Haiti
Reflecting The Light

A COMPREHENSIVE HAITIAN SOLAR COOKING PROGRAM

Haiti is one of the most deforested countries in the world. The need for solar cooking in Haiti is immense. SUN OVENS INTERNATIONAL, INC. (SOI) is committed to providing an alternative to cooking with charcoal so that the few remaining trees in Haiti can be saved and reforestation can be come effective. SOI has been involved in Haiti since 1997 and has had the privilege of partnering with a number of organizations in Haiti. We are continuing to expand our efforts in Haiti to make additional ovens available.

LAMBERT HAITI'S SOLAR COOKING SHOW PLACE

In July 2004 SOI, with the assistance of the Rotary Clubs of Cap Haitian Haiti, Wichita Kansas, District 5690 and the Rotary Foundation in cooperation with the ASAP Haiti program of Inter-Faith Ministries, started a solar cooking program at the Evangelical Baptist Church and School in Lambert.

Lambert is a small rural community of approximately 6,000 people in northern Haiti (approximately 20 kilometers from Cap Haitian). This community has been selected to become the solar cooking show place for all of Haiti and the rest of the developing world. By December 2004, it is anticipated that more than 50% of the total cooking in this community will be powered by the sunshine.

Highlights of this project include:
· Five hundred women are being trained in solar cooking techniques and taught how to make cardboard solar panel cookers.
· A GLOBAL SUN OVEN® assembly plant has been established and is making ovens that will be used in Lambert and sold throughout the country of Haiti.
· Two VILLAGER SUN OVENS® have been installed on the roof of the school to cook 600 lunches each morning for the students and bake bread each afternoon as part of a women's micro-enterprise program.
· Three hundred locally made GLOBAL SUN OVENS® will be distributed to people who have completed a training program and utilized a cardboard solar panel cooker for 90 days.
· To eliminate the use of 720 tons of firewood and/or wood converted to charcoal each year.
· To reduce CO2 emissions by over 120 tons annually.
· To create awareness throughout the world of the many benefits of solar cooking and prove to the Haitian people that it can work.

Program
A very effective training program, which was developed by the Programme Energie Solaire (PES), is being utilized. PES trainers trained 5 women in Lambert to be trainers for the rest of the community. Women receive 3 days of training. The training is centered around the construction of a cardboard solar panel cooker and teaches the principals and concepts of solar cooking and the frailness of the Haitian environment. Each day Haitian foods are cooked in the sun and served for lunch to reinforce the training. On the last day a solar potluck is held. Each student prepares food in their own oven and shares it with fellow class participants.

Each participate will receive the materials and accessories required to make a cardboard solar panel cooker and to cook in it including:

1 - 41'' x 83'' 2 ply sheet of cardboard 1 - grill stand 1 - cooking pot 2 - large plastic baking bags 50' of aluminum foil 1 - thermometer 1 - 4 oz bottle of glue Printed training materials

As part of the training, participants receive a log that allows them to document the use of their solar panel cooker and the amount of money they saved by not using charcoal. Participants who use their solar panel cooker for more than 70% of the sunny days, for 90 days or longer, are eligible for a subsidized GLOBAL SUN OVEN®. The SUN OVENS® cook food much faster and can be used on partly cloudy days. People acquainted with the panel cooker enjoy the many benefits of the SUN OVENS®. The success of combining hands-on training, the ability to earn a subsidy by using the panel solar cooker and introducing a high quality solar oven have proved very successful in other areas of the world.

Assembly
The GLOBAL SUN OVENS® are being assembled at a vocational school located at Evangelical Baptist Church (EBC) in Lambert. The tooling and training required to assemble the ovens in Haiti has been provided, this will reduce the final cost of the ovens by more than 50%. During the first year, U.S. made component parts will be assembled in Haiti while Haitian suppliers are developed for the components. During years two and three it is hoped that further cost reductions can be obtained by utilizing locally manufactured component parts. Producing these ovens in Haiti will sufficiently decrease the shipping costs, and using Haitian labor for production will create jobs in Haiti and reduce the overall cost of each oven produced.

