An eCookstove based on phase change materials and using solar power was designed in the UK by SOWTech. A prototype was built in Malawi using local labour and materials with the exception of the POD and heater which were brought from the UK due to time constraints. The concept and use of the eCook stove was demonstrated to the local people. There was much interest shown in the eCook stove both from a technical point of view and a practical one. Despite it being the rainy season with limited sunshine some of the local ladies were able to use the eCook stove to cook the local staple food, maize flour, and make nsima porridge
New means of cooking have to be found to replace wood fuel. The rate that trees are being felled for fuel and charcoal making is accelerating deforestation in many areas of the world including Sub-Saharan Africa.
SOWTech have been working on a Modern Energy Cooking System (MECS) project to design and develop a cook stove that uses solar power as its energy for cooking.
This work was aided by the The Modern Energy Cooking Services- Technology Research for International Development (MECS -TRIID) competition under the MECS Challenge Fund. This is administered by Loughborough University and funded by UK Aid from the UK government and is implemented by the Department of International Development; however, the views expressed in the reports and video do not necessarily reflect the UK government’s official policies.
