2009-04-11

The Kyoto Box -- A Solar-Powered Cardboard Cooker

Clipped from: BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Prize for 'Sun in the box' cooker

Prize for 'Sun in the box' cooker


A cheap solar cooker has won first prize in a contest for green ideas.

The Kyoto Box is made from cardboard and can be used for sterilising water or boiling or baking food.


At the heart of the idea is a simple black painted box.


Clipped from: FT.com / Climate Change Challenge - Solar cooker wins climate contest

Financial Times

Solar cooker wins climate contest

A solar-powered cardboard cooker will on Thursday be announced the winner of a $75,000 competition to tackle climate change.

The Kyoto Box uses the sun’s rays to cook food and boil water. It is targeted at the 3bn people who currently use firewood. The box costs just $5 (£3.40) to make and will be given away free.

Clipped from: YouTube - Kyoto Box Solar Cooker

Kyoto Box Solar Cooker

Using energy from the sun, the KYOTO BOX is a $5 solution to the mounting problems faced by 3 billion people who rely solely on wood for cooking fuel.

With the KYOTO BOX we can:

1. Help stop deforestation
2. Help remove indoor smoke pollution. 1.6 million deaths every year
3. Cleans water. Water-borne diseases kill 10 million people every year
4. Lowers cost of energy since the sun provides free fuel
5. Reduce spinal cord injuries from carrying firewood
6. Reduce rape and landmine injuries from young girls fetching firewood
7. Reduce time waste from fetching firewood and allows kids to attend school
8. Cook food slowly, retaining important vitamins
9. Reduce fire hazard
10. Reduce CO2 emissions





Clipped from: $5 Solar Powered Kyoto Box Wins HP Climate Change Challenge | Sustainability | Fast Company


Fast Company Logo


The Norwegian-born inventor's box, named after the international treaty designed to stop global warming, has already gone into production in a Nairobi, Kenya factory with the capacity to produce 2.5 million boxes each month. Bohmer envisions the eventual mass production of an equally cheap version of the Kyoto Box made from recycled plastic.



Bohmer is hoping that the cooker will be eligible for carbon credits. The yearly profit from each stove would be passed on to the user, allowing the box to pay for itself.

Sources:
  1. BBC NEWS | Science & Environment | Prize for 'Sun in the box' cooker
  2. FT.com / Climate Change Challenge - Solar cooker wins climate contest
  3. YouTube - Kyoto Box Solar Cooker
  4. $5 Solar Powered Kyoto Box Wins HP Climate Change Challenge | Sustainability | Fast Company

Related:
  1. Inventor turns cardboard boxes into eco-friendly oven - CNN.com
  2. Solar-powered cooker nabs climate prize | Reuters
  3. Two Cardboard Boxes and Some Paint = a $6 Solar Cooker to Save the World | 80beats | Discover Magazine