Harnessing the Sun's Power to Cook

Rotarian Allart Ligtenberg spends three months abroad every year, telling anyone who will listen about solar cooking.

Solar cookers use reflective materials such as glass, mirrors, or aluminum foil to concentrate sunlight and convert it into heat for cooking.

Ligtenberg, a member of the Rotary Club of Los Altos, California, USA, was sold on the virtues of the devices more than three decades ago after his company, Hewlett-Packard, sent him to India in 1979. An avid hiker, he spent time trekking through the mountains of Nepal and was spellbound by the country’s beauty, but also troubled by its poverty.

Back home, he saw a newspaper ad for solar cooker blueprints. He sent the company a US$10 check and built the cooker, which he still uses in the yard of his California home. Read More ...