PROGRAMS

Education Resources

Solar Cookers International (SCI) compiles solar cooking and solar water pasteurization information, and shares that information with individuals and organizations worldwide through a number of resources. Access to this knowledge helps consumers and promoters shorten learning curves and avoid missteps in the spread of solar cooking and solar water pasteurization.

The SCI-sponsored Solar Cooking Archive, on the Internet at solarcooking.org, is an unparalleled repository of solar cooking information. Among other things, the site contains construction plans for over two dozens models of solar cookers, an entire solar cookbook, and potentially life-saving resources for solar water pasteurization. The Archive also hosts a number of regional and topical discussion forums, providing a convenient location for asking questions and sharing ideas.

Through two newsletters — the Solar Cooker Review and the SuNews — SCI shares stories of solar cooking and solar cooker promotion from across the globe. Additionally, the newsletters often contain: updates of SCI’s projects, and projects conducted by others, providing insight into strategies for successful spread of solar cooking; profiles of solar cooker manufacturers and new product descriptions, helping consumers choose solar cookers and supplies; and designs for simple solar cookers and tips for use and modification, helping those in developing countries use free solar energy to meet cooking fuel needs.

Tens of thousands of people have learned how to make and use solar cookers for cooking, water pasteurization and business uses through SCI’s publications. Examples include “Solar Cookers: How to Make, Use and Enjoy,” which provides step-by-step construction plans for panel-type and box-type solar cookers; “Spreading Solar Cooking,” which helps promoters plan solar cooking projects; and “Teaching Solar Cooking,” which helps solar cooking instructors stay on task and monitor their students’ progress.

Through its query response service, SCI has helped thousands of people answer important questions, find local experts, and access critical resources needed to successfully achieve their solar cooking goals.

SCI facilitates information exchange among a network of several hundred promoters and experts around the world and maintains a directory of them, organized by country, allowing information seekers in a given area the opportunity to correspond with local or regional experts.

The CooKit and the Water Pasteurization Indicator (WAPI) are two innovations that make solar cooking and solar water pasteurization affordable for many people around the world.

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