Solar Cookers Easily Prepare Traditional Foods in Eastern Chad

Check out this video created by my friend & colleague, Patricia McArdle!  Pat & I worked together evaluating a solar cooking project in the Touloum Refugee Camp in Eastern Chad in 2009, and were able to see first hand how well solar cookers are able to prepare local, indigenous foods in rural and developing areas.


 


The Touloum Refugee Camp is a great example of the potential success of solar cookers in remote areas. Unfortunately, solar cooking has been difficult to introduce in many rural areas due to the strong association of established cooking methods with culture, tradition and history. In every culture, cooking is rooted firmly in our conventions, & it's not surprising that it is one of the most difficult practices to change. The cold hard truth of the matter, though, is that traditional methods of cooking in places like rural Africa requires a lot of wood... & wood is something Africa is quickly running out of. The refugee camp above embraced solar cooking because they simply didn't have enough wood to sustain themselves. I hope we won't have to wait for the planet to be depleted of firewood before people realize the powerful effectiveness, simplicity & affordability of solar cooking.



 - - - -
 *Pat McArdle lives in Arlington, VA & has been solar cooking for many years. She is one of the country's leading experts in solar cooking and works hard to educate others about the ease & effectiveness of cooking with all different kinds of solar cookers. She has written a book, Farishta, about her experiences solar cooking in Afghanistan, which is available on Amazon. See her website for more information: http://www.patriciamcardle.com

Hal Aronson: Shining a light on women's health - UC Santa Cruz

Alumni Profile / Hal Aronson: Shining a light on women's health - UC Santa Cruz

WE CARE Solar's Leading Man Makes the Whole Thing Possible:

Hal Aronson: Shining a light on women's health

October 15, 2012

By Peggy Townsend 

• More Sharing ServicesShare|Share on facebookShare on emailShare on print

(Photo courtesy of Hal Aronson)

Hal Aronson toils in a backyard workshop in Berkeley in order to save lives in Africa.

What he's doing seems wildly simple: He is refining a portable solar system that can power LED lights in hospitals and clinics.

But giving doctors the ability to see and treat patients in places where electricity is spotty or nonexistent comes close to a miracle. Listen to Aronson and his obstetrician-gynecologist wife, Laura Stachel, describe scenes of desperate need, and the importance of their work becomes clear.

For instance, they recall the story of a pregnant woman whose uterus had ruptured during labor and was turned away from an African hospital because it was night and doctors could not see well enough to treat her.

"Light is life," said Aronson simply.

Aronson, who earned a bachelor's degree in politics (Cowell '79) and a Ph.D. in sociology from UCSC in 1997, is co-founder with Stachel of a nonprofit called We Care Solar (wecaresolar.org).

Its roots go back to 2008 when Aronson, a self-taught solar engineer, got an email from Stachel, who was part of a public-health research program in Nigeria.

Stachel described having to stand by helplessly while a pregnant woman with a condition readily treatable in the U.S. fought for her life because doctors could not see well enough to aid her.

She asked Aronson if he could help.

See the link above for the full article....

Safe Mothers, Safe Babies: Lighting the Darkness in Partnership with WE CARE Solar

Safe Mothers, Safe Babies: Lighting the Darkness in Partnership with WE CARE ...: Can you imagine personally delivering--or birthing--a baby in total darkness? What if your wife, mother, sister, or friend needed to underg...

Vote for WE CARE Solar in the CLASSY Awards!

The CLASSY Awards is the largest philanthropic awards ceremony in the country, celebrating the greatest  charitable achievements by nonprofit organizations, socially conscious businesses, and individuals worldwide.  In 2011, the collective efforts of the organizations nominated for the CLASSY Awards impacted the lives of more than 200,000,000 people in 71 countries worldwide.

This year, WE CARE Solar is in the running under Best New Charity.  Winning this award would help WE CARE Solar bring their renowned Solar Suitcase to health clinics in developing countries, providing light for critical surgeries in villages with no electricity.

On the Vote page of the Classy Awards website, scroll down to the Best New Charity section (Western region) & vote for We Care Solar ~ it's that easy!


Read more about WE CARE Solar and the Solar Suitcase, & watch the video here:

WE CARE Solar Wins 'Saving Lives/Grand Challenge' Award!

The goal of the Saving Lives at Birth: Grand Challenge program is to find the tools and approaches to help mothers and newborns at their most vulnerable time, seeking groundbreaking prevention and treatment approaches for pregnant women and newborns in rural, low-resource settings around the time of delivery.  This is the period when the majority of maternal and newborn deaths occur and the population that has been the most difficult to reach.

