Last edited: 26 August 2019
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Young NaDEET students learning to use a parabolic solar cooker
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Events[]
Featured international events[]
- 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[]
- 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 Namibia
News[]
- August 2019: The Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust (NaDEET) at its center in the NamibRand Nature Reserve this year hosted 24 young Namibians from eight regions of the country to embrace environmental sustainability. The objective of the workshop was to transfer practical knowledge of solar cooking and sustainable living through experimental methods More information...
- January 2019: Solar cooking impresses workshop participants - The Namibian
- August 2018: Namibia: Learning How to Cook On Solar in Five Days - allAfrica
- December 2016: Sustainability project comes to a close in Nambia - NaDEET held a celebration at the close of their three year sustainability project at the end of October. Participants in the program came from the communities of Rietoog, Uibes and Gochas. The project provided training in many aspects of sustainable living, with solar cooking an important component of their comprehensive approach. More information...
- January 2016: NADEET reports that in 2015 it distributed 122 solar cookers and served 200,000 solar-cooked meals.
- November 2013: Informal survey leads to new directions - Project leaders surveyed young workshop participants and community leaders regarding their satisfaction with solar cooking. Overall, both urban and rural based learners viewed solar cooking positively despite perceived disadvantages around slower cooking times amongst urban users and the financial ability to acquire cookers for rural users. Both groups showed a good understanding of the benefits to the environment.
- September 2013: To increase ownership of alternative energy equipment in rural communities in southern Namibia, the Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust (NaDEET) has this year invited representatives from the Rietoog, Aranos and Maltahöhe communities as well as students from the Agricultural Training Centre in Krumhuk to attend the NaDEET environmental education program. Sixty-eight participants earned solar cookers through NaDEET’s voucher testing system. This year one hundred parabolic solar cookers have been distributed to communities.
- February 2013: More from Nailoke’s Solar House - Nailoke Niingungo summarizes the approach of the organization, NaDEET, used for solar cooking promotion in Namibia. Morning meals are cooking over Fuel-efficient woodstoves and meals later in the day are prepared with solar cookers. Hay baskets are primarily used for keeping food warm until dinner is served. Beside instruction in using solar cookers, workshop participants are trained in their construction as well. They are also shown how to make recycled paper firebricks for use in the Rocket stoves. Moreover, program attendees receive vouchers for purchasing solar cookers at a reduced price if they show they have successfully completed the training program.
- November 2012: GloboSol annual report: Namibia - Nailoke’s Solar House - Nailoke Niingungo is a woman who puts considerable effort into improving living conditions and protecting the environment in the area where she lives in Namibia. Her means to do that is to promote solar ovens by partnering with GloboSol. To make people aware of solar cooking, she bakes bread on a daily basis and roasts peanuts, which are then sold, providing a modest income. Currently, the solar ovens are built at two different locations, which is working, but needs to be improved. Likewise, the sales of the solar ovens have not yet met their expectations of the potential market.
- September 2011: The Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust (NaDEET), a non-profit Namibian trust geared towards protecting Namibia’s natural environment through educating citizens how to live sustainably, has to date donated about 70 solar cookers to almost 150 people in the South. In 2010 NaDEET expanded its youth orientated programmes to include adults, in order to expand knowledge about solar cooking and related issues, such as climate change. A survey done prior to the training found that 57 per cent of the adults did not know about climate change. Viktoria Keding, director of NaDEET, explained there is a misperception that children are the primary target, whereas adults are just as eager to learn and adapt, especially when the benefits are clear. Read more...
- April 2011: Jon Maravelias of the NGO, NaDEET, traveled to five communities in Namibia to evaluate the results of previous solar cooking workshops conducted by the organization. The areas are mostly rural and poor. He reports; In general, it seemed that the poorer you were, the more you relied on solar cooking since it meant you did not need to collect firewood for the day. He visited several women who use the solar cooker and fuel-efficient stoves to heat their bath water and to cook all of their meals. The most successful communities were the ones with a traditional power structure. Both the communities of Maltahohe and Bethanien were under the leadership of two elder women. NaDEET also has been active in planting new trees in this mostly barren area.
