Solar Cookers International

THE MISSION OF SOLAR COOKERS INTERNATIONAL (SCI) IS TO IMPROVE HUMAN HEALTH, ECONOMIC WELL-BEING, WOMENS EMPOWERMENT, AND THE ENVIRONMENT BY PROMOTING CLIMATE-FRIENDLY SOLAR COOKING FOR VULNERABLE POPULATIONS WORLDWIDE.SOLAR COOKERS INTERNATIONAL (SCI) IS A 501(C)3 NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION WORKING TO IMPROVE HUMAN AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH BY PROMOTING CLIMATE FRIENDLY SOLAR COOKING FOR VULNERABLE POPULATIONS WORLDWIDE. FOR MORE DETAIL, SEE SCHEDULE O.

SOLAR COOKERS INTERNATIONAL (SCI) IS A 501(C)3 NONPROFIT ORGANIZATION WORKING TO IMPROVE HUMAN AND ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH BY PROMOTING CLIMATE FRIENDLY SOLAR COOKING FOR VULNERABLE POPULATIONS WORLDWIDE. APPROXIMATELY 2.3 BILLION PEOPLE AROUND THE WORLD STILL DEPEND PRIMARILY ON BURNING POLLUTING FUELS FOR COOKING WHICH HAS DEVASTATING CONSEQUENCES FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND HAS ADVERSE EFFECTS ON HUMAN HEALTH. WOMEN AND GIRLS ARE PARTICULARLY IMPACTED AS THEY TEND TO SHOULDER MOST COOKING-RELATED DUTIES IN MANY PARTS OF THE WORLD. WITH INCREASING FREQUENCY OF ENVIRONMENTAL CRISES, COMPOUNDED BY GEOPOLITICAL CONFLICTS GIVING RISE TO ACUTE RESOURCE SCARCITY, THE NEED FOR CLEAN COOKING SOLUTIONS, LIKE SOLAR COOKING, IS GREAT.SCI ADDRESSES THE URGENT NEED FOR CLEAN COOKING SOLUTIONS THROUGH THREE MAIN WAYS. SCI LEADS THROUGH ADVOCACY, RESEARCH, AND STRENGTHENING THE CAPACITY OF THE GLOBAL SOLAR COOKING MOVEMENT. SCIS ANALYSIS OF SOLAR COOKING DATA INFORMS ACTIVITIES WHICH STRENGTHEN GRASSROOTS SOLAR COOKING ACTIVITIES GLOBALLY AND ELEVATE VOICES FROM AROUND THE WORLD BY ADVOCATING FOR SUSTAINABLE COOKING SOLUTIONS THROUGH THE UNITED NATIONS AND OTHER HIGH-LEVEL FORUMS. SCIS LONG-TERM STRATEGY IS TO USE ITS EXTENSIVE EXPERIENCE IN IMPLEMENTING BEST-PRACTICE, GROUND-LEVEL PROJECTS AND ITS POSITION AS A LEADER IN THE SECTOR, TO FOCUS ON SCALING UP SOLAR COOKING INITIATIVES AND HELP USHER IN POLICIES, PRACTICES, AND RESOURCES THAT SIGNIFICANTLY ACCELERATE IMPACTS.ADVOCACYSCI ADVOCATES WITH GLOBAL LEADERS TO ENSURE SOLAR COOKING IS RECOGNIZED AS A CRITICAL SOLUTION TO ACHIEVE CLIMATE AND HEALTH GOALS. SCI ALSO CULTIVATES COLLABORATORS TO CARRY FORWARD SCIS AGENDA TO INCREASE KNOWLEDGE AND RECOGNITION OF SOLAR COOKING. SCI IMPLEMENTED THE FOLLOWING ADVOCACY ACTIVITIES IN FISCAL YEAR 2022/2023: ADVOCATED FOR SOLAR COOKING