Solar Cooking
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Last edited: 27 May 2020      
Force of the Sun

Two Haitian children with their Sun Oven

El Fuego del Sol (Force of the Sun) is working in cooperation with Sun Ovens International to build Sun Ovens in the Dominican Republic for distribution in Central America and Caribbean.

Sun Ovens are quality-built and last for decades, making them much cheaper to use over time than propane. They also keep the cooks in the family from breathing dangerous wood smoke and propane fumes. This can be empowering especially for women populations who do most of the cooking.

Dominican families bring in less than USD 300 on average every month, and they spend an average of USD 25-50 per month on propane to cook their food. Sun Ovens can cook traditional Dominican food better and safer than propane or wood. Traditional Dominican food cooked in Sun Ovens will be a centerpiece of the tourist day-excursion to the El Fuego del Sol property.

International tourists will finance the program through their tour fees, and the ovens will go to the Dominicans who pay little or no money up front to participate for the day. But, to participate in the program, the Dominican family must agree to gradually buy a Sun Oven for a Haitian family in payments that will be less per week than they will be saving in propane expense. So the Sun Ovens financed by the tourists set in motion the purchase TWO ovens for use by families for years to come. The concept is pay-it-forward.

News[]

  • April 2015: El Fuego del Sol wins the 2015 Energy Globe Award for Haiti. Read more...
  • July 2011: Kevin Adair, of El Fuego del Sol, has submitted a Whitepaper response to the request for comments from the Partnership for Clean Indoor Air's proposal to recommend primarily a LG gas solution to Haiti's consumer energy needs. The group believes they should consider solar and biofuel as the primary solutions. Read the whitepaper.
  • May 2011: Solar Household Energy (SHE) has begun a cooperative relationship with Grupo Jaragua, a highly respected non-governmental organization in the Dominican Republic, to support a solar cooking initiative. Grupo is aided by a Dominican eco-tourism and solar cooking advocate El Fuego del Sol, which conducts the local assembly and subsidized sale of Sun Oven box cookers in rural communities near the Haitian border. They are also supporting The Nature Conservancy’s office in the Dominican Republic to add the integrated cooking method as a component of their reforestation project in Haiti. Read more in the SHE spring update 2011.
Sun oven in Dominican Republic
  • November 2006: Global Sun Ovens® — the durable box-type solar cookers developed by Sun Ovens International — are now being assembled in the Dominican Republic for use there and in Haiti, the Caribbean, and Central America. Kevin Adair, owner of Force of the Sun, says his company offers the ovens for sale at a significant discount to nonprofit organizations. He predicts the company will distribute 50,000 solar cookers regionally in the next three years. Force of the Sun began full production of Global Sun Ovens® in May, and shipped its first cookers to Haiti in June. The factory was designed by solar cooking expert Jack Anderson and is located in the Higuey Zona Franca Ecological in Altagracia Province. Additional space is available for rent to other nonprofits and manufacturers of ecologically sensitive products. Adair believes that by networking with other groups in the Dominican Republic, he will be able to spread the solar cooking idea faster. The company offers training to nonprofits that will distribute solar cookers. Force of the Sun is seeking volunteers to teach solar cooking skills in Haiti.

Significant dates[]

2005

  • Contracted with Sun Ovens International
  • December. 1: Force of the Sun pariticpated in the Global Social Venture Conference, Columbia University, New York

2006

  • February.1: Development Started on the El Fuego del Sol property just west of Higuey in the Dominican Republic
  • March.26: First El Fuego del Sol arts and fire festival
  • April.1: Sun Oven factory opens in new Free Zone Ecological
  • April. 9: First Shipment of Sun Oven parts arrives at new factory
  • April. 25: First Sun Ovens are produced in the DR!
  • May 10: First Full Production Sun Ovens in our factory
  • June 21: Adair Performance CxA (AP) featured on National Public Radio´s Worldview program
  • June 26: Sun Ovens and ecoutourism project featured at Chicago event attended by over 200 people
  • August 24: Force of the Sun project featured at ecotourism brainstorming session San Francisco, California

2007

  • January 10: Ecotourism center license achieved
  • January 29: Major shipment of 20 Sun Ovens head to Angola

Sun Ovens can save hundreds of trees and save a ton of carbon use for each year they are used by a family. Sun Ovens can last for over 20 years. Click the link below for more information on how you can help. Plus, if you are planning work trips to a location such as Haiti, please consider Sun Ovens to significantly reduce the environmental impact that their presence has on the local region. If you budget for a few Sun Ovens; we can deliver them to you in the Haitian capital; you can train your hosts in the skill of solar cooking, and then leave them with the Sun Ovens when you depart. Charcoal can require 55% of a family’s income. You can improve lives and fight deforestation at the same time!

Audio and video[]

  • October 2013:
  • July 2011:
  • August 2009:

See also[]

External links[]

Contact[]

El Fuego Del Sol
8 Rue St Fleure
Tabarre 23, Port-Au-Prince
Haiti

Tel. +509 4821 7626

Email: office@elfuegodelsol.com kevin@elfuegodelsol.com
Web: El Fuego del Sol Ecological Solutions
Facebook: @fdshaiti
Twitter: @ElFuegoDelSol