We all have heard and learnt Sun rises in the EAST… but these time it will do so literally in sense that Solar Cookers Movement is going to get major boost (badly needed) as Solar Cooker International a NGO in / of USA is hosting 6th Solar Cooker International World Conference in India at Muni Seva Ashram a NGO in Goraj, Vadodara, Gujarat India.
It will be perhaps one of the worlds largest Solar Cooking event where more than 300-400 people are expected to participate. Already 115 people have registered and more than 60 + foreign delegates have already registered and booked to fly to India.
India has been on forefront of Solar Cooking and is one of the few countries in world that has Ministry for New and Renewable Energy – a special designated Ministry to promote Renewable Energy and India has also set a very ambitious target of having 160 GW (160,000 MW) Solar Power by 2022 but what has been observed and feared is that major of the same will come from Solar Photo-Voltaic. It is good that so much clean and green power will come from Renewable Energy Source but it still does not and will not address/ solve the major problem of rural population and contributor to deforestation and global warming.
Even in 21st Century when Man has landed on Moon and marching to reach Mars… nearly 50 % of the worlds population cooks on open fire with bio-mass mainly fire-wood that comes from deforestation.
Nearly 3.2 Million Women and Children die every year due to smoke in the Kitchen !!
Thus Solar Cooking can contribute a lot to address these problem and offer Solutions.
India has one of the largest and most successful Solar Cooking Program and India can boast of having highest number of Solar Cookers in the world. Having started nearly 50 years before India has more than 650,000 solar box cookers. But spread of it remained limited due to it not being able to cook fast, fry and cook all items.
It was the Eco Center ICNEER ( International Center for Networking, Ecology, Education and re-integration) a NGO founded by Dr Mrs. Shirin Gadhia and and Mr. Deepak Gadhia after their return from Germany that changed the scenario.
They brought to India technology of Domestic Parabolic Solar Cooker (Sk 10/14) from developer Dr Dieter Seifert of Germany and Scheffler Concentrator from Physicist Mr. Wolfgang Scheffler and successfully indiginised and commercialized the same through their Social Enterprise “Gadhia Solar”.
With help of M/s HTT GmbH of Germany the World leading German company in Thermal Engineering- the company with whom Mr. Deepak Gadhia worked they developed worlds first Solar Steam Cooking System for and with team of Brahma Kumari’s at Mt. Abu and its successful working and demonstration led to 100’s of Solar Steam Cooking System coming up all over India and Indian can rightfully boast of having most of the worlds largest Solar Steam Cooking Systems and to name a few
- Solar Steam Cooking System at Brahma Kumari’s that cooks 20,000 meals per day
![World's Largest Solar Cooking System !]()
World’s Largest Solar Cooking System at Shirdi !
- Solar Steam Cooking System at Tirupati Tirumala Devasthanam (TTD) that cooks 30,000 meals per day
- Present Worlds largest Solar Steam Cooking System at Shirdi Saibaba Sansthan that cooks 50,000 meals per day.
- Worlds highest Solar Steam Cooking System in Leh, Ladakh that cooks food with solar energy for Indian Army.
World’s highest altitude Solar Steam Cooking system in Ladakh, producing 500 meals per day for the Indian Army in -40°C temperature conditions !!!!
There are now nearly 100 such large Institutional Solar Steam Cooking Systems that cooks not only for Ashrams and Temples but also Indian Army, Jails, Schools, Hospitals, Industrial Canteens/ Messes, Mid-day Meal Programs, Hostels of Schools and Universities etc.
WORLD’s LARGEST SOLAR COOKING PROJECT! for Bhutanese Refugee Camp in Nepal where around 7000 Sk 14 Parabolic Solar Cookers are supplied that have served more than 85,000 people by 2013 !!!!
Choosing India as the place to hold the 6th SCI World Conference is recognition of these fact and an attempt to connect the Global Community of Promoters, Manufacturers, Scientists, Academicians, Policy Makers, students, NGOs promoting Solar and Sustainability, Users so that “ Learning and Sharing” take place and the success spreads to all over the world.
The Green Ashram is a perfect place to host such a conference as it is often refered as “Mecca of Solar / Renewable Technologies” as it extensively uses Solar and Renewable Energy Systems for cooking, air-conditioning, heating hot water, solar drying of agricultural products, food processing and is also working on Solar-Biogas Hybrid Crematorium. It is proud owner of India’s first Solar Thermic Fluid based Cooking System that cooks food for 500 students not only during day but also at night with stored solar energy in thermic fluid. Using thermic fluid also enables it to fry and make chappati’s which was not possible with solar steam cooking.
It is proud moment for India to show-case and share its success and great opportunity for all those interested in getting to know more about Solar Cooking and promoting the same to help protect Mother Earth from Climate Change and also Health of Women and Children badly effected to in door pollution to participate in the conference where they can connect with Experts from different walks of life from Scientists to Manufacturers to Policy makers to promoters to inventors and innovators and students.
For registration please visit webpage of Solar Cooker International (SCI) www.solarcookers.org or link http://www.solarcookers.org/our-work/events.
The conference will be held from 16-18th January 2017 at Muni Seva Ashram in Goraj near Vadodara a center worth visiting. (www.greenashram.org) .
To enable participation for people of all walks of Life it has been kept very reasonable and there are also discounts for NGO’s and Students. Ashram is great venue as had world class infrastructure too with a newly built hall to accommodate sitting of 538 people with state of the art Audio-visual and Sound system.
It also has accommodation facilities for 300+ people and so all those wanting to stay in Ashram can stay there too and it has different catagories of accommodation from dormitories, to non ac and ac double rooms to hostel rooms shared between 4 to fully furnished apartments.
More Reads on Solar Cooking :
And in case you are thinking of going green and powering your home /factory via solar, as a solar consultant in India we can always help you 
Meanwhile till we meet next time … Enjoy this Winter season to its fullest 
Cheers !
Solar Project Consultant – India
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