AT THE CONFERENCE OF THE PARTIES TO THE UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE (COP27) IN EGYPT BY COMMUNICATING WITH GOVERNMENT LEADERS THAT SOLAR COOKING IS A VIABLE AND EFFECTIVE SOLUTION FOR INCLUSION IN THEIR CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION AND ADAPTION PLANS. SCI CO-HOSTED A SIDE EVENT WITH THE GLOBAL CLIMATE & HEALTH ALLIANCE AND NURSES ACROSS THE BORDERS. SCI WAS INTERVIEWED BY VARIOUS NEWS OUTLETS, INCLUDING BLOOMBERG, AND HOSTED 5 PRESS CONFERENCES SPOTLIGHTING VOICES FROM THE NEPAL BUREAU OF STANDARDS AND METEOROLOGY, THE UNITED NATIONS CLIMATE TECHNOLOGY CENTER & NETWORK (CTCN), THE NATIONAL DESIGNATED AUTHORITY FOR THE DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO, AND THE UNITED STATES AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT (USAID). SCI ALSO GAVE TWO SOLAR COOKING DEMONSTRATIONS AND HOSTED AN EXHIBITION BOOTH. SCI ATTENDED VARIOUS EVENTS, MET WITH HIGH-IMPACT INDIVIDUALS, EXPANDED ITS NETWORK, AND NURTURED RELATIONSHIPS WITH STRONG POTENTIAL FOR COLLABORATION.PARTICIPATED IN THE JULY 2022 UNITED NATIONS HIGH LEVEL POLITICAL FORUM (HLPF) SHOWCASING THE BENEFITS OF SOLAR COOKING AND ITS POSITIVE INFLUENCE ON ALL 17 OF THE SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS (SDGS) BY HOSTING A VIRTUAL SIDE EVENT FEATURING VOICES REPRESENTING THE CONRAD HILTON HOTEL IN WASHINGTON DC, THE PUBLIC-PRIVATE ALLIANCE FOUNDATION (PPAF), AND SEVERAL ADVOCATES AND PROJECT LEADERS IN HAITI. SCI FURTHER EDUCATED GOVERNMENT LEADERS AND DECISION-MAKERS THROUGH A VIRTUAL EXHIBIT AT HLPF. ORGANIZED AND HOSTED A VIRTUAL WEBINAR FOR THE UNITED NATIONS COMMISSION ON THE STATUS OF WOMEN (CSW) WITH EXPERTS FROM CAMEROONS MINISTRY OF ENVIRONMENT, WOMEN ENGAGE FOR A COMMON FUTURE (WECF) IN FRANCE, AND THE SUNPOWER CO-OP IN MOROCCO.GAVE INTERVIEWS ABOUT THE BENEFITS OF SOLAR COOKING AND HOW IT CAN BE INTEGRATED INTO HOUSEHOLD AND COMMUNITY COOKING PRACTICES THROUGH DIFFERENT PLATFORMS INCLUDING WAMC RADIO, A DOCUMENTARY ENTITLED FAMILY OF THE SUN, AND A POPULAR YOUTUBE CHANNEL CALLED LOW-TECH LAB. SCI WAS ALSO REFERENCED DURING A SEGMENT ON ABC10 PROMOTING SOLAR COOKING AS AN EASY, ACCESSIBLE, FUN COOKING METHOD.HOSTED A VIRTUAL PANEL DISCUSSION AT THE 3RD ANNUAL REENERGY AFRICA SUMMIT, HIGHLIGHTING SCIS WORK IN KAKUMA REFUGEE CAMP, KENYA AND PERFORMANCE EVALUATION PROCESS (PEP) TESTING.PRESENTED VIRTUALLY AT THE RENEWABLE ENERGY: A PATHWAY TO