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Researchers discover incredible benefits after bringing next-gen cooking tech to remote communities: '[This] not only transforms daily life but also builds resilience'

"Our findings demonstrate the tangible health, economic, and environmental benefits that solar e-cooking can bring."

"Our findings demonstrate the tangible health, economic, and environmental benefits that solar e-cooking can bring."

Photo Credit: Coventry University

In East Kayonza, Rwanda, families are getting access to a cleaner and more efficient way to cook thanks to solar-powered stoves.

According to a post on Tech Xplore, these cookers — made by Coventry University's Solar Energy Transitions (SET) project — are helping to replace traditional wood-burning stoves that are still widely used in the region.

By offering this sustainable alternative, the project is not only improving daily life but also addressing the long-standing challenges of accessing energy and environmental health.

The SET project brought solar cooking systems to 20 households in a community where most families still depend on firewood for cooking every day.

For seven months, researchers tracked how families cooked, how much firewood they used, and the air quality in their homes using advanced sensors. Families reduced their firewood use by over 70%, going from 3.4 kilograms a day to just 0.86 kilograms, and kitchen air quality improved by 70%. 

Families in East Kayonza are spending a lot less time gathering firewood, which frees them up for other things that matter, such as school and work. Per the article, one resident reported: "I no longer run in fields looking for firewood. We eat on time, and children go to school on time."

With fewer trees being cut down to reduce deforestation, forests have a chance to recover. They can keep storing carbon, giving wildlife a place to live, and playing their part in keeping ecosystems balanced. The air quality improves as well, so burning less firewood makes it easier for everyone in the area to breathe clean air indoors and outdoors.

Solar-powered stoves are just one way clean energy is making a difference. Solar-powered irrigation systems help farmers grow crops more efficiently, cutting back on outdated, resource-heavy practices. Off-grid energy setups are bringing electricity to remote areas, providing reliable power where it's never been available before.

Dr. Alison Halford, a lead researcher on the SET project, explained: "Our findings demonstrate the tangible health, economic, and environmental benefits that solar e-cooking can bring." 

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Dr. Jonathan Nixon, lead researcher and associate director at Coventry University, said: "By working together with local households in East Kayonza, we've seen how solar e-cooking not only transforms daily life but also builds resilience and hope for a more sustainable future."

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