'We seek innovative ideas that can leapfrog conventional approaches in three main domains: (1) technology; (2) service delivery; and (3) “demand side” innovation that empowers women and their families to be aware of, and access, health care at the time of birth'.

Ilinisa Hendrickson, WE CARE's Research Analyst, and Carol Weis, WE CARE's Lead PV Installer & Instructor show off the Solar Suitcase and receive the fantastic news:

  

WE CARE Solar was also voted winner of the Saving Lives at Birth PEER CHOICE Award- meaning other Saving Lives at Birth finalists selected WE CARE's project as their favorite as well!


The award will help WE CARE Solar bring Solar Suitcases to 200 health facilities in SW Uganda, providing crucial lighting to health workers performing critical surgical procedures in clinics without electricity.  The Suitcases will also power laptop computers for continuing midwifery education, electronic data management systems, community education and advocacy.  

WE CARE would like to thank their supporters for all of their tireless help, inspiration, hard work, dedication, and commitment to their mission of empowering health workers and childbearing women around the world.  

It seems like the world is listening...

Learn more @ www.wecaresolar.org

NorCal Solar Invites You to a Party!!

The 9th Edition of the Solar Energy Resource Guide (SERG) has been a long time coming, & NorCal Solar is excited to celebrate it's launch on the eve of the popular international solar conference, INTERSOLAR !!

TanzSolar: Winning Awards in Africa !!

I am so proud to know & work with this amazing company based in Berkeley & Northern TZ:

Press Release                                                                                              
 7 June 2012

Solar Entrepreneur TanzSolar Wins Award for Championing

Environmental Change in Africa

Last night, on the island of Mauritius, the annual Green Africa Award for Business was awarded to TanzSolar (www.tanzsolar.org) for championing environmental change in Africa. TanzSolar received the Award for bringing clean, renewable solar energy and electric lighting to villagers in Tanzania. TanzSolar received the Green Business & Environmental Management Award, one of ten categories.

“We are thrilled and this is an enormous honor to receive such an award. It’s nice to be recognized for our hard work in solar energy in Africa” said Marianne Walpert, Founder and Director of TanzSolar.

Since 2007 TanzSolar has been working in the rural, northern regions of Tanzania to bring clean, renewable solar energy and electric lighting to village homes, schools and medical facilities.  TanzSolar is a nonprofit Tanzania based company that has distributed over 7,000 subsidized solar-lighting systems.  Nonetheless millions of rural households and businesses remain without access to electricity, so this work is just beginning.

In much the same way that cell phones have replaced the need for telephone lines throughout much of the African continent, solar electricity generation has the potential to eliminate the need for extensive power lines and central station electricity generation.  Tanzania has a very limited power distribution system, reaching only 10% of its population of 45 million.  Even with this limited reach there is often insufficient power available to supply the electricity required, resulting in regular power outages.

Solar energy, by contrast, is in abundant supply and getting more and more affordable.  While it is still too expensive for most rural Tanzanians, with subsidies TanzSolar has been able to make this technology available.  Of course, solar electricity generation has only flourished in the US and Europe because of subsidies, so it should come as no surprise that the Least Developed Countries of Sub-Saharan Africa should also require assistance.  Solar electricity can enable environmentally sustainable development in Africa.

For more information about TanzSolar and solar lighting in Tanzania see: www.tanzsolar.org.

For more information about Green Africa Awards see: http://www.earthmauritius.org/#!__green-awards

contact person: Marianne Walpert

mwalpert@tanzsolar.org

415-891-7657

NorCal Solar's Solar Picnic

NorCal Solar hosted their summer-kickoff networking event to show their appreciation to their members and ring in what's looking to be a beautiful and sunny solar season!  A plethora of solar cookers cooked a variety of dishes in the sun, like Jambalaya, Turkey Lasagne, Tuna Casserole & African Rice.  Generous members brought brownies & cookies for dessert, and talented Business Members, Aram Solar catered some delicious tri-tip sandwiches and potato salad.  It was a great day all around, with great food, fun games and music powered by a Solar Suitcase.  If you weren't able to make this fun summer kickoff, sign up to receive email updates from NorCal Solar !

NorCal Solar's Development Director, Karyn Ellis serves up some turkey lasagna from the Sport Oven. 

Board Member, Franz Feuerherdt & Karyn Ellis demonstrate some solar cooked delicacies. 

Chocolate brownies baking in a CooKit, donated by Solar Cookers International (SCI).  

