|
Guanacaste
Women
Use
Sun
to
Cook
The
Guanacaste
provincial
sun
provides
free
fuel
so
that
hundreds
of
Nicoya
Peninsula
farm
women
may
cook
their
meals
--
as
they
have
for
the
past
22
years.
Cooking
with
a
slower
energy
source
is a
small
price
to
pay,
these
women
found,
for
the
extra
flavor
and
health
benefits
of
using
the
sun
--
and
it's
much
cheaper.
How
cheap?
By
using
one
of
the
two
Costa
Rican
Sol
de
Vida
(Sun
of
Life)
Foundation-approved
stove
designs,
these
women
save
1,100
kilowatts
of
electricity
per
year,
or
725
kilos
of
ever-scarcer
firewood,
or
240
liters
of
propane
gas.
And,
if
they
think
of
it,
they
are
adding
not
one
cubic
liter
of
greenhouse
gas
to
the
atmosphere.
In
exchange,
they
must
allow
more
time
--
about
three
hours,
to
cook
a
typical
meal.
But
Guanacastecos
are
patient.
The
foundation
is
pretty
much
a
home-grown
thing,
begun
22
years
ago
and
largely
financed
by
the
women
themselves,
after
having
learned
the
art
of
constructing
and
using
the
stoves.
They
are
very
much
their
own
enthusiastic
promoters
of
the
technique.
The
showcase
of
the
operation
is
Casa
Sol,
a
model
home
on
the
Guatatil
road
just
100
meters
from
a
high
school
near
Santa
Cruz.
This
environmentally
friendly,
light
and
airy
place
is
made
even
friendlier
by
the
delicious
smells
of
cooking
coming
from
the
solar
stove.
There,
visitors
can
get
a
course
in
how
to
prepare
delicious
meals
using
natural
ingredients
and
cooked
in
the
sun.
The
two
stoves
used
--
one
a
Casa
Sol
type
and
the
other
parabolic
--
are
slower
than
fossil
fueled
types
but
this
allows
the
flavors
to
intermingle.
These
stoves
both
run
about
225,000
colones,
a
cost
that
will
be
recouped
rapidly
in
fuel
cost
savings.
As
with
all
new
things,
there
are
techniques
for
best
results.
One
other
benefit
of
the
stoves
is
that
they
are
virtually
fireproof
and
one
does
not
have
to
worry
about
volatile
gas,
worn
electrical
wiring
or
constantly
feeding
firewood
under
the
cooking
food.
One
can
fry
things
using
the
stove,
instructor
Dora
Jaen
notes,
but
that
destroys
the
whole
idea
which
is
to
prepare
food
in
another
way,
using
less
grease
and
salt
--
more
heart-friendly.
Plus,
there
is
another
benefit
for
the
busy
housewife,
Jaen
told
the
newspaper
La
Nacvion.
Once
set
cooking,
Jaen
saysm
the
woman
of
the
house
can
set
off
doing
other
needed
chores
without
worrying
that
the
food
will
burn.
Casa
Sol
de
Vida
is
open
to
the
public
Monday
through
Saturday,
from
8
a.m.
to 4
p.m.
There
one
may
learn
about
making
natural
fertilizers,
solid
waste
management
and
other
earth-friendly
practices.
One
of
the
often
overlooked
factors
in
world
deforestation
has
been
the
cutting
of
forests
for
firewood
for
cooking
among
poor
rural
folk.
The
solar
stoves
make
this
an
evil
of
the
past.
By
Rod
Hughes,
Fijatevos.com |
