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Last edited: 9 July 2024      
Elie Joseph visit to Hinche orphanage 2, 11-18-22 copy
Eliesheriff Joseph holds a solar cooking demonstration at a Hinche orphanage, as part of the Solar Cookers for Haiti project.

Events[]

Featured international events[]

COP29 logo, 9-20-24
  • NEW: 11-22 November 2024 (Baku, Azerbaijan ): COP29 - The 2024 United Nations Climate Change Conference or Conference of the Parties of the UNFCCC, more commonly known as COP29, will be the 29th United Nations Climate Change conference to be held at Baku Stadium. More information...
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 Haiti

News[]

  • July 2024: First visit with solar cookers - Eliesheriff Joseph organized an introductory workshop at the orphanage in Lefort. He relates; 'The girls from the orphanage contacted me earlier in the week. I brought them 8 solar ovens reflectors, and I'll be bringing them more at the next training session. The girls cooked their own food for the 20 people in attendance. Once again, the solar panel cookers were donated by Scott Rundle and Tom Hallquist for distribution to orphanages in Haiti. Thanks again, to PPAF for their financial support.'
Photo credit: Eliesheriff Joseph
SC for Haiti demo 2, 4-30-24

Solar cooking for Port-au-Prince residents, Photo credit: Solar Cookers for Haiti

  • April 2024: Solar cooking for capital city Port-au-Prince residents - Solar Cookers for Haiti founder Eliesheriff Joseph reports: 'It was a beautiful sunny day, over 75 people attended the solar oven training, most of them from Port-au-Prince, they left their homes and everything in Port-au-Prince to come to our town of Hinche because of the situation in their hometown, many of them saw solar ovens for the first time, they were happy to see and learn how solar ovens can help them reduce their costs. We made omelets and bread, made sandwiches, boiled Congo beans that day and fed them with the food prepared in the solar ovens. Five Haines ovens were sold that day. Thanks to everyone for supporting renewable energy in the Haitians community specifically, Tom Hallquist and Scott Rundle, for the donation of solar cookers to the orphanages around Hinche and PPAF for its support.'
  • April 2024: Preparing fish at the orphanage - Over Easter, Eliesheriff Joseph, of Solar Cookers for Haiti, visited several orphanages, which Tom Hallquist and Scott Rundle donated solar cookers, PPAF provided financial support and a sales program for Haines solar cooker kits. He explained they cooked fish in the solar ovens. Some kids tasted fish for the first time cooked in the solar ovens. We brought two Haines 2.0. We had very good sunshine, no rain, clouds or wind. One of the orphanage directors really liked the Haines cooker, and bought one of the two I had brought. He told me he was going to use it in his house, and when he goes into the garden, he'd bring it along to cook his meal. We'll be visiting the other orphanages soon. Solar cooking is a safe solution, keeping children healthy and protecting our environment. An investment for the next generation.
Photo credit: Eliesheriff Joseph
  • February 2024: More solar cookers arrive!: - The Donne Orphanage received more solar ovens donated by Tom Hallquist. All are very grateful to everyone for helping Haiti reduce the amount of money that they use to spend on charcoal and firewood to help protect the environment. In the new solar ovens, they are able to bake cakes and omelets for the kids.
Photo credit: Eliesheriff Joseph
  • January 2024: School gathering to solar cook - Eliesheriff Joseph, founder of Solar Ovens for Orphanages, organized a follow-up gathering held at the school attached to the church in Hinche. The school provides kindergarten, primary, and secondary programs with 550 students, and 540 attended the solar cooking demonstration, along with 15 teachers, 5 cooks, 3 school leaders and 2 bodyguards. They used 20 solar ovens, again a combination of solar cookers provided by Tom Hallquist and Haines 2.0 panel cookers. Financial support was provided by PPAF. Eliesheriff notes it was challenging managing such a large group with so many students eager to learn about solar cooking. Everyone was able to enjoy a good meal.
Photo credit: Eliesheriff Joseph
  • September 2023: Solar cooking presentation and training - (Eliesheriff Joseph recounts the Solar Ovens for Orphanages gathering) On September 23, 2023, I held a big event with an association called APDC (Association des Paysans pour de Dévelopement de Couime). They work on agriculture, the environment, etc. Angelot is the leader of this association. He saw my work and saw that it was something he'd like to know more about, and if possible his team. He came to me and said he'd like to know more about this technology. I told him that this was not a problem and that our aim was to see more Haitian associations, organizations, etc. involved in this technology. I'm very happy to have presented this idea to PPAF, who welcomed it very favorably. The first training session with the association took place on September 23 and was attended by 130 people. We started from 8am to 12pm. I chose 5 women from among them to prepare the food and put it in the solar ovens that Tom Hallquist had donated to the orphanages. We went back inside to continue the training. I had a microphone and everyone could hear me very well. I gave a very good presentation on solar cookers, talking about all the people I know who use this technology and all the institutions. There were lots of questions! They are interested in learning more about solar cookers.
Photo credit: Eliesheriff Joseph
  • August 2023: Workshop in rural Haiti - Eliesheriff Joseph organized and led a solar cooker construction workshop on building the large Copenhagen Solar Cooker Beast at a rural community orphanage. The design lends itself to simple construction methods. Also in use were the donated solar dome cookers by Tom Hallquist from Solar Oven Reflectors. Eliesheriff travels long and challenging distances to reach these locations.
Photo credit: Eliesheriff Joseph
  • July 2023: Cooking in the countryside - Eliesheriff Josephreports: "A beautiful sunny day today, my friend Tig and I went to the Ravine Labour children's center, about an hour from Hinche, Haiti. They used all the solar ovens that Tom Hallquist sent them, and several I received from David Stillman." The menu included breadfruit, along with rice and beans. The group included 40 people, 20 adults and 20 young children. Eliesheriff and Tig spent five hours, cooking, sharing food, and training the participants on the solar cooker use.
Photo credit: Eliesheriff Joseph
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Eliesheriff receives recognition from the Haitian government as sustainable leader

