Promoting solar cooking

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Last edited: 4 May 2024

Project planning

Determine whether solar cooking is appropriate in your area

• Evaluating solar cooking potential for a locality
• Countries with the greatest solar cooking potential
• Cultural variables to consider
• Solar radiation maps
• Quick Needs Assessment for Solar Cooking
• Solar Cooker Adoption and Impact Survey

Learn from the work of others and make contacts

• Find existing promoters in your country of interest
• Find participants and read papers from past conferences
• Study the most significant solar cooking projects
• Read project evaluations of past solar cooking projects
• Consult interactive map of known solar cooking projects
• Learn about cooking for large groups
• Learn about solar cooking programs in refugee camps
• Consider how to collect data on your project

Access handbooks and training materials

	The John Collentine Solar Cooking Toolkit Solar Cookers International created this toolkit to teach the basics of solar cooking and its promotion
	Solar Cooker Project: Best Practices Manual Jewish World Watch created this manual that details how to assure a successful solar cooking project in refugee camps.
	Trainers Manual: Teaching Solar Cooking - Solar Cookers International
	Field Guide: Spreading Solar Cooking - Solar Cookers International
	Solar Cookers: How to Make, Use, and Enjoy - Solar Cookers International This is a handbook published by Solar Cookers International that includes detailed plans for building a CooKit solar panel cooker. (There are also detailed versions in Arabic, French, Malagasy, Spanish, English for Kenya, and Galician.)
	Integrated Sustainable Solar Cooking - Visual instruction guide - Solar Cookers Netherlands
	Construction of Solar Cookers and Driers - Christelle Souriau & David Amelin This is an excellent overview of solar cooking basics and simple solar cooker and dryer construction methods.
	Peace Corps Improved Cookstoves Manual (2013)
	How to Use a Parabolic Solar Cooker (Dari and English) - Grace Magney.

Determine which model(s) to work with

• Solar cooker designs
• Solar cooker construction plans

Determine the availability of materials and components

• Cardboard
• Glazing
• Glue
• Heat storage
• Insulation
• Jar lids
• Low-tech reflective material
• Mylar
• Paint
• Panels
• Plastic fluteboard
• Pressure cooker
• Props
• Reflective material
• Solar cooking pots
• Solar radiation
• Water Pasteurization Indicator
• Waterproofing
• Weather
• Wheat paste
• Wind protection

Information on solar cooking individual foods

• Beans
• Beverages
• Bread
• Coffee roasting
• Flatbread
• Guidelines and cooking tips
• Hard porridge
• Injera
• Maize meal
• Pasta
• Popcorn
• Recipes
• Rice
• Ugali

Additional technologies to consider

• Decision Tree Diagrams on Factors Affecting Choice of Fuel Strategy in Humanitarian Settings
• Integrated Cooking Method
• Heat-retention cooking
• Solar water pasteurization
• Solar food drying
• Pot-in-pot cooler
• Solar food processing
• Solar autoclave
• Other non-cooking uses for a solar cooker

Fund your project

• Raising funds through grants and donations
• Raising funds through manufacturing and/or sales
• Business development
• Carbon credits
• Microcredit
• Solar restaurants and bakeries

Data collection

• Quick Needs Assessment for Solar Cooking
• Solar Cooker Adoption and Impact Survey
• Contribute your data

Publications

• July 2024: ‘Haven’t Bought an LPG Cylinder in 4 Years’: How To Use Solar Cooking to Save Money & Time, - the better india
• March 2023: Chalmers Masters Thesis on Kenya Solar Cooking - Alaa Abdul Sater & Johanna Tolly
• January 2020: Overcoming Hurdles to Solar Cooking - Sara Hjalmarsson, Stefan Karnebäck
• October 2019: Solar Cookers International's John Collentine Toolkit
• January 2018: Challenges in Promoting Solar Cookers in India - Neha Mehta, et al
• January 2018: Creating Programs to Promote Solar Cooking - Jennifer L. Gasser, et al
• February 2018: Communicating Decentralised Renewable Energy to Financiers and Senior Polymakers: A Guide for Campaigners and Non-Governmental Organisations - Climate Outreach
• June 2017: What’s cooking? Unverified assumptions, overlooking of local needs and pro-solution biases in the solar cooking literature - L. Iessaa, et al
• January 2017: Diaspora Financing, Developing a Strong Solar Cooking Industry in the Region - Ignacio R. Smith and Sherry McMillan
• January 2017: Experience of Financing a Solar Cookers Project for Fifteen Years in the Andean Region of South America - Rocio Maldonado

Audio and video

• May 2024:

Greg Lynch- Big on Solar Cooking in the Big Sky Country-2

Greg Lynch is a seasoned solar cooking user and educator in the USA. His popular interview with Luther Krueger also explores a number of retained-heat methods he has explored.

• July 2023: Solar cooking as a higher education gateway towards global engagement

S3B3 Riad Bahur et al. (USA)- Solar cooking as a higher education gateway towards global engagem ...-2

• December 2022: SCI speaks with UN representatives at COP27 - The presentation focusses on responding to country requests for help with meeting their clean technology goals. The CTCN is the technical assistance arm of the UNFCCC, providing direct technical assistance to countries, by helping to define goals, advice on building clean technology capacity, and in offering advice on receiving financial aid for a program tailored to their situation.

COP27 press conference with the UNFCCC Climate Technology Centre & Network (CTCN)-2

• September 2022: Solar cooking awareness: NE Public Radio commentator, Michael Meeropol, makes the case for solar cooking with input from Solar Cookers International
• June 2018: 235 SunPod-Interview: Dr. Pia Otte – Developing solar energy technologies for and with people (First minute in German, interview in English)
• January 2017:

Solar Cookers International All About Access

Household air pollution: causes and solutions

• July 2014:

Menzies The most well funded solar cooker program in the world lessons learned from GTZ

• July 2014:

Otte Mapping global impact data for solar cooking a case study

• July 2014:

Powers The global public image of solar cookers

• July 2014:

Yes We Do Solar Cook

Additional resources

• What one person or a small group can do to promote solar cooking - Ramon Coyle
• Promoting solar cooking in developing countries
• What you can do to promote solar cooking
• Solar cooking slide decks - Presentation slide decks that can be used to introduce solar cooking to groups
• Conferences
• Classroom resources
• Organizing solar cooking events
• August 2015: Sustainability: Clean cooking empowers women - nature, Laura S. Brown and William F. Lankford
• August 2005: A Solar Cooking Case Study: Investigating Appropriate Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) for Development in Nigeria - Carole St. Laurent (An investigation of using local language videos to introduce solar cooking in Nigeria.)
• August 2006: Digitally Assisted Diffusion of Innovations - Carole St. Laurent (A case is made to encourage the use of instructional videos made in local languages, over printed materials when introducing solar cooking.)

See also

• Africa
• Carbon credits
• Classroom resources
• Cultural variables
• Data collection
• Evaluating solar cooking potential for a locality
• Hot surface warning signs
• Most significant solar cooking projects
• Nationally Determined Contributions
• Online courses
• Photography
• Presentations
• Raising funds through grants and donations
• Solar Cookers International
• Solar cooking in developing countries
• UPSKILL Barrydale
• United Nations Climate Change Secretariat
• United Nations Millennium Development Goals
• United Nations Sustainable Development Goals
• Volunteering
• What you can do to promote solar cooking
• Category:Youth