Bing Gu of California Sunlight in Sacramento demonstrated their Solar Oven & BBQ. 

Games were played, & only a few unlucky ones got the wrong end of Pete's raw egg toss.  

Music was powered by a Solar Suitcase, loaned by WE CARE Solar.

Chris & crew from Aram Solar dished out some delicious tri-tip sandwiches.

A SunOven & parabolic cooking away in the sun.

Karyn checks the parabolic, a very powerful solar cooker. 

Board Member Pete Shoemaker, clearly up to no good.  

A beautiful day to sit outside & eat good food cooked by the sun !

Making Your Energy Usage Social !

Facebook's new 'social energy app' makes energy usage (or lack thereof) competitive, by allowing members to share information from their utility bill on their page & rank usage against friends & family on an energy usage 'leader board'. 


Facebookers can create groups and compete against one another to see who reduces their consumption most in a month.

The idea of the app, a partnership between Facebook, OPower, the Nat'l Resources Defense Council & 15 utility companies across the nation, is to motivate people to take a better look at their energy consumption & motivate them to take action.

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty sure I'll RULE at this competition !


See the original SF Gate article here, & check out the new app here.

Auto-Tracking Solar Powered BBQ

I had the opportunity to meet with the founder & CEO of California Sunlight yesterday, and check out their Auto-Tracking Solar Cooker:

The super-focus of a Fresnel lens allows the temperature of the device to be easily controlled, and with it's various attachments can be used as a solar oven, stove, BBQ, food dehydrator, water heater/distiller, and even a rotisserie. 

The thin, light & super-efficient Fresnel lens, originally used to distribute light in lighthouses, directs the sun onto a mirror inside the cooker's main frame, and is then directed to the chamber on the left where the cooking, heating, BBQing, etc. is done; the mini-solar panels on the right power the auto-tracker, ensuring that the solar chef never need adjust the cooker until the food or water is ready.  It can even be used indoors!

Here's a video that shows how it works:

Pretty cool if you ask me!

Check out California Sunlight's website for more information.

Women Engineers Promote Low-Carbon Cooking Across Mali

Check out this article about my friend & colleague in Mali ~ Anna & I worked together on a solar cooking evaluation at a refugee camp in Chad ~ what an inspiration!

 Engineer Anna Dembele works with a solar cooker and thermal heating basket in the compound of her home, where she teaches other women to make and use the cookers. ALERTNET/Soumaila T. Diarra

By Soumaila T. Diarra

BAMAKO, Mali (AlertNet) – Engineer Anna Dembele’s smile broadens as she shows off the low-carbon cooking kits she makes. The association she belongs to now plans to promote use of the equipment across Mali, helping people cope with inflation and tackling deforestation in the bargain.

A 2010 report from Mali’s agriculture ministry said that more than 500,000 hectares of forest are cleared for firewood and charcoal each year in the West African country. But new ways of cooking, using solar power and heat retention, could cut those losses.

Dembele demonstrates the kit on the paved floor of her compound. There’s a basic solar cooker, which consists of a box lined with reflective foil, a metal pot and a heat-resistant plastic bag. There is also an insulated “thermos” basket in which food is put to continue simmering after being heated to boiling point, and a “rocket” stove, which supplements the solar cooker and enables more efficient use of firewood.

Read more on AlertNet.

The ‘Cookit’ creates a stir in Chad

The power of the sun holds the key to at least some of the challenges facing communities in Eastern Chad. 

That was the conclusion of Cord’s research last year, validated by a successful pilot and is now the focus of a new $200,000 programme funded by Jewish World Watch.

Some 280,000 Sudanese have crossed the border from Sudan into Chad since the eruption of violence in the Darfur region in 2003. Inevitably, tensions rise between these new encamped communities and the local Chadian population. Not only is competition over scarce firewood for cooking and heating a common cause of conflict between the two communities, but it also leaves women exposed to the risk of violence when they travel the ever-increasing distances necessary to collect it.

See the full article here.

Want a CooKit of your own?  Check out Solar Cookers International's website & buy one for about $25!

Clean Cookstoves for Liberia

 

Empowerment Society International (ESI) is a small nonprofit dedicated to empowering individuals in developing countries by promoting sustainable development in their communities.  Their goal is to 'build a sustainable world, one individual at a time'.  Peter Gbelia, founder and ED of ESI, together with the Foundation For Women, Liberia (FFW) and the United National Development Program's (UNDP) Global Environment Fund, are attempting to introduce highly efficient, clean cookstoves to the rural villages of Liberia. 

