Traveling Mamas Give Back: Solar Cooker Project

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I read about the Solar Cooker Project in today’s Parade magazine and knew that this nonprofit endeavor would be an amazing charity to kick off a new feature (for lack of a better word) at TravelingMamas.com. Every month for the rest of the year, we’ll highlight a different nonprofit on our Activists page to help draw attention to some very, very worthy causes around the world. Most will likely be international groups, but others may be projects in our own backyards.

Solar cookers are made of tin foil and cardboard and they trap the sun’s heat to create energy to boil water and heat food. Jewish World Watch operates the Solar Cooker Project, which is providing these cookers to families in the refugee camps in Chad, Africa; here live more than 250,000 people who fled the genocide of Darfur.

Besides the wonderfully eco-friendly reasons for providing solar cookers to the refugees, these cookers actually help save women and children from being victims of heinous crimes. Without solar cookers, women must leave the safety of the camps to go “outside the walls” to collect firewood. When they leave the camps, they are vulnerable to attack and rape by bandits.

Just $30 can provide a family with two solar cookers (they last six to nine months), two pots and two pot holders. If you’re interested in learning more and donating, please visit the Solar Cooker Project.

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March 1, 2009 | Filed Under The Cookie Jar 

Comments

4 Responses to “Traveling Mamas Give Back: Solar Cooker Project”

  1. Keith says:
    March 2, 2009 at

    I’m trying to remember something like this … someone had designed, or was going to design something similar for use by Himalayan expeditions, because the authorities were trying to discourage trekkers from taking all the firewood, and leaving gas casettes scattered all over the place.

    (My own camp cooker works off methylated spirit (wood alcohol to you) … probably one of the first ever bio-fuels??)

  2. Laura says:
    March 2, 2009 at

    I love this new feature – what a great idea! I think that so many of us want to help, but don’t know where to start. I’ll be looking forward to reading this every month :)

  3. Kim says:
    March 3, 2009 at

    This is a great idea! I’m looking forward to hearing about other non-profits.

  4. Tom Sponheim says:
    March 5, 2009 at

    You can find plans for making your own solar cooker in as little as an hour here: http://solarcooking.wikia.com/Plans

    Tom Sponheim
    Solar Cookers International

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