- July 2010: Students learn how to cook on solar. The final 20 students from a group of 60 received their certificates last week for successfully completing a training course on the use of alternative energy to help rural communities create conditions for sustainable living in Namibia. The project is possible through NaDEET, an NGO funded from the Small Grants Programme of the Global Environment Facility.
- June 2010: The Ministry of Mines and Energy is promoting and encouraging communities to make use of solar stoves and cookers to save firewood, electricity and other fuels. Speaking recently in Windhoek, Selma-Penna Utonih, Director of Energy in the Ministry of Mines, commended the Dr. Frans Aupa Indongo Primary School for its efforts working with students and their parents distributing solar cookers.
- January 2009: Miriam Kashia reports that 60 recent Peace Corps volunteers were provided with solar cookers manufactured in Namibia. They each took these to their villages for use there. More information.
- May 2007: Namibia: Solar Baking Oven Would Save Wood, Environment and Electricity - New Era
- August 2006: A solar cooker project in Ongwediva won an "Inspiration Lives in Africa" award from Namibia's Standard Bank in April. Ongwediva's Solar Stove Project, now in its eighth year, introduces solar cooking to women to combat deforestation and to provide employment opportunities like solar bakeries and catering. The award, worth 50,000 Namibian dollars, will be used to increase marketing activities.
History[]
At a meeting in Varese, Italy, in 1999, Harald Schutt, a solar cooking advocate, described his work of constructing and disseminating solar stoves in Namibia over a period of eight years in the 1990s. Mr. Schutt was first introduced to solar cooking in a workshop in Germany given by representatives of the ULOG group. Following that, he worked in Namibia, initially in a refugee camp and later in settled communities, teaching Namibians how to build wooden box cookers and how to use the devices. Female carpentry-trainers were taught the techniques of making the oven, and considerable experimentation was done to keep costs low while still producing quality devices.
After his work in Namibia concluded, Mr. Schutt's synthesized what he learned into the following elements of a successful solar cooking project:
- Use a solar stove yourself before introducing the technology to others
- Use schools as teaching sites
- Create social clubs around solar cooking
- Train builders to create high-quality stoves
- Launch publicity campaigns to raise awareness, including demonstrations at sports events, supermarkets, clinics, and schools (Varese, p. 215)
- Main article: History of solar cooking
Archived articles
Climate and culture[]
See also[]
- The climate of Namibia - Wikipedia
- Namibia Energy Situation - Energypedia
- Discussion of southern Africa's suitability for solar cooking
- Solar cooker dissemination and cultural variables
Resources[]
Possible funding[]
Handbooks[]
- 2015: NaDEET's manual showing how to build all sorts of energy-saving devices including a solar cooker and a fuel-efficient woodstove (English and Afrikaans) - Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust
- 2014: It's Time to Solar Cook - A Guide and Cookbook - NaDEET, Viktoria Keding & Elizabeth Lammert
Reports[]
- 1995: Solar Cookers for Use in Nambia - Petri Konttinen
Project evaluations[]
- April 2011: Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust (NaDEET) revisits five communities in Namibia that had received solar cooking training in 2009 - 2010. - Jon Maravelias, Development Associate at NaDEET, visits areas in Namibia where he helped distribute solar cookers and train the recipients in their use and plant trees to combat the rampant deforestation in the area.
Articles in the media[]
- August 2018: Namibia: Learning How to Cook On Solar in Five Days - allAfrica
- February 2010: Solar Stoves Cooking Up a Storm Countrywide - The Namibian
- September 2008: Namibia: Nation Switches On to Solar Power - The Namibian
- May 2007: Namibia: Solar Baking Oven Would Save Wood, Environment and Electricity - New Era
Contacts[]
The entities listed below are either based in Namibia or have initiated solar cooking projects there:
SCI Associates[]
- Main article: Solar Cookers International Association