  • July 2023: Eliesheriff receives recognition: - Eliesheriff Joseph has been recognized by the Haitian government for his promotion of sustainable development (use of green energy: solar cooking in Haiti), and leadership of social benevolence for his work introducing solar cooking to a number of orphanages located in the Hinche area. See more of his projects at: Solar Ovens for Orphanages


  • March 2023: Eliesheriff Joseph has shared some photos of a recent solar cooking demonstration at the rural Donne orphanage in Haiti. This was the first solar cooking demonstration and teaching by Solar Ovens for Orphanages at this location. They have 8 teachers and 4 cooks on staff. Eliesheriff relates; 'About 70 children attended the demonstration and enjoyed the omelet and cakes. 60 eggs were prepared at the same time and 8 bags of cakes. It took 1.5 hours for cooking plus 15 minutes of preparation. The four cooks are the people responsible for preparing the omelet and cakes, I just supervise them. The event took place on March 23, 2023. I spent an hour training with the teachers, students and cooks during the demonstration teaching and answering questions. They used 8 of the 9 solar oven reflectors that Tom Hallquist had sent as a gift. The plan is to continue working with the orphanages and prepare a strong team in each orphanage to continue using the solar cookers, and I can come at any time to check them and see how things are going.'
Photo credit: Eliesheriff Joseph
  • March 2023: Eliesheriff Joseph has shared some photos of a recent solar cooking demonstration at a local Hinche orphanage in Haiti, as they receive Sundome Solar Cookers generously provided by Tom Hallquist. Leading the gathering is Aline Innocent, educator and principal of the school located at the orphanage.
Photo credit: Eliesheriff Joseph
  • March 2023: Tom Hallquist has provided an update on his cooperative efforts with Elie Joseph in Haiti. So far, Tom has provided fifty Sundome Solar Cookers, and Elie Joseph has introduced to four local orphanages. Their arrangement is working, and Tom predicts more cookers can be sent in late summer or early fall 2023.
Elie Joseph island innovation, 2-13-23

