How do the solar cookers help people?

The solar cooker is not only a clean and environmentally friendly energy source, it also greatly lessens the burden on impoverished families by decreasing their dependence on overpriced coal.

In addition, the solar cooker has been shown to be an effective way to ease pressures on the environment and reduce both indoor and outdoor pollution.

As women and children spend less time in smoky kitchens, incidences of diseases related to smoke inhalation drop.

The numbers of years children enrolled in school rise as more children are liberated from the task of collecting dung for fuel.

Why solar cooker projects?

Constant exposure to kitchen smoke and indoor pollution is known to be a cause of a number of fatal illnesses, especially among women and children.

Young girls and boys are not sent to school - but instead are assigned to collect yak dung, the primary source of fuel. The resulting illiteracy has serious consequences on the long term health and welfare of the community.

Reliance on traditional fuels such as wood has resulted in heavy deforestation in the local area. Other organic materials, such as the roots of thorny bushes, are still being dug and collected - to the detriment of the environment.

Women generally spend a considerable amount of their time in kitchens, which limits the time that they have to engage in more income-generating activities.

Introduction of new fuels such as coal is not only costly for impoverished families but is also a major source of air pollution.