Not having to find firewood, or buy kerosene, gas or electricity to cook food are just some of the advantages for families using a solar oven.
At the weekend, the families of two elderly matriarchs, Malaetele Fausia and Ainoama Talimalie of Lauli’i, were the happy recipients of two solar ovens presented by Soroptimist International.
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Mr. Douglas Allington, who imports solar cookers and ovens to New Zealand and the South Pacific from Sun Ovens International Inc. in the U.S., has been a frequent visitor to Samoa since 1978 and has brought all four solar ovens to the families in Lauli’i under an international initiative of the Soroptimists promoting the use of solar energy, “See Solar, Cook Solar”.
S.I. Westland in New Zealand has donated a total of five solar ovens and the last unit will be delivered in November of this year.
Mrs. Sally Betham, a past president of S.I. Samoa, represented the volunteer organization at the presentation. Also attending the handover was Dr. Shikha Raturi, Membership Coordinator for New Zealand and the Pacific, and Mrs. Dianne Lockwood, Programme Director for the southwest Pacific region (SISWP).
“Once every two years, the President of Soroptimist International puts out a special appeal for projects that can serve to empower women and girls.
The Immediate Past President, Ann Garvie (U.K.), came up with the idea of promoting solar energy for cooking and lighting,” explained Dr. Raturi “and current President Yvonne Simpson (N.Z.), a member of S.I. Westland, was keen to support this initiative. We are grateful to S.I. Westland who raised the necessary funds for the solar ovens destined for families in Samoa.”
“With the Sun Ovens, we a see a great opportunity for individual families within the villages to take a hold of the free solar energy concept of cooking with the sun,” stated Doug Allington.
“For example, with the Sun Oven you can cook a chicken in 2 ½ hours, you can cook breads and casseroles. You can cook red meat and fish and you can even cook traditional foods. Because you don’t need to pay for electricity or gas, a great advantage comes from the savings to the families. This is an opportunity to harness the energy that is around us every day for cooking.”
A short training session was conducted with the families to demonstrate how to operate the Sun Oven to optimize cooking efficiency during the day.
Luaipouomalo Filiga and Pisaina Ioane, who will be using the sun ovens to cook or reheat meals for their families, expressed their deep appreciation for the gifts recognizing immediately the advantage of not needing to find firewood, or buy kerosene, gas or electricity to cook food for their families.
*Soroptimist International is a global volunteer movement working together to transform the lives of women and girls.
The network of around 80,000 members in 130 countries and territories works at local, national and international level to educate, empower and enable opportunities for women and girls.
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