Elie Joseph has been chosen Island Innovation Ambassador representing Haiti

  • February 2023: Eliesheriff Joseph has been chosen Island Innovation Ambassador representing Haiti. As an Ambassador, he will serve as a representative of his community in a global network of island stakeholders. The ambassador network allows for global exchange of knowledge and expertise without geographic limitation, and encourages collaboration between entrepreneurs, innovators, activists, and other community leaders. His tireless efforts of promoting health and solar cooking in his Hinche community makes him a worthy ambassador.
  • February 2023: Demonstrating solar cooking at the local orphanage - Eliesheriff Joseph held this demonstration at the orphanage in Hinche, Haiti run by Pastor Lavaud. Staff at the orphanage related that they love cooking out in the open in full sun. Using the solar cooker has made a measurable drop in the amount of charcoal and firewood they typically use. Tom Hallquist, living in Wisconsin, USA, supported the project and provided the Sundome Solar Cookers.
  • January 2023: Solar cooking demonstration in Hinche - REPAS-S joined UNDH Hinche to promote solar cookers in Haiti for a sustainable future. REPAS-S is an organization in Haiti that has focused on health and education solutions. They have begun to also support environmental and sustainability approaches which fit their mission. Eliesheriff Joseph relates his experience at the demonstration - "On Friday, January 20, 2023, I led a great training for the REPAS-S core group. We worked on a paper on solar ovens, which is very practical and afterwards we cooked an omelet. To prepare the omelet we had 30 eggs, 4 peppers, 8 tomatoes, 1 salami, some oil, a spoonful of salt powder, some maggie and 4 onions. We used 3 solar cookers and 10 eggs for each of them. Yfedna cut the 4 peppers, 8 tomatoes, 1 salami and 4 onions into several pieces. She broke the eggs and beat them briefly with all the first ingredients. Mix well. We put a spoon and a half of oil in each pot. We put three Haines 2.0 cookers in the sun with the pot for 10 minutes before putting the omelet on to preheat. In 35 minutes the omelet was ready to eat. For the REPA-S core group, this was amazing because they had no idea that we could have the omelet in the Haines 2.0 in 35 minutes! They are very proud and can't wait to go and make disciples like me. One of the leaders of the orphanage (the place where I did the training) was very excited to attend this experience. He really enjoys this technology. They are very excited because they can cook in the sun. I promised them a demonstration for the orphans."
Elie Joseph visit to Hinche orphanage 2, 11-18-22 copy

Elie Joseph holds a solar cooking demonstration at a Hinche orphanage. Photo credit: Eliesheriff Joseph

  • November 2022: Solar cooking workshop in Hinche - Eliesheriff Joseph visits a large orphanage in the city of Hinche, Haiti, to present the option using of solar cooking to prepare meals. Currently they use charcoal and propane to cook with. After the demonstration, they felt that solar ovens would be the best option to help them save money and preserve the environment.


  • November 2022: Solar cooking workshop in Hinche - Eliesheriff Joseph organized and hosted another workshop in Hinche, Haiti. The workshop was held in a small area of Hinche called Lamare with about 60 people attending. After the workshop, people asked Elie for his solar oven or they asked where they could find one to buy! The next workshop will be held next month, in December 2022.
Elie Sheriff workshop, 9-12-22

Eliesheriff Joseph conducted another workshop in Lamare, near Hinche Photo credit:Elie Sheriff

  • September 2022: Cooking workshop - Eliesheriff Joseph conducted a solar cooker building and use workshop in Lamare, near Hinche Haiti. About 60 people were present during the demonstration, where they learned why it is important to use solar cooking. They were taught how to build the Copenhagen Beast (the large version). Using new cooking techniques when using the cookers, they experienced different types of food prepared in the cookers, such as eggs, rice and beans, sweet potatoes, etc….


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Eliesheriff Joseph poses with the newly built 'Beast" Copenhagen solar cookers for the Hinche community. Photo credit: Eliesheriff Joseph

  • December 2021: Continuing his steady stream of projects, Eliesheriff Joseph recently completed a workshop on building the 'Beast' Copenhagen solar cooker. Relatively simple to build, the Copenhagen design has been proven to be an effective solar panel cooker. It appears they were able build seven cookers for use in the Hinche community. The project came about with assistance from Mary Buchenic and Jennifer Gasser of the Solar Education Project. Last year, Eliesheriff partnered with students at Youngstown State University in Ohio, USA and the Solar Education Project to run tests on the large home made Copenhagen oven. Before he could test it, he had to learn how to build it! Solar Education Project guided him through the process and provided funds for materials and time.


