Subject: Sol Cooker 2 of 3

From: [email-masked] (Scott Parks)
Date: 13 May 94 22:06:44 -0800

-=> Note:
Forwarded (from: homepowr) by Scott Parks using timEd.
Originally from Don Kulha (1:125/7.0) to All.
Original dated: May 05 '94, 10:06

We had another successful experience in the second community 
we worked in, Nueva Esperanza. Nueva Esperanza is also a 
community of repatriated refugees. However, this 400 member 
community is located in Usulutan, in the south of El Salvador. 
We installed a similar lighting system. We used a 150 Amp-
hour nickel-iron battery which was donated by Utility Free, 
two solar electric panels and four 20 Watt lights to light up 
the community center. After monitoring the system for two 
months we realized that they had a lot more accessible power 
than they were using. We set up a 400 Watt inverter, donated 
by PowerStar, so they can use some of their ac appliances 
which they usually ran on the generator. Now they can listen to 
music without going through endless amounts of D cell 
batteries, which is a major expense in the community.
The third community in which we worked was La Mora. We 
installed a lighting system on the schoolhouse. La Mora is one 
of the central communities in Cuscatlan, and the schoolhouse 
is quite large since it serves over 300 children from many 
neighboring communities. We ended up installing two Siemens 
M53 photovoltaic panels, two 220 Amp-hour lead-acid 
batteries, and six different light fixtures consuming 
approximately 80 watts total. The head school teacher told us 
how important the lights were because many children have to 
work in the fields with their parents during the day. Now both 
children and parents will be able to attend night classes.
Technology Transfer
The three men from El Sitio helped us install the Nueva 
Esperanza system and the La Mora system. They learned 
quickly. By the third system they had the panels mounted, all 
the connections soldered, the lights wired, and the system 
working after one very long day. The people in La Mora were 
ecstatic. We left feeling very confident knowing that the El 
Sitio crew could fix any problem that occurred and install 
more systems if the opportunity arose.
Solar Ovens
We also gave a workshop on solar ovens in Nueva Esperanza. El 
Salvador is highly deforested, and many people spend hours 
every day searching for firewood. By cooking with solar ovens, 
people are not only saving time, but also alleviating many 
respiratory and eye problems caused by the conventional wood 
fire cooking methods. For two months (while battling swarms 
of mosquitoes and absurd heat) we taught eight women how to 
build and use solar ovens.
The design of the oven is from PROCESO, the Central American 
Solar Energy Project, directed by Bill Lankford. Bill has been 
introducing solar ovens into communities in Central America 
for years. His model is easy to construct, relies on easy to find 
materials, and is simple to use. He has had so much success in 
other countries of Central America that we thought we would 
introduce his model to El Salvador. He gave us his workbooks to 
use, which give detailed steps in Spanish on how to construct 
the oven. The materials, such as plywood and cardboard, are all 
readily available in El Salvador. For insulation we used corn 
husks which are in abundance in Nueva Esperanza.

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