Nicaragua: Solar Cooker Design and Coffee Roasting

Author(s)

• Eric Urban, University of Dayton
• Lori Hanna, University of Dayton

Document Type

Report

Publication Date

8-31-2006

Abstract

Most of the energy consumption in Nicaragua consists of burning wood. This has resulted in three major problems. First, the women and children who live in the homes that cook on open fires suffer from many respiratory problems. Second, family members spend much time and/or money everyday gathering or purchasing firewood. Third, Nicaragua is suffering from deforestation. In fact, there is presently a ten-year ban on cutting lumber. For all of these reasons, Grupo Fenix is researching, creating, and promoting solar cookers. Solar cookers have a very simple design, employing a reflective box, insulation, a glass top, and a reflector to cook foods with the sun. Women in Nicaragua have already learned to cook nearly everything in the solar cooker. They have even invented a new way of roasting coffee—solar roasting. Several tests were conducted in order to compare the performance of a newly-designed solar cooker and an older solar cooker. The purpose of these tests was to determine the effectiveness and the cost of the modifications to the solar cooker design. Interviews were also conducted with 14 women of Sabana Grande, Nicaragua in order to determine levels of use and acceptability of the solar cookers as a means of roasting coffee. Finally, a test was conducted in which three batches of coffee were roasted, in order to characterize the coffee roasting process.

eCommons Citation

Urban, Eric and Hanna, Lori, "Nicaragua: Solar Cooker Design and Coffee Roasting" (2006). ETHOS Technical Reports. 83.
https://ecommons.udayton.edu/ethos_reports/83