BRINGING SOLAR OVEN TECHNOLOGY TO CAMEROON

Self sufficient and environmentally friendly development in rural Africa is a priority for alleviating poverty and building sustainable communities. The dissemination of a solar oven technology for bakeries in rural regions in Africa supports a development that is based on Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP). Solar ovens will enable local people to produce fresh and affordable bread and at the same time they provide sustainable employment opportunities for women. The solar oven technology also reduces demand for fuel wood and the associated wood transportation emissions.

 

Locally implemented sustainable technology

As a consequence of an absence of rural bakeries and a lack of interest in the potential of rural markets in Cameroon, bread must be transported over long distances to rural villages. These circumstances make fresh bread both rare and unnecessarily costly. The CSCP coordinated the Cameroon Sustainable Sun Bakeries Programme, which installed a solar oven demonstration project in Nguti, a rural town in northwest Cameroon that lies near protected forests. The project was designed to evaluate opportunities to expand the number of ovens in rural Cameroon through innovative local financial mechanisms including revolving funds and micro-credit schemes.

 

Solar-oven technology for local impacts

A solar oven uses an aluminium reflector that redirects and focuses solar energy. The oven is capable of reaching baking temperatures exceeding 260 °C, which will bake nearly any type of food without conventional energy inputs. Each solar oven eliminates approximately 280 tons of CO₂ emissions annually by avoiding deforestation and fuel wood emissions. It can produce baked products for up to 250 families while offering significant health benefits for rural women and children due to reduced exposure to wood smoke.

 

Self-sustaining bakery enterprises and empowerment of rural women

The Cameroon Sustainable Sun Bakeries Programme not only provided the solar oven technology but also developed skills that enabled rural women to operate their own small businesses. Furthermore the project addressed a number of other problems faced in rural Cameron, including a lack of fresh and affordable bread, lack of employment for women and deforestation from the harvesting of fire wood. Each installed solar bakery employs seven to ten women who prepare, bake, sell and deliver fresh bread in local communities. A portion of each bakery’s revenue is allocated to a fund to support reinvestment in new bakeries.

 

Background

The Cameroon Sustainability Sun Bakeries Programme was a component of the CSCP Human Development through the Market programme. This solar oven project began with funding from the WISIONS Sustainable Energy Projects Support programme managed by the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy in partnership with Nature Cameroon, a local NGO. Nature Cameroon was responsible for selecting and training entrepreneurially minded local women on business skills and optimal use of the solar oven. The technology was provided by the Solar Ovens International Incorporation based in the United States.