Harnessing the Sun to Help Tsunami Victims

Iran Daily Newspaper, September 25, 2005

The tsunami of December 26, 2004 ripped through the southern Asia island of Sri Lanka taking many lives and homes. But the sun will soon be harnessed to help tsunami victims to reestablish their lives.

Entire communities recently destroyed are being rebuilt and the sun will brighten the lives of those traumatized by providing for their most basic energy need. New homes built to replace homes lost to the tsunami will be equipped with Global Sun Ovens.

On September 16, 2005 Sun Ovens International filled an entire 40’ shipping container with ovens at its plant in Elburn, IL and Paul Munsen, Sun Ovens International’s President, will be in Sri Lanka to enlighten Sri Lankan women on solar cooking, solaraccess.com said.
"The main meal of the day in Sri Lanka is consumed after sun down" said Munsen "and the Global Sun Ovens is ideal in this culture because food cooked in the afternoon sun and left in the oven will stay moist and warm for hours. Even though it is called an oven, food can be sun- baked, boiled, and steamed so most Sri Lankan foods can be made."

Two hundred new homes will be equipped with Global Sun Ovens which will meet 70% of a family’s cooking needs, entirely with the power of the sun. Cooking temperatures of 360 degrees F / 182 degrees C can be maintained in this easy-to-use oven which weighs 21 lbs. / 9.5 kg. and will last for 20 years.
The sun will replace dung and charcoal as the primary cooking fuel improving the health and economic well being of the of the families who receive them, as well as the heath of the environment, through the reduction of harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

In addition, two Sri Lankan orphanages will be receiving commercial sized Villager Sun Ovens which will be used to cook meals and bake bread to generate income for the orphanages.
Each of these large commercial solar powered ovens can cook 1,200 meals a day or bake hundreds of loaves of bread. The ovens will aid the orphanage’s budget in two ways by reducing the cost of cooking fuel and baking bread, which will be sold to help the orphanages become more self-sufficient.

The ovens are being provided by Rotary International in conjunction with the manufacturer of the ovens, Sun Ovens International, Inc. Over 125 Rotary Clubs in thirty five states and two Canadian Provinces contributed to this effort. The ovens will be given to the Help--Sri Lanka Consortium; a grass roots organization, which is, committed to rehousing tsunami victims.
Global Sun Ovens are currently in use in over 130 countries and as energy prices raise the demand is increasing in the U.S. and around the world.