ReliefWeb

Our latest behind the scene’s pictures show how, in Farchana refugee camp, a team of ten volunteers, refugees themselves, are putting together a proportion of the cookers needed in total as the materials are delivered. They will be making 2350 cookers!

The cookers help prevent conflict between the Sudanese population in the camps and the local Chadian community, who are both competing for scarce firewood. Women, who traditionally collect wood to cook with, face violence outside the camps. The solar cookers need only the sun to cook food, one thing Chad has in abundance!

When the materials arrive they are assembled in a multi-purpose manufacturing and training centre, managed by a team of refugees. The process involves covering the pre-cut card with glue, carefully sticking the aluminium sheets to the cardboard, cutting around the foil and finishing the edges with a protective red tape.

The team, both men and women, were not involved in any community activities before the solar cooker project, but now have a role that will benefit them and their community. Local ownership of the production process is essential for the long term success of the solar cookers and ensures the skills and knowledge remains within the community.