Expansion
This project is designed to plant a seed that will get things started. It is hoped that the project will grow and that additional SUN OVENS® will be assembled and sold. It is anticipated that the project will expand in four ways.
1. User fees
2. Sales of SUN OVENS® to Haitian Americans for delivery to a family member in Haiti
There is an ever-growing Haitian American population that is aware of the toll that deforestation is taking on Haiti and the rising price of charcoal. Plans are underway to make Haitian Americans in South Florida, New York City and Hartford, CT aware of a program that will allow them to pay for an oven in the U.S. and have it delivered to family members in Haiti. It is anticipated that these ovens will sell for approximately $175 U.S. dollars and should generate a profit that will be utilized to purchase additional oven components and expand the program
3. Sales to other NGOs
There are a number of NGOs that work in Haiti and would be interested in purchasing SUN OVENS® if they were available at a reasonable price. It is anticipated that ovens will be sold to NGOs at a small markup and the profits will be used to expand the program.
4. Solicitation of additional donors
Many Rotary Clubs would like to get involved in providing solar cookers and SUN OVENS® to Haiti, but are not able to get involved in a large project. If the opportunity to provide a small subsidy to help a Haitian family is made available, there is a good chance that hundreds of individual donors would be willing to participate.

PROJECT BACKGROUND

SUN OVENS INTERNATIONAL, INC. remains committed to developing and implementing comprehensive solar cooking programs in Haiti. To be successful these programs must radically decrease the country's dependence on charcoal and improve the standard of living among poor Haitians by allowing money previously spent for charcoal to be spent in a more productive manner while curtailing deforestation and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. We believe that until people are given a viable alternative to cooking with wood and charcoal, deforestation will continue. The use of SUN OVENS® can reduce the amount of wood that is used for cooking by up to 70%.

The organizations that SOI has worked with to expand solar cooking in Haiti include:
· Programme Energie Solaire of the Free Methodist Inland Mission
· Friends of Haiti Organization (FOHO)
· The ASAP Haiti program of Inter-Faith Ministries
· Evangelical Baptist Church Lambert, Haiti
· The Rotary Foundation
· The Rotary Clubs of Reynolds Corners, OH, Wichita, KS, District 5690, USA and Cap Haitian, Haiti
· The U.S. Department of State
· Ministry of Environment

	On July 18, 2000 the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince and the Haitian Chamber of Commerce hosted a Solar cooking demonstration which was held at the Chamber of Commerce. Forty-one GLOBAL SUN OVENS® and one VILLAGER SUN OVEN® cooked a variety of Haitian foods which were served to diplomats from a number countries and the Haitian media.

The Programme Energie Solaire (PES) of the Free Methodist Inland Mission in Port-au-Prince, Haiti has developed a comprehensive solar cooking training program that is by far the most effective solar oven training program in the world. The number of people who have implemented solar cooking into their daily lifestyle is very impressive. The Free Methodist Mission has been involved in solar cooking since 1990.

The Programme Energie Solaire, of the Free Methodist Inland Mission, has been very successful and has trained over 5,000 people how to make and use solar cookers.

The PES training consists of three days of training. Each day sessions are held from 8 a.m. until 2 p.m. The training is centered on the construction of a cardboard solar panel cooker and teaches the principals and concepts of solar cooking and the frailness of the Haitian environment. Each day Haitian foods are cooked in the sun and served for lunch to reinforce the training. On the last day each student prepares food in their own oven and shares it with fellow class participants.

Two of the key elements that differentiated the PES training from other solar cooking programs that have been less successful are:  

In the spring of 2000 the Friends of Haiti Organization (FOHO) provided PES with 200 high quality manufactured GLOBAL SUN OVENS® made by SUN OVENS INTERNATIONAL, INC. PES made these ovens available to people who had completed their training program and maintained a log of the use of the cardboard panel cooker and the money they saved on charcoal for 90 consecutive days. These ovens are being sold for the subsidized cost of $50.00 (U.S.).

Pictured here is a recent graduate of the training program taking delivery of her GLOBAL SUN OVEN® from Lowell Yoder, founder of FOHO.

