Dan Joseph is in the Peace Corps

         If you have a really good memory, you’ll recall a post from long ago when I talked about solar cooking. Well, something finally came of it. This last weekend, January 28-29, the Local Government Unit (LGU) funded a solar cooker workshop out at Malalison Island. More than forty residents came out to learn about solar cooking and participate in a raffle for one of nine units I was given funds to provide. Here I am talking about the concepts of solar cooking.

         The attendance list was numbered and slips of paper with each number went into a pot for the raffle. The Barangay Captain drew the first number, and jokingly called his number before announcing what was actually on the slip of paper.

       Everyone was good-humored about the raffle and the announcement of each winner.

         After the raffle we got to work. Here are the beneficiaries painting the pots black to better absorb the heat of the sun.

          Arman Acupan and I mixing up some polyurethane sealer to paint the cardboard of the reflectors. This provides a measure of waterproofing and strengthens the cardboard.

         The beneficiaries building the chicken-wire pot stands that prevent heat loss due to contact between the pot and the floor of the cooker, and also allow reflected sunlight to hit the bottom of the pot.

         There’s no electricity on the island and the barangay generator, which used to provide power for a few hours each evening, is broken. But some people have private generators. The Captain is one such person, so I had brought my laptop and a projector, had made plans to stay the night on the island, and we had a film showing outside his house after the first day of the workshop. I showed BBC Planet Earth: Ocean Deep and BBC Blue Planet: Coral Seas. I’ve worked with Sam Sandig, the husband of my counterpart in the Dept of Agriculture, to dub the films. The first in Kinaray-a, the local dialect, and the latter in Tagalog, the national language of the Philippines. He provided the translating and narrating work while I took care of all the technical aspects.

         Ang pinakabahul sa tanan nga isda. Treinta ka tonelada ang kabug-aton, dose ka metro ang kalabugon, ang butanding. (The biggest of all fish. Thirty tons in weight, twelve meters long, a whale shark.)

         The image could be seen on both sides of the thin white sheet used as a screen and enough people came out that open areas on both sides of the screen were occupied. Men and women. Young and old. It was great to hear little comments of understanding, amazement, and wonder. It made the tedious process of editing out the original voice-over (sorry Sir David Attenborough!), and replacing it with Sam talking in a language people here can understand, worth it. 

       During day two of the workshop we finished up building the solar cookers. Most of the rolls of aluminum foil, because of a factory defect or the way it had been stored, had darkened and non-reflective sections. It took a little longer but we cut up the rolls and mosaic-ed the good pieces together.

         The beneficiaries were excited to test out their new solar cookers. Some people tried instant noodle packets. I lacked the language skills to explain that pasta products don’t cook well in the slow-cooker conditions of a solar cooker, and the noodles turned out soggy. But the eggs, or rice and egg, that others cooked turned out well. No one seemed dissuaded or disappointed, but rather excited to continue trying and experimenting. I had cooked banana cake as a demonstration the day before and everyone eagerly copied down the recipe.

         I have the supplies and funds to repeat the workshop in one more barangay. For easier future implementations I am rethinking various elements of the design. I’m trying a different reflector design. I am also working on using reused or recycled materials for the ‘greenhouse’ heat trap. The glass box of the current design is the most expensive component. Even though it’s manufactured locally it still makes up around half of the 800 PHP (18 USD) cost of each solar cooker. Sometimes when explaining solar cooking to people here they marvel at my “invention” but I am quick to deflect credit. I am supported by the work of many. Especially useful have been the resources produced by Solar Cookers International (SCI) and the contributors to their Solar Cookers World Network Wiki.