ECONOMIC RECOVERY & CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION, WORLD RENEWABLE ENERGY CONGRESS (WREC) XXI IN WESTERN AUSTRALIA. HELD OUTREACH MEETINGS WITH HIGH IMPACT STAKEHOLDERS FROM ORGANIZATIONS SUCH AS THE GREEN CLIMATE FUND (GCF), CLIMATE TECHNOLOGY CENTRE AND NETWORK (CTCN), SAVE THE CHILDREN, SYRIAN AMERICAN WOMEN'S ASSOCIATION (SAWA), SUSTAINABLE ENERGY FOR ALL (SEFORALL), THE UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSION FOR REFUGEES (UNHCR), SOUTH POLE, AND THE CLEAN COOKING ALLIANCE (CCA) TO EXPLORE OPPORTUNITIES AND METHODS FOR SCALING UP SOLAR COOKING INITIATIVES.COLLABORATED WITH THE CONRAD HILTON IN WASHINGTON DC AND TEALEAVES HOSTING A SUMMIT ON BIODIVERSITY.RESEARCHSCI IS COMMITTED TO SUPPORTING IMPROVEMENTS IN SOLAR COOKING POLICY, PRACTICE, AND RESEARCH BY BUILDING AN EVIDENCE-BASE TO DEMONSTRATE EFFECTIVENESS. SCI WORKS TO PROMOTE THE SOLAR COOKER PERFORMANCE EVALUATION PROCESS (PEP) AS A TOOL FOR MEASURING THE STANDARD COOKING POWER OF A SOLAR COOKER IN WATTS THUS PROVIDING OBJECTIVE DATA FOR MANUFACTURING AND PURCHASING DECISIONS. THE RESULTS ARE BASED ON THE INTERNATIONALLY ACCEPTED INTERNATIONAL ORGANIZATION FOR STANDARDIZATION (ISO) ASAE S580.1 PROTOCOL AND PROVIDE CUSTOMERS, PROJECT LEADERS, ADVOCATES, AND UNITED NATIONS AGENCIES WITH AN OBJECTIVE, RELIABLE EVALUATION OF DIFFERENT SOLAR COOKING TECHNOLOGIES. SCI ALSO RESEARCHES CURRENT SOLAR COOKER DISTRIBUTION AND COUNTRY POLICY TO IDENTIFY COUNTRIES WITH THE STRONGEST POTENTIAL FOR SUCCESSFUL SCALABLE SOLAR COOKING INITIATIVES.SCI CONDUCTED THE FOLLOWING RESEARCH EFFORTS IN THE FISCAL YEAR 2022/2023:COMPILED DATA TO UPDATE THE SCI GLOBAL DISTRIBUTION MAP OF SOLAR COOKERS. THIS MAP REFLECTS BOTH THE NUMBER OF KNOWN SOLAR COOKERS AROUND THE GLOBE AND THEIR ESTIMATED IMPACT.UPDATED SCIS SOLAR COOKING ECONOMIC IMPACT SUMMARIES WHICH ESTIMATE THE ENVIRONMENTAL AND HEALTH COSTS OF COOKING WITH POLLUTING FUELS AND THE POTENTIAL SAVINGS BY SWITCHING TO SOLAR COOKING. THE SUMMARIES ARE USED AS A TOOL TO ENCOURAGE MORE INVESTMENT IN SOLAR COOKING AS A SOLUTION. IDENTIFIED HIGH-PRIORITY COUNTRIES TO TARGET FOR SOLAR COOKING INITIATIVES BY ASSESSING THEIR NEED AND INTEREST THROUGH POLICY DOCUMENTS INCLUDING NATIONALLY DETERMINED CONTRIBUTIONS (NDCS) AND VOLUNTARY NATIONAL REVIEWS (VNRS). FACILITATED PERFORMANCE EVALUATION PROCESS (PEP) TESTING AND PUBLISHED RESULTS FOR BOTH THE FAMILY AND STANDARD SIZE ULOG OVENS. SERVED