Demonstrating solar cooking in Zambia

We at Rosa Solar Stoves are passionate about sharing our solar cooking knowledge within our community. We need some financial assistance in order to give more presentations and demos.

Many people in Zambia use charcoal for cooking. This is contributing to deforestation, climate change and health problems. Our project helps to combat all these issues by manufacturing and distributing solar stoves, allowing people to cook with sunshine, which is abundant on most days of the year in Zambia. Cooking with the sun has environmental, health and economic benefits.

Environmental - When charcoal and firewood are used for cooking, this means valuable trees are cut down. Zambia currently has one of the highest rates of deforestation in the world. Cutting down trees can cause the loss of top soil, a reduction in rainfall and reduced soil fertility. By protecting trees, and cooking with the sun instead of burning wood, we can also help to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and tackle climate change.

Health - Solar cookers can be used to boil or pasteurize water for avoiding water borne diseases such as cholera and typhoid fever. We recently used our solar stoves to tackle cholera during a recent outbreak in Lusaka. Cooking with charcoal causes indoor air pollution and related health problems. A benefit of solar cooking is that it does not involve smoke, and so reduces health risks.

Economic – As long as the sun is shining, when a family has a solar cooker there is no need for them to buy or collect fuel. This means more time and money for other priorities. Solar cookers can be used for drying, to preserve food for longer.

We have experience with using a range of different solar cookers for cooking, drying and water pasteurization. We are seeking funding for equipment to set up a workshop to make solar stoves in Lusaka, Zambia. Being able to obtain the tools we need will allow us to make these stoves locally, and to train more people in how to use energy from the sun.

Thank you for your support and for enabling us to share this exciting technique with more people in Zambia.

Here is a video of us cooking fish using simply the power of reflected sunshine:

Here is another video about our project from the TV news: