Solar Cooking
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Last edited: 12 August 2019      
Cuba-pizza-restaurant
This large solar box cooker manufactured by Solar Freedom International cooked pizzas for many years at a tourist restaurant in Cuba.

Events[]

Featured international events[]

SEforAll logo, 7-25-24
  • 12-14 March 2025 (Bridgetown, Barbados): Sustainable Energy for All Global Forum - Building on Prime Minister Mottley’s Bridgetown Initiative for the reform of development finance, the Forum will address the challenge of how we can mobilize sufficient finance on the right terms to meet global goals, especially for the most underserved communities, countries and regions – such as Small Island Developing States. The event wil be co-hosted by Sustainable Energy for All and the Government of Barbados, led by Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley. Project site visits will take place Friday, 14 March. More information...

Requests for proposal[]

CONSOLFOOD 2025 logo, 4-28-24
  • The deadline for receipt of abstracts is 15th December 2024 - Advances in Solar Thermal Food Processing (CONSOLFOOD2025) is being planned for the 5th, 6th and 7th of May, 2025 in Marseille, France. The gathering expects to attract, once again, top experts from all over the world to present and discuss topics related to advances in solar food processing and solar cooking. An exhibition of solar cookers will be available for viewing during the conference at the nearby the solar restaurant Le Présage. The solar restaurant, along with the demonstration cookers, will produce a solar lunch. The whole conference program will be delivered in hybrid format, so those who register, but are not present at Marseille, will be able to participate online. Your abstracts should be sent via email to Celestino Ruivo at cruivo@ualg.pt in .doc, .docx, or pdf format. You should limit your abstract to 400 words, and follow these guidelines. All abstracts will be reviewed and assessed by members of the scientific committee. The organizing committee will inform each author whether their submitted abstract has been accepted. The committee encourages all authors to write an optional full length paper for inclusion in our conference proceedings. Successful authors should pre-record their presentations, using Powerpoint, or similar software. They will be invited to submit either a) a short presentation, of about 7 minutes duration, or b) a longer presentation, of about 25 minutes to cruivo@ualg.pt by 30th March 2025. The expected conference fee is 200 euros before 1st April 2025. Interested people facing financial difficulties should contact the organizing committee.
See also: Global Calendar of Events and past events in Cuba

News[]

GERA student project in Cuba, 1-10-13

GERA project in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba

  • January 2013: Utilization of solar cookers in the Basic Secondary School in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba - The Applied Renewable Energies Group (GERA) have successfully been using their versatile solar cookers to introduce solar cooking to seventh grade students at the Basic Secondary School in Cuba. The group feels it is an excellent time to introduce alternative energy strategies to these younger students. At the end of the school year, parents are invited to attend a solar festival at the school to see how the students have put their training into practice. Read more about the project at: GERA student project in Santiago de Cuba, Cuba
El Romero restaurant, Cuba

Chef Inti Langaney cooks vegetables with a parabolic solar cooker at the El Romero eco-restaurant in Pinar del Rio, Cuba.

  • February 2011: The eco-friendly vegetarian restaurant, El Romero, in Pinar del Rio, has begun to offer dishes prepared with solar cookers.

History[]

Solar Energy Research Center

When planning was underway for the Second World Conference on Solar Cooking, to be held in Costa Rica, in July of 1994, an abstract for a presentation to be made was received from a Cuban staff member of the Solar Energy Research Center in that nation. The letter told of their work, particularly with solar drying of food and even construction materials, as well as the use of solar energy for purifying and distilling water. What happened is unclear, as the paper does not appear in the program. However, it is evident that some action regarding the use of solar energy for household was taking place at that time.

Eco-restaurant at the National Botanical Garden

Two years later, in 1996, an SCI volunteer and trainer of many, the late Don Coan of Sacramento, California, attended a conference on sustainable energy use in Cuba. He recounted some of the uses of solar energy he was shown during his visit. Sun Oven box cookers, gifts from a visitor, were in use at an Eco-restaurant at the National Botanical Garden. One secondary school had a large parabolic solar reflector that directed sunrays to pots inside the building - it was however not in use at the time of Coan's visit.

Renewable Energy Group

The Renewable Energy Group at Eastern University, Santiago de Cuba, indicated in 1998 that they had been working on solar cookers for over ten years and had at that time disseminated 200 cookers to families and 50 to schools of the area. It is evident that substantial interest and experimentation has been present in Cuba. Cuba has excellent sunshine and few other fuel resources; hence it could almost certainly utilize solar cooking. Cuba may well be doing more than is known without communicating that information to the international community.

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

Archived articles

Climate and culture[]

See also

Resources[]

Possible funding[]

Documents[]

  • January 2018: Development of Solar Dryers, Cuban Experience for Food Preservation (Slides, Abstract) - Boris A. Zaldívar Núñez, et al

Articles in the media[]

Audio and video[]

External links[]

Contacts[]

The entities listed below are either based in Cuba or have initiated solar cooking projects there:

SCI Associates[]

NGOs[]

Manufacturers and vendors[]

Individuals[]

Government agencies[]

Educational institutions[]