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]

NEW: Webinar: Thursday, 15 April 2021 (2:00pm - 3:30am CEST, 12:00 - 13:30 GMT): Improving capacities to access funding - The Women and Gender Constituency continues with the second of their three-part webinar series: “Funding Gender-Just Climate Solutions”. This Zoom event is free but requires registration. More information...
NEW: Webinar: Saturday, 24 April 2021 (6:00am - 7:30am PDT, 13:00 - 14:30 GMT): Adventures with Solar and Haybox Cooking - SF Innovation LTD, with Seggy Segaran, will present their experiences using solar and haybox cookers to save energy, and the range of improved combustion stoves they also use. This Zoom event is free but requires registration. More information...
NEW: Webinar: Thursday, 29 April 2021 (2:00pm - 3:30am CEST, 12:00 - 13:30 GMT): Understanding the multilateral climate funds - The Women and Gender Constituency continues with their final webinar of the series: “Funding Gender-Just Climate Solutions”. This Zoom event is free but requires registration. More information...
NEW: Webinar: (TBD): CONSOLFOOD: Baking bread in your solar cooker - Cooks are invited to send a 90 second maximum, video showing how to bake bread using the sun. Selected webinar videos will be compiled in a YouTube playlist for ease of presentation during the webinar. Submission requirements, by 30 April 2021

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