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| Summary | A Solar Cooker (Parabola 1.4m diameter) mounted on a tricycle was found to be highly attractive and extremely practical in an everyday use. Enable the possibility of running a daily exhibition of Alternative Cooking technology and generate income for the operator at the same time. Mobility is crucial to reach as many customers as possible increase turnover of food sales and to carry all the necessities. The current cooking methods applied by food vendors in urban South Africa are hazardous, costly, time consuming and unhygienic.
The project will determine if the solar, - fuel efficient, - and retained heat cookers are cost cutting, time saving, healthy and environmentally friendly compared to the cooking methods applied by street vendors and if it is feasible replace theses conventional cooking methods Candidates will undergo a business training, technical training both theoretical and practical about the products ,different ways of cooking ,they will also get a chance to try there own menu, be empowered to do a research about the market and develop a business plan with time ,And establish itself as a conventional business entity and grow to a level of close cooperation .
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| Author Address |
Mr.
Mathias
Weber
AFRECA, Association For Renewble Energy Cooking Appliances
158 Jan Smuts Avenue
2196 Rosebank
Johannesburg
2196
South Africa
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| Affiliation | NGO |
| Status | [] |
| Category | Solar Cooking |
| Implementation Date
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Detailed Description
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Mathias was still busy promoting Solar Cookers in Jo`burg he got struck by
the idea of using a tricycle and mounted a Solar Cooker on top. The idea was born in the Greenhouse Project in Joubert Park, while fixing a Solar Cooker in the same warehouse where tricycles were standing for a Recycling Project. Taking a chance, Mathias took the Solar Cooker and placed it on the tricycle, and “hurray” it fitted perfectly. Having to realize that the tricycles are in use by the Greenhouse Project for a Recycling Project, Mathias than had to find another source for the tricycles. Luckily there was another Recycling Project run by the Soweto Info Center that included eight of the same tricycles. Unfortunately the Recycling Project in Soweto didn’t work out and the tricycles were rusting away in the backyard of the Soweto Info Center. Mathias negotiated with the Soweto Info Center to join and start a Solar Tricycle Pilot Project. An agreement was finalized that Mathias will take one of the tricycles, fix it and use it for the Energy Tricycle Project. After fixing the tricycle it was now important to find somebody appropriate to operate the Solar Tricycle. Tumelo Ramolefi is the environment coordinator of the Soweto Info Center and was chosen to try and check if the Solar Cooking tricycle can be commercially viable and is able to compete with other street vendors.
So far the Solar Tricycle Pilot Project has been active since May 2005 in Johannesburg at the Sci-Bono Center, the Mary Fitzgerald Square in Newtown and the Greenhouse Project and created a huge awareness for alternative cooking methods. The Solar tricycle operates six days of the week and showcases the technology in depth to 200 school kids and 100 people from the general public per day from 9h00 to 17h00. About 50 copies of info brochures are handed out per day and resulted in sales of 4 Solar Cookers and 15L of Green-Gel-Fuel over the past 7 months. Also the media was attracted to cover the Solar Tricycle Pilot Project and an article was published in the Sun Newspaper, and the Johannesburg Express (see attached articles) that resulted in about 75 follow-up phone calls of interested and future potential costumers of Alternative Cooking methods. Another article was published on the Internet describing the Solar Tricycle Pilot Project and Reuters conducted an interview on the day of the Live Aid concert at the Fitzgerald Square that went out to several TV stations around the world. and also the TV Programme SABC 1 Street Journal .
The response as a business and awareness programme was extremely positive and shows that this project has a great potential to grow.
Contact:
Mathias Weber
e-mail: skyjuice@web.de
+ 27(0)11 447 2203 in South Africa
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