Mauritania

Last edited: 19 March 2020

In March 2015 Solar Clutch, under the supervision of Steve Harrigan, explored new ways to adapt local materials to create effective and inexpensive solar panel cookers. Local cooks in Mauritania have developed ways to mimic frying fish with their solar cookers. Several variations of CooKit-style cookers were created from locally available and durable water-resident cardboard and sheet metal. The material for each of these versions cost less than $5USD. Mauritania has also instituted a ban on local plastic bag production due to the trash waste created. The group then experimented with Sterlite brand food containers for the greenhouse enclosure with great success. The box material is clear polypropylene, food-grade and is the same material as the autoclave bag material. Read more...

Events[edit | edit source]

Online events[edit source]

Carnegie Science Center Café Scientifique

NEW: Monday, 2 November 2020 (7-9 p.m. EST, 11 p.m.-1 a.m. GMT): D.A.R.E to Solar Cook - The Physics of Cooking with Sunshine - The Carnegie Science Center is sponsoring a Café Scientifique. Solar advocates Mary Buchenic and Jennifer Gasser will share their experiences promoting the solar cooking STEM curriculum, and Dr. Alan Bigelow, SCI Science Director, will discuss the technical details of solar cooking and incorporating the science of materials and light optics. Participation in the event is free, but pre-registration is required. Registration information

NEW: 3-6 November 2020: The 5th International Conference on New Energy and Future Energy Systems - A scientific interchange among researchers, developers, engineers, students, and practitioners from around the world. They gather to share their latest achievements, and discuss the possible challenges for current energy and future energy systems. More information...

Mexico online presetation, 23-27 Nov. 2020.png

NEW: 23 - 27 November 2020: 1er. Congreso Nacional de Secado Solar y Cocción Solar de Alimentos - Presentación en línea de la Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México (UNAM), en español. Contacto: ensycsa@ier.unam.mx

December 2020: SWC50 – The Century of Solar - In 1970 solar research pioneers met at the first International Solar Energy Society (ISES) Conference in Melbourne Australia. ISES is commemorating this Conference with a special 50th Anniversary Conference and Display, called the Solar World Congress at 50 (SWC50). The face-to-face conference, originally scheduled for 2-4 December 2020, will be replaced by a series of eight virtual conferences over the course of the month in December 2020. It will include the same panel sessions that were planned for the in-person planned event. More information...

Have your event listed here by emailing webmaster@solarcooking.org.

See also: Global Calendar of Events and past events in Mauritania

News[edit | edit source]

Solar Clutch corrugated sheet metal solar panel cooker - *Solar Clutch*

March 2015: Innovative cooking and sheet metal solar cookers - Solar Clutch, under the supervision of Steve Harrigan, explored new ways to adapt local materials to create effective and inexpensive solar panel cookers. Local cooks in Mauritania have developed ways to mimic frying fish with their solar cookers. Several variations of CooKit-style cookers were created from locally available and durable water-resident cardboard and sheet metal. The material for each of these versions cost less than $5USD. Mauritania has also instituted a ban on local plastic bag production due to the trash waste created. The group then experimented with Sterlite brand food containers for the greenhouse enclosure with great success. The box material is clear polypropylene, food-grade and is the same material as the autoclave bag material. They also found clear plastic buckets in the local markets that worked very well as greenhouse enclosures. Read more...

Mauritanian solar cooked pizza is prepared at a Solar Clutch workshop. - *Solar Clutch*

October 2014: Increased demand and success for solar cooking in Mauritania - Solar Clutch has teamed up with Lutheran World Federation to introduce solar cooking to refugees entering Mauritania to escape the civil unrest from neighboring Mali. The number of new refugees to Mauritania has stressed available solar cooking resources. With a group of ten instructors, the Solar Clutch team developed a system to quickly train new instructors by having students demonstrate their new skills back to the group. They also encouraged using fuel-efficient cookstoves when good sun was not available. Tasty local recipes were successfully solar prepared. Again, an example of a group doing a lot with limited resources. Read more at: Solar Cooker Report Mauritania, April 2014

January 2013: Improvements to the SolarCooker Eco3 - Significant improvements have been made to the SolarCooker Eco3 over the past six months. The cookpot holder will now carry up to 7 kg. (15.4 lbs.) of weight. The reflector support has been modified to allow it to position the reflector for nearly perpendicular sun positions. The cooker is now able to boil six liters of water with a reflecting surface of only 1.25 square meters. Evaluation of the earlier solar cooking project in Senegal has begun. Early impressions appear to reinforce the need for long-term education and the continued local presence of dedicated trainers. A new pilot project has started in another area of Senegal, near St Louis in the "Langue de Barbarie". About 250 solar cookers were to be introduced by the end of 2012 (after the rainy season). A second new solar cooking project is underway in Mauritania with the financial support of the United Nations. Read more at Solar Cooking NV Fall 2012 update