 FFW Liberia intends to distribute 700 clean charcoal cookstoves throughout Liberia in 2012.  In five years, these 700 cookstoves will keep over 10,000 tonnes of CO2 from entering the atmosphere, and over 15 kg's of black carbon (1 kg of black carbon is equivalent to 680 tones of CO2). Most importantly, FFW Liberia's project will touch over 3,500 lives, empower thousands of women, and improve the health of women and children in over 700 households while saving them from the detrimental affects of Indoor Air Pollution (IAP). The program will create over 1,000 local jobs, directly by hiring distributors and sales agents, and over 3,000 indirect jobs as we compensate community liaisons, hire transport and storage facilities, creating a vibrant economic development around the cookstove.

A $60 donation will subsidize the cost of a cookstove by 50% for 2 Liberian families, but any amount is appreciated.  Donations can be made at sjedi.org, or you can join the Facebook Cause:  Cookstoves for Africa.  If you're not able to donate, a 'like' on Facebook and passing on information to friends and family helps a great deal.  




Click here for more information on ESI's Clean Cookstove Initiative in Liberia. 

Vented Cookstoves Key in Pneumonia Fight

---

Did you know that 3 billion people ~ nearly half the world's population, still rely on wood, coal, crop waste or animal dung for indoor cooking and heating? The resulting indoor air pollution contributes mightily to severe pneumonia, especially among women and young children. At 1.6 million deaths per year, garden-variety pneumonia is now the leading killer of children under 5 worldwide - more than AIDS, malaria and TB combined. According to new data published in the journal NeuroToxicology, prenatal exposure to carbon monoxide generated by indoor smoke can also have long-term effects on child IQ. The good news is this: Something as simple as an indoor stove with a smoke-reducing chimney can change this ugly picture.Vented cookstoves are key in pneumonia fight - San Bernardino County Sun

MIT Engineering 3D Solar Panels

Inspired by the way trees spread their leaves to capture sunlight, MIT Engineering Professor Jeffery Grossman wondered how efficient a three-dimensional shape covered in solar cells could be. It turns out that it has the potential to be quite efficient, even on an overcast, rainy day in Boston. Extraordinary efficiency, created by the dynamic shapes inspired by tree leaves, is what's really impressive about Professor Grossman's design. Not only are they less impacted by bad weather, their vertical shape allows them to pick up more direct sunlight and generate more electricity than flat panels using the same amount of ground space.

Check it out:

The Solar Lease

While I was perusing the endless & captivating isles at Home Depot recently, I came across this advertisement. I'd seen it before, but after almost 9 months of in-depth solar panel training this year with Solar Energy International (SEI), all-things-solar seem to pique my interest even more than usual.

So of course I was intrigued, because one of the biggest deterrents for the average citizen interested in 'going solar' is the upfront cost, especially if you live in a state without a significant environmental incentive program. So the solar lease seems like an intriguing alternative to the average Joe looking to reduce his (or her) carbon footprint. I delved deeper:

Here are the nuts and bolts of it:

• Home Depot has partnered with U.S. solar installation giant SolarCity to provide custom and professional panel installations on your home or business.
• Instead of buying solar panels, clients simply lease the equipment and pay as they go.
• Home Depot handles all installation-related paperwork, including permits, tax credits and coordination with power company.
• Flexible financing options and a comprehensive project price covers everything from the initial paperwork to final cleanup.
  
• The combination of the monthly lease payment and subsequent electricity bill is apparently less than an average utility bill.
• Savings grows as utility rates increase, and lower electricity rates are locked in for the term of the lease.
• Repairs, maintenance, monitoring and insurance are covered under the lease.
• SolarCity will pay the difference in your bill if the system does not perform as guaranteed.
• Performance is monitored daily online by SolarGuard®.
  
• When the lease ends, there is the option to upgrade to a new system with updated technology, extend the lease in 5 year increments, or simply have the panels removed (for free).
• If you sell your home before the lease ends, it can either be transferred to the new owners or you can pay it off and add it to the asking price.

Not a bad deal if you ask me! It's my humble opinion that leases like these, as well as community solar farms, gardens & similar allocation programs are the future of solar energy, utilizing cumulative energy sharing and payment plans to make PV systems affordable to the masses. It's an exciting time!

Check out HomeDepot & SolarCity for more information.

