Solar cooker maker launches carbon campaign

By Fredrick Obura

A solar cooker manufacturer has launched a campaign to cut down on carbon emissions.

This move comes in the backdrop of world efforts to have key players in environmental degradation rethink on global warming.

The Solar Cookers International (SCI), a not-for-profit organisation founded in 1987 launched the campaign ‘the most meaningful carbon offset and the simplest’.

A recent report that voluntary carbon offsets for airline travellers should do more to assuage guilt than reduce carbon emissions has created a cloud of doubt around the benefits of such programmes.

"SCI’s campaign is different from airline programmes in that placing solar cookers in the hands of people who would otherwise burn wood or fossil fuels, actually reduces black carbon by up to one tonne per family annually," says Kevin Porter, director of Education Resources at SCI.

Online donation

SCI is launching an online campaign, with a video where people can make donations that will allow SCI to provide one of the needy families on earth with a solar cookit system and necessary training.

Donors of the $50 cooKit systems will receive certificates showing a woman with a solar cooker next to the large pile of wood that will not have to be gathered or burned as a result of the tax deductible carbon offset contribution. Successful solar cooking is dependent upon access to sunshine and the right climate.

Though solar cooking is possible in many, it is most practical for people living in climates that are generally dry and sunny for at least six months of the year. Latitudes between the equator and 40_ are usually best.

"Solar cooking emits zero carbon, and it reduces the desperate need to dangerously gather and burn wood in deforested environments," said Honey Walters, of the SCI Board of Directors.

Solar Cookers International is widely considered the world pioneer in advancing solar cooking, through its product development and field training experience.