of the district governor and the camp commander. This is a 12-month project, a period during which at least 1,000 Solar CooKits will be supplied. The refugees will thus have access to solar cooking tools. At the same time a group of about 20 people received training in the use and upkeep of CooKits, hay baskets, WAPIs and eco stoves. The "instructor" represent their village(s) and will in turn pass on their knowledge to others.
- November 2016: Makerere Students Assemble 'Made in Uganda' Solar Cooker - A solar cooker was unveiled last week at this year's annual general technology innovation exhibition organised by the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT), Makerere University. Dan Maire, the group leader, says they decided to pursue the idea of making a solar cooker last year. With everything needed in place, the group went on to assemble 80 units of solar cookers in July based on the Blazing Tube Solar design. Read more...
- September 2016: The Solar Connect Association (SCA) visited the Nakivale Refugee Settlement in Uganda where they met with the Assistant Camp Commander, Mr. Kintu Khalid. SCA instructors trained 20 people from different villages to be instructors themselves. The training dealt with solar CooKits, Water Pasteurization Indicators, Heat-retention cooking, improved combustion stoves, and the maintenance of same. Continued efforts at Nakivale, and also at the Oruchinga Refugee Settlement, will be the priority for SCA in 2017. At Nakivale, SCA is currently working with the Julu camp that has about 22,000 refugees. They have distributed 60 solar cookers and 14 improved combustion stoves. In the Oruchinga Refugee Settlement, they have distributed 70 solar cooker cookers and 12 improved combustion stoves. SCA plans to sell 1,000 solar cookers in the two settlements by end of August 2017. Solar Cooking KoZon has contributed additional funding to help with the projects at Nakivale and Oruchinga.
- September 2016: The Solar Connect Association reports: "We had a staff meeting with the key players of manufacturing in Biharwe. We kicked off the project in the Oruchinga Refugee Settlement with the presence of the district governor, camp commander, and the project leader Mr. Buyinga Boaz. Additional information was handed over and demonstrations were made for many people. A local radio station broadcast an interview with one of our team members."
- September 2016: Outreach demonstrations in Uganda - Solar Cooking The Netherlands - KoZon with the Solar Connect Association conducted solar cooking demonstrations with parabolic solar cookers, and heat-retention cooking with hay baskets, in the Isingiro district of Uganda during the month of June. Read more...
- April 2016: Training future trainers of solar cooking - Camily Wedende, group leader of Eldoret Student Projects in Eldoret, Kenya, and member of Rotary Club of Eldoret, leads a Train-the-Trainers Workshop for the Rotary Club of Gulu, Uganda. The Uganda Rotary Club is preparing to distribute 500 Haines Solar Cookers in northern Uganda and is learning more about solar cooking from Camily's years of experience building, teaching, and cooking with solar.
- January 2016: Since 2007 Wilde Ganzen and Solar Cooking The Netherlands - KoZon have supported the Solar Cooking project in Uganda, implemented by Solar Connect Association (SCA). In mid-2013 a business plan was decided on, including a schedule of Integrated Solar Cooking (ISC) activities during the following five years. In the course of 2014 it became clear that the objective of financial independence had been achieved. The business expanded from Mbarara in the South West. In 2014 construction of a Renewable Energy Centre with larger ISC production, training, and distribution facilities was started with financial support from Wilde Ganzen and SCN-KoZon. In its beautiful location on the main road between Uganda, Republic of the Congo, Tanzania, and Rwanda, the building, fitted out with solar panels, is ready to continue and expand its activities. In short, SCA is the owner of a social Solar Cooking business for the production, marketing, and sale of solar and other energy-saving cooking appliances. The small Solar Cooking enterprise is doing well. In 2014 it sold 5,460 CooKit sets, 2,540 hay baskets and 5,040 wood-saving cooking appliances. A promising development. In the year ahead solar lamps and very small solar panels will be sold as well. SCA is investigating which other energy-friendly appliances could best be marketed and included in the assortment of clean energy cooking appliances. In the coming years serious efforts will be made as well to expand the market into other regions in Uganda.
- September 2015: Katherine Russell, a 21-year-old woman from Summerville, South Carolina, USA, is working to bring solar cookers to the Nazareth Children’s Home in Nyendo, Uganda. After her initial visit to Uganda in 2014, Katherine met John Martin, who lives in Walterboro, South Carolina, and is an experienced solar cooker builder. Katherine and John have held workshops to build solar cookers in South Carolina and plan to distribute them to the Nazareth Children’s Home along with pots, pot holders, and oven bags in 2016. Read more...
- February 2015: "Mama Solar" celebrates 20 years of spreading solar cooking in East Africa - To mark 20 years of work to disseminate solar cooking in Africa, Faustine Odaba, Director of Natural Resources and Waste Management Alliance (NAREWAMA), traveled to Uganda for 10 days to give presentations on solar cookers, fireless cookers, and gasifiers. Esther Nattabi of Awamu Biomass Energy, Kampala, assisted Faustine with the presentations.