  • October 2021: Eliesheriff Joseph conducts a solar cooking demonstration in the countryside around Hinche.
Eliesheriff Joseph hosts demonstration in Haiti, 10-11-21


Elisheriff Joseph workshop in Hinche, Haiti, 4-23-21

Eliesheriff Joseph conducts a 'hands-on' workshop on solar cooking at a primary school in Hinche, Haiti, Photo credit: Eliesheriff Joseph

  • April 2021: Youth oriented solar cooking workshop in Hinche - Eliesheriff Joseph has begun taking solar cooking workshops to primary schools in Haiti. This is part of a STEM student participatory program. Eliesheriff has worked with other students and teachers, and plans to continue his introductory workshops.
  • January 2019: Solar Energy Drying in Haiti: Reducing Peanut Loss - In 2019, Sun Buckets in partnership with Acceso Peanut Company committed to research the causes and extent of post-harvest peanut loss in Haiti and design, build, and field test a prototype crop dryer utilizing solar thermal storage, a product that can also be used for household cooking. Throughout Haiti, the domestic peanut market is characterized by low production volumes and high seasonal price volatility. As such, Haitian peanut farmers often store their peanut harvest for several months until they are able to receive more favorable prices in the market. Often, the crop is exposed to humid conditions without proper ventilation leading to contamination. Through this commitment, Sun Buckets will test the hypothesis that drying practices are the foundational cause of most peanut losses and create a prototype storage container that collects, stores, and recovers solar thermal energy to not only heat air and product, but also move air as needed for a dryer.
Alan Bigelow in Haiti, 4-18

SCI Science Director, Dr. Alan Bigelow, meets with University Notre Dame Hinche students to discuss solar cooking technology Photo credit: SCI

Solavore Haiti 2018
  • January 2018: Solavore reports: This month the Haiti Adolescent Girls Network (HAGN) has launched their solar-cooking micro-enterprise program for sixteen aspiring teen girls. In this program each participant will receive a Solavore Sport solar oven, cooking (and solar cooking) training, and basic business skills training. They’ll be cooking food and baked goods to sell at market as their first step in becoming independent businesswomen. Imagine the impact on their gross margin by not having to purchase charcoal at Haiti’s escalating prices.
  • May 2017: Evidence: Solar cooking initiatives in Haiti -  From SCI’s research and polling of the solar cooking sector, there is strong evidence that solar cooking started in Haiti in the late 1970s and continues to this day. Twenty-six SCI partners reported at least 14,000 solar cookers have either been brought to, or built in, Haiti in 47 locations. Because many open-source options are available for building one’s own solar cooker using local materials, the number is most likely greater than 14,000. Types of solar cookers in Haiti include reflective solar panel cookers, solar box cookers, and parabolic reflectors. Also, several dozen community-scale solar cookers that can cook hundreds, to over a thousand, meals per day were sent to or installed in Haiti. Some were destroyed in the 2010 Haiti earthquake. So the state or location of some solar cookers remains unknown. At the request of the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves, Solar Cookers International submitted this information for inclusion in the Preliminary Action Plan for the Transformation of the Cookstoves and Fuels Market in Haiti; prepared by the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves and funded by Global Affairs Canada.
  • April 2017: Your urgent help needed: Contribute to advocacy for solar cooking in Haiti - Solar Cookers International (SCI) participated in a high-level meeting in Haiti last month regarding a preliminary action plan to transform the cookstoves and fuels market in Haiti. As a result, the Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves asked SCI and other participants to provide feedback on the action plan. The current draft of the plan recognizes the deep tradition of using wood and charcoal as cooking fuel in Haiti and acknowledges how the wood and charcoal trade is interlinked with livelihoods and the economy in Haiti. The Global Alliance is proposing interventions with a multi-fuel approach. However, since assessments from consultants did not reveal solar cooking use in Haiti, solar-thermal energy is not currently viewed as a viable option for the interventions. With your help, we can work to include solar-thermal cooking for Haiti’s plan. This presents an opportunity for SCI to let the Global Alliance know about the extent of solar cooking in Haiti. SCI is eager for solar cooking to be included and be accepted as a viable option for no-emissions cooking. Solar cooking has a role to drive long-term progress from cleaner and more efficient toward clean and sustainable cooking solutions in Haiti. To strengthen the case to include solar cooking in the action plan, it is crucial to convey to the Alliance that solar cooking has traction and is used in Haiti. To help build this case, SCI is reaching out to all solar cooking partners that have been involved with solar cooking in Haiti. If you and/or your organization has been involved with solar cooking projects in Haiti, SCI would like to hear from you. SCI welcomes your input in the form of data on baseline information, number and type of solar cookers, number of years of the project, location, outcomes, etc. Please submit your supportive summaries and Haiti data to SCI by 30 April 2017 at info@solarcookers.org. See also background information posted on the Global Alliance's website.
Solar Team Chantal - January 2017

Solar Team Chantal, Chantal, Haiti. January 2017. Photo: M. Buchenic.