The GLOBAL SUN OVENS® cook food much faster and can be used on partly cloudy days. People acquainted with the panel cooker enjoy the many benefits of the GLOBAL SUN OVEN®. The majority of people who purchase a GLOBAL SUN OVEN® continue to utilize their panel solar cooker for some of their cooking.

 

Many  Haitian homes have flat roofs, which are ideal for solar cooking.

The success of combining hands-on training, the ability to earn a subsidy by using the panel solar cooker and introducing a high quality solar oven have proved very successful. Of the initial people trained, 65% continued to use their panel cooker one year later on a regular basis and 20% continue to use it on weekends. 92% of the people who obtained the GLOBAL SUN OVENS® continued using them regularly after the first 12 months.

TYPICAL Haitian food cooked in a GLOBAL SUN OVEN®

General Information

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with a population of 6.9 million people. The country is more than 97% deforested. At its present rate, Haiti will have no trees at all within the next several years. The self-destructive path that Haiti is currently on can be reversed. The ultimate goal of this self-sustaining program is for every family in rural Haiti to have a solar oven and be trained in its use. This will allow for reforestation programs to be instituted and the environment to be stabilized. Until Haiti's deforestation problem is solved, there is little hope for permanent progress in solving its social and economic problems.

With the growing problem of deforestation in Haiti, SUN OVENS® will make a big difference. Annual wood consumption for cooking is 1,000 pounds of wood per person. A family of six using a SUN OVENS® for 60% of their cooking needs would save 3,600 pounds of wood per year. A SUN OVENS® has a useful life of at least 15 years. The wood saved by each oven will be 54,000 pounds. Each oven will eliminate the need to cut down hundreds of trees.

Need

From an ecological perspective, Haiti is a dying country. The levels of unemployment, poverty, and environmental degradation have reached crisis proportions. From almost any standard, it is in dire straits:
· Lowest gross national product per capita in North and Central America (less than $375 a year)
· A negative annual economic growth rate
· 50% of the population is unemployed
· 75% of the population lives in poverty
· Lowest life expectancy rate in the Americas (49.21 years at birth)
· Highest infant mortality rate in the Americas (91.1 deaths per 1,000 live births)
· Highest toddler mortality rate in the Americas (140 deaths per 1,000 live births)
· Less than 30% of the population (outside of Port-au-Prince) has access to safe drinking water

Many of Haiti's problems have environmental origins and/or effects. Haiti was once known as a tropical paradise; today it is world renowned as a site of environmental disaster. Deforestation and the resulting soil erosion are Haiti's greatest environmental threats and have had a severe impact on plants, animals, soil, and water resources. In 1923 Haiti's forest cover was estimated at 60%; less than 3 % remains today. Haiti's climate has changed from a tropical rain forest to one in which dust flies through the air when there is a breeze.

Eighty-five percent of Haiti is mountainous. Much of the deforestation has occurred on steep, nutrient-poor, highly erodable slopes. Over 6 % of Haitian land is completely stripped of arable soil and will never be able to support crops. Thirty-three percent of Haiti's acreage is seriously eroded and facing imminent conversion into desert. Deforestation and erosion in the mountains have blocked up irrigation systems on the plains, leaving land that once produced half the world's sugar unable to produce enough food for half its own people.

In the early 1990's, Haitian deforestation was exacerbated by the international embargo that ended reforestation efforts and caused a shortage of fuel, forcing additional people to cook with wood charcoal.

If deforestation is not reversed, there is little hope that negative environmental and economic trends that have plagued Haiti can be reversed. A major environmental rehabilitation and reconstruction process must begin immediately. This process cannot begin if every tree that is planted is not allowed to grow to maturity. If the people of Haiti can be taught to use the solar resource they have in abundance, and financing is supplied to allow this to be accomplished, there is hope for the future of Haiti.

HERE COMES THE SUN!

Since the school lunch program started, the food at the Evangelical Baptist Church in Lambert has been cooked with charcoal. Shown below is the school's smoke filled kitchen.

The charcoal has been replaced by the renewable energy of the sun. Replacing the charcoal with the sun is saving money, forests and safeguarding the health of the cooks.

Cooking in Haiti yesterday, today and tomorrow...