Solar cooking in Gaga refugee camp, preliminary analysis

The United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) contracted with SHE to train 48 women (one of whom is pictured below) in the Gaga refugee camp in Chad to solar cook, and to distribute HotPots solar ovens for them to use. The camp’s 20,000 residents are primarily refugees who fled violence in the nearby Darfur region of western Sudan. The preliminary analysis of project results indicate that introducing solar cooking has caused the women to reduce their wood use by an average of 25-40% after only two months. These savings are likely to grow over time and could be further increased by additional measures. The users are extremely enthusiastic about their new HotPots and have adapted their cooking to use them every midday meal.