The Central African Republic is requesting technical assistance from the CTCN and relevant network members to help assess the potential for the use of solar cooking technologies in CAR; establish national manufacturing capacity within CAR; pilot an initial distribution of solar cookers to vulnerable populations; collect relevant data to inform future production and establish the impact of associated health, economic, gender and environmental benefits; and identify investment opportunities to ensure the long-term sustainability and expansion of solar cooker manufacturing beyond the 18-month technical assistance period.
The overall objective described falls into three distinct groups of activities:
1) initial assessment and planning;
2) production of solar cookers and piloting the use of solar cookers;
3) data collection, feasibility study based on a pilot project, and recommendations on financial viability.
During the initial assessment phase, the Central African Republic is requesting assistance to assess the potential for solar cooking technology to be used and manufactured locally in the Central African Republic. These initial findings will inform the selection and establishment of at least one solar cooker manufacturer that will demonstrate its ability to manufacture solar cooking appliances (ideally from local materials if readily available). Cooker models that have already been tested or could be tested to ISO standards for clean cookers will be given priority consideration.
Once local manufacturing capacity has been confirmed, the second group of activities will include targeted awareness-raising among potential users and a pilot project to distribute subsidized solar cookers to vulnerable households and provide training and ongoing support for their use. Finally, the CTCN's assistance will enable the collection of data to assess uptake and impact, user satisfaction, suitability to the local context, and potential feedback on the solar cooking technology.