  • April 2017: We Care to Share is a medical dental mission organized by Dr. Sarah John, a physician from Virginia and Pastor Francois Yves of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Palm Springs, Florida. Since 2010, the team has travelled to Chantal, Haiti to support the convent medical clinic run by Les Sœurs Missionaires de l'Immaculée. Over two years, We Care to Share upgraded the kitchen facility at the church-run school adjacent to the convent and lessened reliance on charcoal and wood as cooking fuel. In furtherance of that goal, a Solar Cooking Team -- Mary Buchenic, Jennifer Gasser, Sharon Cousins, Stacy Desrosier, and Scouts Russell Desrosier, and Parthiv Chigurupati -- was invited to join them on their most recent mission in January 2017. The Solar Cooking Team conducted solar cooker demonstrations in Port-au-Prince in transit to Chantal. The ovens introduced were the SolSource parabolic by One Earth Designs, Haines Solar Cookers, a homemade box oven, and locally sourced foiled bowl/panel cookers. The main objective was to facilitate successful cooking of traditional Haitian meals. During our four days in Chantal, we met with the school cooks for one cooking session during which they prepared a delicious meal of spaghetti with herring on the SolSource. The other three days the Team met with a local women's group to learn about solar cooking. The women's group (which included a number of men) formed “Solar Team Chantal”. They cooked rice and beans on the SolSource. Cakes and rice were prepared in the other cookers, and water pasteurization was demonstrated. DIY sessions were held each day. At the end of the project, two parabolic concentrators, 40 Haines cookers, and materials for the bowl/panel cooker were donated to the cooks and the women's group. The women's group, aka Solar Team Chantal, has since begun demonstrating solar cooking to others in the community. Members are in communication with the Solar Cooking Team. Additional follow-up is planned in Chantal as well as in Port-au-Prince. The Solar Cooking Team has planned a follow-up trip to Haiti.
See older news...

Resources[]

Possible funding[]

Facebook groups[]

Project evaluations[]

Articles in the media[]

Audio and video[]

  • December 2022:
First_Construction_Of_The_ULOG_Cooker_In_Hinche_Haiti.-2

First Construction Of The ULOG Cooker In Hinche Haiti.-2

The ULOG 1.0 Cooker is demonstrated by Elie Joseph

  • August:
Summer_Camp_+Solar_Cookers_in_Lamare(Hinche,Haiti).-2

Summer Camp +Solar Cookers in Lamare(Hinche,Haiti).-2

  • May 2022:
BioGas_+_Solar_Cook_Out_@_Notre_Dame_University!_(Hinche,Haiti)-2

BioGas + Solar Cook Out @ Notre Dame University! (Hinche,Haiti)-2

Eliesheriff Joseph conducts a biogas and solar cookout for students partnering with Notre Dame University in Hinche, Haiti

  • January 2022:
Vin_aprann_kijan_pou_w_ka_fe_yon_recho_soley_._How_to_make_a_copenhagen_beast_(solar_oven)_?-2

Vin aprann kijan pou w ka fe yon recho soley . How to make a copenhagen beast (solar oven) ?-2

  • November 2018: 
Solar_Cookers_International_working_in_Haiti
  • June 2017:
Interview_with_Solavore_solar_oven_user_in_Haiti

Interview with Solavore solar oven user in Haiti

PPAF Senior Fellow Tom Setchel interviewed Marie Mica, a Cotes-de-Fer, Haiti resident, on her experience in using a Solavore solar oven.

  • October 2017:
How_a_Haitian_village_cooks_with_sunlight
  • November 2012:
Nature_Matters_to_Idamane_Supreme
  • July 2011:
Sun_Oven_Curriculum_and_GeoTourism_Travel
  • September 2010:
Pou_Ayiti_-_Atelier_Fours_Solaires_(Sandrine_Mallary)

Pou Ayiti - Atelier Fours Solaires (Sandrine Mallary)

Sandrine Mallary, Haitian artist living in the U.S., gives a solar oven construction workshop in Haiti.

