At least 2.4 billion people, or more than one-third of humanity, rely upon wood and charcoal to prepare food.  The demands of population growth have led to a rapid decrease in the worldwide supply of wood, where such a demand has rendered forests unable to regenerate.

This phenomenon of deforestation will have grave environmental consequences that should not be ignored.  In Africa, for example, deforestation has made more than 25 percent of the continent almost useless for cultivation.

Forests are cut down for many reasons, one of which is to provide the wood and paper products that people around the world use in their daily lives.  In the developing world, wood is particularly coveted because it is the primary source of energy for cooking food and keeping warm.

It is estimated that 86 percent of the wood consumed annually in developing countries is used as fuel.

According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, “Wood fuels account for two-thirds of all energy….used in Africa, for nearly one third in Asia, for one fifth in Latin America, and for six percent in the Near East.”  Compare such figures to those in developed countries, where wood fuel accounts for one-third of one percent of total energy use.

The use of solar power as an alternative energy option has gained a lot of traction lately, with numerous companies developing alternative modes of energy using solar power.

One such company is Sun Ovens International, which creates solar cooking programs that “will radically decrease the developing world’s dependence on fuel wood and dung as the primary cooking fuels, while benefiting the environment, raising the standard of living, and improving the health of the poor worldwide.”

One of their successful programs is Sun Bakeries, which helps create “self-sustaining, self-propagating micro-enterprise.”  Entrepreneurs are identified in local villages throughout the developing-world and are trained in business management skills and, more specifically, solar bakery management techniques.

The bakeries utilize sunshine to bake and prepare staple food items.

Sun Ovens notes how its products have a particular effect on the lives of women and girls:  “As fuel wood becomes scarcer, finding fuel for the household becomes an increasingly arduous burden, which usually bears most heavily on the rural woman.”

Instead of traveling and searching for wood, then returning only to spend hours stirring and cooking food, the food cooked in a Sun Oven does not require travel or hours of preparation, which frees up women and girls’ time in order to focus on other activities that can generate income.

– Rifk Ebeid

Sources: SunOven, The Borgen Project, World Wildlife Foundation, National Geographic, FAO
Photo: Sharmin Choudury