ON ISO/TECHNICAL COMMITTEE 285, WHICH APPROVED THE DRAFT INTERNATIONAL STANDARD (DIS) FOR INSTITUTIONAL COOKERS AT 100%.FURTHER DEVELOPED PEP TESTING METHODS BY INCORPORATING A BETA VERSION OF A COOKING EFFICIENCY CALCULATION, A PROPOSED ADDITIONAL ISO METRIC. MET WITH STAKEHOLDERS TO DISCUSS LABORATORY STANDARDS AND TESTING PROTOCOLS. REVIEWED AND PROVIDED FEEDBACK AND EXPERTISE FOR PUBLICATIONS INCLUDING THE RENEWABLE ENERGY POLICY NETWORK FOR THE 21ST CENTURY (REN21) 2023 RENEWABLE ENERGY AND SUSTAINABILITY REPORT AND A CASE STUDY PRESENTED BY INSTITUTE OF FOOD TECHNOLOGIST (IFT).STRENGTHENING CAPACITYSCI BUILDS STRONG RELATIONSHIPS WITH MAJOR DECISION-MAKERS TO SUPPORT THE IMPLEMENTATION OF HIGH-IMPACT AND FINANCIALLY SOUND STRATEGIES TO INCREASE THE ADOPTION OF SOLAR COOKERS. SCI ALSO PROVIDES SOLAR COOKER EDUCATION THROUGH DIGITAL AND MEDIA OPPORTUNITIES WHILE PROVIDING A FORUM FOR COLLABORATORS TO SHARE BEST PRACTICES AND EXCHANGE IDEAS. SCI CONDUCTED THE FOLLOWING CAPACITY-BUILDING ACTIVITIES IN 2022/2023: CONTINUED TO COLLABORATE WITH KENYAN IMPLEMENTER ECOMANDATE TO CONSTRUCT SOLAR BOX OVEN COOKERS AND TRAIN KAKUMA REFUGEE CAMP RESIDENTS. THIS FLAGSHIP PROJECT EMPLOYS BEST PRACTICES INCLUDING A THOROUGH NEEDS ASSESSMENT, LOCAL MANUFACTURING, TRAINING, IMPACT SURVEYS, CULTURAL ACCOMMODATION, AND EMPOWERING PARTICIPANTS TO BECOME ADVOCATES.EXTENDED PARTNERSHIP WITH THE FOUNDATION FOR SUSTAINABLE TECHNOLOGIES (FOST), TO IMPLEMENT A PROJECT TARGETING FRAGILE COMMUNITIES IN NEPAL. NOW IN ITS SEVENTH ITERATION, THE PROJECT HAS SUCCESSFULLY CONDUCTED TRAINING SESSIONS ON SOLAR COOKING, DRYING, AND HEAT RETENTION AND HAS DELIVERED SOLAR COOKERS, SOLAR DRYERS, AND HEAT-RETENTION BOXES TO PROGRAM PARTICIPANTS. PROVIDED CONSULTANCY SERVICES, SUPPORTING A COLLABORATION BETWEEN HUMANITARIAN ORGANIZATIONS DIAKONIE KATASTROPHENHILFE (DKH) AND NAHDA MAKERS ORGANIZATION (NMO) IN YEMEN. THE PROJECT AIMS TO IMPROVE RESILIENCE AND FOOD SECURITY FOR RETURNED, MIGRANTS, INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS (IDPS), AND HOST COMMUNITIES IN WESTERN, COASTAL AREAS OF YEMEN.MAINTAINED AND UPDATED THE SOLAR COOKING WIKI, WWW.SOLARCOOKING.ORG, THE WORLDS LARGEST ONLINE DATABASE OF SOLAR COOKING INFORMATION WITH OVER 1,700 PAGES OF INFORMATION FROM 142 COUNTRIES AROUND THE GLOBE AND AUTOMATICALLY TRANSLATABLE INTO OVER 35 DIFFERENT LANGUAGES.FACILITATED 22 IN-PERSON SOLAR COOKING DEMONSTRATIONS AND INFOR