Solar Powered Cooking Just Got A Whole Lot Better….

Imagine a plastic box that reduces deforestation, improves health and boils water at the same time!
It seems almost impossible that theses 3 things are related in the same action, but if you just stick with me, all will be explained.
The Kyoto Box could well be the perfect solution for many people in developing countries in terms of reducing their need to travel for miles every day to find fuel for their fires and clean water for their families.
What Is It?
Basically, it is a cardboard box snugly fitted inside another box and topped off with a plexi-glass lid. Sounds simple because it is! All it does is absorb heat energy from the sun during the day which then becomes trapped inside the device.
This allows for very high temperatures to be reached for boiling water and cooking certain foods! It can also be used to dry certain plants and baking ingredients.
Although it is ’simple’ in principle it has taken Norwegian entrepreneur Jon Bøhmer (of Kyoto Energy) around 10 years of tinkering to get it to the stage where it can be shipped out across the world for everyday use - at around $6.
Not only can the Kyoto Box boil a large amount of water in just a few hours, it’s very materials also insulate against heat loss, so any cooked foods will remain warm for many hours after the sun has set.
How Does It Reduce Deforestation?
There are many ways in which this invention helps the people who use it - and the places in which they live, and the following summary covers the main points:
Reduces Deforestation: By removing the need to use any other fuel to cook and boil, local people do not need to clear local woodlands of trees to feed their families.
Improves Health: By removing wood and dung from the equation - this method of cooking is smoke-free. Women and babies no longer need to breathe in fumes from the fire while carrying out their daily chores. It also lowers the risk of fires in the home.
Reduces Diarrhea: By allowing families to boil water before drinking it, this has a massive effect on the family by reducing upset tummies and the drinking of parasites from local water sources.
Reduces Conflict: If families do not need to travel for miles to reach fuel or clean water, they will not come into conflict with other tribes, communities or armed poachers, etc.
Increases Other Livelihoods: If local women can stay in their village for more time everyday rather than spend hours just walking, they can take on other work or trades that could bring more money into their community.