We are always searching for the underpinnings of hope here on the Uganda-side of LGH. One place that we have found it is in nature. Even in the midst of the serious disease that has been inflicted upon the environment, there is still beauty. With trash littering the road there is also the marked grandeur of the Nile River. The health of nature and the ability to regrow is a source of inspiration. Instead of warring against nature and attempting to control and perverse it, we are trying to learn from nature and work alongside it. We have given up any notions that we can bring about health simply by stumbling upon it in the same way that we stumbled upon destruction. There must be changes in the way that we think and live. To bring about these changes we teamed up with Solar Cookers International (SCI). With the help of SCI we are enabling the SUUBI and EPOH artisans to cook their food and boil their water with the free power of the sun. This reduces the emissions of charcoal that the women would normally use, benefiting the women monetarily and environmentally. One artisan reported that she spends $5 a week on charcoal. With the help of LGH, she can make a one-time purchase of a solar cooker for about $5, and save on the weekly expense of charcoal.

For the past few weeks we conducted solar cooking demonstrations with the women. Prior to the demonstrations we loaned out solar cookers to interested women, and allowed them to learn how to incorporate the solar cookers into their lives. At the demonstrations, the new experts taught the other women the benefits of the solar cookers. So far, we have cooked rice, beans, groundnuts, cabbage, meat, tea and even cake! Some of the women are pioneers in adapting to this new technology, while others are still trying out the solar cookers. Many women have noted the benefits of the cookers, especially the reduction of indoor pollution from the smoke and fumes of charcoal cooking.

For the next phase, a team from the SCI headquarters in Kenya will be visiting us to teach the women more about the solar cooking model, and how to pass on this knowledge to others in their community.

To read more about how solar cookers work please visit the SCI website at the link below!