PV301L: PV Battery-Based Lab

Solar Energy International's PV301L course instructs students to safely install, test, and commission battery-based PV systems at the Paonia Lab Facility.  The five days of hands-on installation practice with battery-based systems are offered at SEI’s world-class PV Lab training facility in Paonia, Colorado;  lab stations are comprised of both stand-alone and grid-tied with battery back-up systems, and include both AC and DC coupled systems.  Integrating generator back-up is also covered in detail, as participants concentrate on battery safety, wiring, and maintenance, and will wire balance of system components including: combiner boxes, disconnects, power centers, controllers, battery banks, and inverters.  Set-up, basic programming, and testing of components for specific battery-based applications are integrated into the lab sessions, students learn fundamental procedures for safe installation and commissioning practices, and all exercises have an emphasis on battery safety considerations.  The maximum eight to one student-to-instructor ratio and comprehensive lab setting create the ultimate environment to get first hands-on PV and battery experience.

 I learned alot about the 'other side' of PV installation (after taking the Grid-Tie lab the previous month) & the Lab Facility in Paonia is beyond compare.  I can't imagine a more pleasant place to be trained in this amazing technology!

 Day 1 had us grouped up in the classroom in downtown Paonia, going over the basics of battery-based PV installation, before moving to the lab on the outskirts of town. 

Joe Villacci (one of three instructors for the course) goes over the basics of battery design & single string design & set up.

The class split into 3rds (one group per instructor) & went through all the specifics of setting up various systems, rotating throughout the week.  With 5-7 students per instructor, the class provided invaluable personal attention.

I must admit, I kept getting distracted by the breathtaking sky show.

Going over design schematics after wiring up the panels of one of the systems. 

Wiring up the inverter, charge controllers, et al.

Downtime @ The Revolution Brewery.

Awwwww, such love amongst SEI instructors & staff : )

Rule #1: Stay Hydrated !

Solar snacks:  Nutella & Banana toast in the solar cooker!

One system ready to go!

Laying down the last panel on the pitched-roof mounted system.

PV installation is fun!

Tawnya, our popcicle princess, rewarded us every afternoon with delicious icy treats.

Taking respite from the sun in the tented classroom.

Music in the Park; there's always something going on in the little mountain town of Paonia.

PV206: Solar Business & Technical Sales

PV206 Solar Business and Technical Sales is an excellent companion training opportunity to be taken with or after any of SEI's PV technical training. This workshop is a perfect fit for those currently working in the solar industry or hoping to work in solar sales to comprehensively cover business and financial topics not covered in our technical training. The class has been developed from the ground up with a strong focus on business / financial principals and non-technical topics directly aligned with the NABCEP PV Technical Sales task analysis.

Through insightful instruction from working experts in the field, SEI’s PV206 workshop covers marketing and sales techniques you will need to be successful in the solar biz. Concepts discussed in detail include customer qualification, marketing strategies, creating conceptual design proposals, system costing, incentives and rebates, cost-benefit analysis, financing options, and the non-financial benefits of photovoltaic systems.

Presentations from active experts in the solar marketing & sales industry from various companies across the nation provided in-depth practical & comprehensive information about real-life situations & circumstances in the solar business field. Lectures were personal & thought-provoking, & students received valuable insider knowledge from experienced & seasoned professionals, & had a good time doin' it!


We had a well-rounded class, with an eclectic mix of solar professionals. The course was dominated by our 3 main instructors, & peppered with a variety of local & national industry moguls.


Or fun-lovin' solar instructors; Andy Black, Jeff Spies & Liz Merry.



Andy Black of OnGrid Solar directed the first 2 days of the workshop with detailed instruction on industry standards, effective sales strategies & solar marketing tactics.



Jeff Spies, of SolarSpies Training & Consulting Services in Arizona, took control of Day #3 with more sales & marketing gems.



Liz Merry, solar guru of Verve Solar Consulting, was our class director & kept things going in an orderly & mixed-up fashion.



SEI's Kris Sutton came in to give us the what's-what on OSHA guidelines & the importance of safety certifications.



We were even graced by a visit from SEI's Executive Director, Johnny Weis, who is an impressive public speaker & got us thinking about the future of solar energy & what it will mean for the good ole USA.



A powerful image.


I love this table.



And after 4.5 days on our butts in a classroom, a field trip to see the array @ the Colorado Rocky Mountain School, installed by Carbondale's own SunSense Solar, was a welcome change of pace.



An example of an 'anti-theft' nut that requires a special tool... you'd be surprised at how often panels are stolen from solar sites!



Only a fraction of the huge array that powers the Colorado Rocky Mountain School.


Inspiring.





Thanks everyone for a fun & valuable class!