I am a huge fan of solar. I have a small solar fan on my boat, the panel sits outside the front hatch, and I run the 10 ft wire into the front stateroom. It’s not powerful enough (wait until I find one), but it does an ok job of pulling cool air in through the side porthole.
While searching for cool new products that use solar, I stumbled upon the Solar Oven Society (SOS). They manufacture the Sport Solar Oven, which holds up to a 3.4-quart pot and weighs only 10 lbs. There are a number of off-shore sailing blogs that rave about the oven and claim they make everything from banana bread, stews, soups and muffins to 3-layer birthday cakes. Cooking time depends on where you are in the world, but many people say that they put food in the oven at breakfast, and it is cooked by lunch.
The beauty part of this concept is the company is a not-for-profit, and the sale of each oven subsidizes ovens for other parts of the world. The oven was designed to be used in sun-rich but fuel-poor areas to allow some 2.4 billion people the ability to improve the quality of life and nutrition for their families. Children no longer have to forage for firewood and live in smoke-filled homes. According to the website, countries like Haiti and Nepal have less than 2% of their original forests remaining and cooking fires continue to contribute to global warming and the greenhouse effect.
I love that I can buy a product that helps other people in the world. The ovens are available online and retail for about $150.