- January 2015: The Solar Connect Association continues to increase its sales of Integrated Solar Cooking (ISC) products. The objective is to distribute 10,000 ISC cooking appliances per year. This includes parabolic reflectors! SCA operates independently from SCN. New construction in Biharwe continues to be delayed. SCN is sponsoring this new construction. HoAREC works together with six NGOs on the construction of 20 centres. In six of the 20 centres, CooKits, hay baskets, and WAPIs will be produced. Nine centres have been completed of which six are ready to start. Fikirte Regassa, SCN's representative at HoAREC is making tremendous efforts in assisting the work of the NGOs. This includes training sessions that she organises in the provinces where the centres will soon start production and sales. She also carries out many coordination tasks. Awara Amba has now produced enough ISC products to start focusing on sales. NGO ORDA is currently finalising its advisory tasks, including the organisation of a meeting with all Awara Amba authorities that will in future support the market development efforts.
History[]
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.
Several small projects were started by organizations serving disabled persons. One, led by Amos Byakagaba, coordinator of the Welfare Society for Disabled People, arranged demonstrations of several solar cooker types held at various public locations. They targeted 23,000 families in Uganda as appropriate for training in the use of solar cookers.[1] A similar organization, Disabled Technicians of Uganda, also conducts workshops to introduce solar cooking within the country (Solar Cooker Review, September 1997).
Another project included the efforts of UltraTech, a company selling Global Sun Ovens, with plans to collaborate in manufacturing when demand was sufficient.
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, in existence since 1994, reported in 2003 that they had taught 20,000 persons to solar cook and had produced 10,000 solar cookers by that time. They even recruited and trained employees of the Virunga National Park Environment Project, located in Democratic Republic of the 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 through the 2000s was the real "workhorse," the inexpensive cardboard CooKit that can be made by individuals from inexpensive materials. In 2004, 1,161 new trainees were reported, with 1,354 various types of cookers made. Efforts continue to be made to find other more durable solar cooker options. 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.
The Health Technology Development Centre of the Ministry of Health of that nation reported successful use of solar cookers as sterilizers, as well as cooks in hospital and health centers. They also developed a pasteurizer for use in purifying water for hospital use.
In 2002 it was noted that in the villages of Kikokwa, Ruharo, Biharwe, and Oruchinga Refugee Settlement in Mbarara in western Uganda, women trained by Solar Connect Association used solar cookers quite frequently in the dry season, and even during the rainy season when the sun came out.
- Main article: History of solar cooking
Archived articles
Climate and culture[]
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 fuel scarcity but ample sun in 2020 is 7,500,000.
In rural areas, access to energy services remains very poor as the appropriate mechanisms are still missing. Only 5% of the rural population is connected to an electricity supply and 93% still rely on biomass for cooking.[1]
See also
- The climate of Uganda - Wikipedia
- Uganda Energy Situation - Energypedia
- Discussion of eastern Africa's suitability for solar cooking
- Solar cooker dissemination and cultural variables
Resources[]
Possible funding[]
- Find a Kiva microfinance partner in Uganda.
- Raising funds through grants and donations
- See also general guidance on raising funds through grants and donations
Facebook groups[]
Reports[]
- October 2016: How Solar Connect sustains the solar cooking business - Solar Connect Association
- March 2010: Evaluation of Integrated Cooking by SCN, Uganda, 2008
Articles in the media[]
- December 2017: Arkansas Sixth-Graders Design Ovens for Uganda Community - USNews
- October 2017: The Avon Ladies Of Renewable Energy – Solar Sister Bringing Light & Jobs To African Women - GirlTalkHQ
- November 2016: Uganda: Makerere Students Assemble 'Made in Uganda' Solar Cooker - allAfrica
- August 2011: Uganda: Invest in Renewable Energy - New Vision
- April 2011: Uganda opts for solar cookers to boost energy and conserve forests - The EastAfrican
- April 2011: Uganda: Sun Smiling on Renewable Energy Initiative - Inter Press Service
- November 2010: African diaspora increases investments at home - Business Daily
- November 2010: Uganda to get solar oven plant early next year - Daily Monitor
- November 2010: WESTERN UNION CO : Diaspora Small Business Solutions Seen as Key to Development in Africa - 4-Traders
- January 2010: U.S. program helps African entrepreneurs - Reuters
- August 2009: Uganda: Solar Oven Launched - New Vision
- April 2009: Kiwatule Rotarians donate solar oven to women inmates - New Vision from internet archive
- June 2008: Uganda: Let the Poor Have Their Own Energy Sources - The Monitor (Kampala)
Audio and video[]
- October 2018:
- January 2017:
- January 2012:
- January 2010:
Contacts[]
The entities listed below are either based in Uganda, or have established solar cooking projects there:
SCI Associates[]
- Main article: Solar Cookers International Association