  • August 2009:
Haitian_Sun_Ovens

Web pages[]

History[]

Communities in Partnership

Early work with solar cooking in Haiti was done by a Canadian organization, Communities in Partnership, a charitable group founded in 1984 in Powell River, British Columbia. Their work, in turn, was inspired by a 1977 feasibility study in Haiti, accomplished to assess the suitability of the county from a climatic/insolation perspective. This work of Dr. Tom Bowman, James Sharbar and Joel Blatt focused on factors of the weather in the different parts of Haiti. They measured insolation in more than a dozen areas, some at different seasons of the year. Without providing all of the detail of their research, the document's overall conclusion was that good solar cooking conditions, generally speaking, existed in Haiti, with, as everywhere, seasonal and some regional variations, probably enabling families to save at least half of their fuel costs.

The original Canadian partnership was with a small community called Saint Marc, but later the program expanded to a number of communities in Haiti. They began by building solar cookers jointly with residents of Saint Marc, and were preparing to start an ambitious pilot project when a major coup interrupted normal life in Haiti (1991). In that disturbed time, the Canadians decided to turn their efforts to a survey of all solar cooking activity in the country. They had heard bits and pieces of other small projects but had no overall picture of the situation. In the next months, they devised a questionnaire that was sent to over 30 locations in the country where solar cooking had been tried or demonstrated. Thus, while the information is now dated, a picture does exist (even if admittedly not complete) of what was a substantial portion of solar activity in the country at the time.

The conclusions of this study proved to be difficult (or impossible?) to summarize numerically, but excerpts from the reports received give the flavor of work in a wide range of communities, allowing some generalizations to be made. Short reports are provided from 19 of the 30 communities surveyed. Key figures in solar promotion in this country included the Brace Research Institute of McGill University, a number of religious organizations, the Canadian Communities in Partnership group, a number of individuals, and one enterprise promoting a particular cooking model.

Commonalities and differences were seen in the reports. A variety of cooker designs were in use: the solar box cooker (the most common), a steam cooker, and parabolic cooker, all in a variety of materials, wood, cardboard, and metal. Two different approaches were seen, one believing that uptake would be higher and longer lasting if people made their own cookers, investing their own time and energy. Other disagreed and felt that efficiency, perhaps more certain with a manufactured product, was more important than the "ownership" conveyed by self-building. Strong and regular usage was fairly rare, despite the extreme need. The various groups were not working together for the most part, thus not maximizing their learning from one another's' experiences. Need was everywhere great, but cost of the cookers was nearly prohibitive for many.

First Haitian National Solar Cooking Conference

Two additional resources in Haiti in the early days of solar promotion were: the solar cooking resource center, created in the Haitian-American Institute by librarian Eleanor Snare and, in 1992, a first Haitian National Solar Cooking Conference held in Port-au-Prince. In that same period, a number of Haitian solar cooks traveled to other solar cooking conferences, regional and worldwide.

Free Methodist Church of Haiti

Since the early years, a range of sporadic attempts continues the good beginnings of the earlier era. The country has however continued to experience political unrest, always hampering any development efforts. Nonetheless, efforts at promotion have continued. The Free Methodist Church of Haiti, located in the capital Port-au- Prince, has worked diligently, despite personnel changes, at solar promotion. Over the years, they have distributed over 1,000 solar cookers, primarily of the panel variety, the least expensive version available today. To help with follow-up, they have formed committees of solar cooks in several towns.

Fotary Club of Brookings, South Dakota, U.S.A.

The Rotary Club of Brookings, South Dakota, U.S.A., along with other clubs in its Rotary district, have joined Solar Oven Partners, a cooperative project with the United Methodist Church. The collaboration began in 1998 and by December of 2002, the project had distributed more than 300 ovens (on a subsidized basis) and trained 2,500 Haitians to use them. An on-site infrastructure is being organized, working with the Methodist Church of Haiti. Using a basic philosophy of "empowering people through self help", the Rotarians and Methodists were continuing the long tradition of "harvesting sunlight" in this nation. Deforestation here is already at an extreme stage, hence need continues to be great.

Jack Anderson

A long time advocate of solar cooking in Haiti, Jack Anderson (an early Communities in Partnership leader), has tried a range of dissemination methods, employing "animatrices" or extension workers initially, then re-conceptualizing them as small-scale entrepreneurs. His knowledge of Haiti is extensive, but political events have continued to make efforts very difficult. In the last project described below for Haiti, Jack has played an important role in yet a different method of promoting solar cooking.

Sun Ovens International

That most recent addition to the range of solar offerings in Haiti is structured differently from its predecessors. In this instance, a business, Sun Ovens International, began operating within the country, using a very interesting distribution mechanism. As described on the Sun Oven website (http://www.sunoven.org)> the plan included a number of components.

The project selected 500 women in one area of Haiti for initial training in solar cooking, using the cardboard panel cooker called the CooKit. This device served as a teaching tool as participants were requested to keep records of their cooking attempts, results, and fuel savings for a period of three months. Those who proved to be regular users of the CooKit turned in their logs, along with an account of the money they have saved, to obtain a SunOven, sometimes thought of as the "Cadillac" of box cookers. Initially, Sun Ovens International established an assembly plant in Haiti, in which U.S. manufactured components will be put together in country (and perhaps even for export?)

When demand justifies, a full scale manufacturing plant may be established that can serve the needs of the Caribbean basin for this top of the line solar cooking model. (A similar plan is in effect for Ethiopia) It is too soon to know how this will progress, but it was clearly an interesting and unusual tactic for promotion.

The activity was at least partially supported by a loan from the Overseas Private Investment Corporation (OPIC) and from the U.S. Agency for International Development. Sun Oven owner, Paul Munsen, was honored at the United States House of Representatives with the award of the U.S. Department of Commerce's Export Achievement Award for their innovative work in Haiti. Given the desperate situation of the forest situation in Haiti, combined with favorable insolation in most of the country, the country will remain a prime candidate for solar cooking promotion.

Archived articles

Climate and culture[]

Haiti solar radiation map

Solar Cookers International has rated Haiti as the #18 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 Haiti with fuel scarcity in 2020 is 3,100,000. An average Haitian family spends USD 2.30 per week to purchase charcoal.

Jack Anderson has confirmed that very little wood was used in the construction of buildings in Haiti, which means that there isn’t much wood in the rubble to use for cooking after the earthquake. That must make the need for cooking fuel even more acute. Before the quake, more than 90% of all the energy used in Haiti was for cooking fires, mostly in the form of charcoal.

Paul Munsen of Sun Ovens International writes in January 2010:

"The most successful model we have found in Haiti is to have women go through training on how to make a CooKit. We found much greater success when the women made them due to the pride they took in making it themselves. The readymade CooKits are less expensive and much less hassle than bringing in cardboard, glue, and foil but we found the pride factor to be worth the additional cost and effort.
The training sessions where 3 hours a day for 3 days and included lunch. The first two days the lunches were cooked in Sun Ovens so the women could see how much faster the food cooked. The last day the food is cooked in the home made CooKit. Part of the training is to teach the women to keep a log on how often they used the Cookit, how much charcoal they saved and how much money they saved not buying charcoal. At the end of 90 days they turn in the log as a down payment on a Sun Oven and pay for the Sun Oven out of the charcoal savings. (See Microcredit.)
We have distributed approximately 400 Sun Ovens in Haiti using this system. In most countries we try not to start projects in areas where CooKits had been introduced in the past because we have found it much easier to start with Sun Ovens than to overcome negative ideas about CooKits. We have found that if the women do not pay something for the Sun Ovens they most likely will not use them beyond the time that the person who gave it to them is around. We have found the most important factors to be the percentage of household income spent for cooking fuel and how we get women who live one day at a time to understand how much money they can save by not buying charcoal."

El Fuego del Sol reports:

"Haiti burns over 400,000 tons of charcoal annually (USAID 2011); that amount translates to over 4,000,000 tons of trees destroyed since it takes 10 tons of wood to produce one ton of Haitian charcoal (ESMAP 2007). Regional environmental studies in Haiti, including Ghilardi, et al 2018, have confirmed that the Haitian charcoal industry has a destructive effect on the trees of Haiti. However, these studies have neglected to discuss the health effects of charcoal cooking. International studies that explored the negative health effects of biomass stoves, including Mortimer, et al 2016, have focused on PM2.5 emissions. Charcoal stoves also release CO emissions in dangerous concentrations (WHO 2014)."[1]

See also


Contacts[]

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

SCI Associates[]

NGOs[]

Manufacturers and vendors[]

Individuals[]

Government agencies[]

Educational institutions[]

  1. ↑ Initial Study of Charcoal Cooking vs. FdS Gasifier Stoves in Haiti
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