Alan Bigelow, PhD, SCI Science Director, worked in Haiti with SCI Associate Rose Bazile to share solar cooking technology and the Performance Evaluation Process. They discussed water pasteurization, types of solar cookers, and integration with biogas at the University Notre Dame Hinche alongside with the students, professors, and graduates during their Science Day presentation.  

Alan Bigelow, Ph.D. and Rose Bazile also worked with the local group Haitian Adolescent Girls Network (HAGN) to educate young girls about the benefits of using solar cooking for entrepreneurial opportunities.  

More details regarding the successes and challenges of this educational opportunity are coming soon along with highlights from International Cleantech Week, France, and Tech4Dev, Switzerland. 

SCI Program Director Caitlyn Hughes and Robert Cohen, USAID Senior Advisor for Monitoring and Evaluation for Maternal and Child Health.

SCI Informing USAID

SCI educated U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), one of the largest providers of humanitarian assistance, about the benefits of solar cooking and the positive ramifications around the world.  SCI was invited to educate the USAID Maternal and Child Health staff team about solar cooking, and its numerous benefits, especially for mothers and children.  SCI thanks USAID for exploring opportunities and solutions on the journey to self-reliance for women and their families in the developing nations.  Solar cooking is an important innovation incorporating science, technology, and partnerships, that redefines what is possible.  

Caitlyn Hughes, SCI Program Director

Interaction Forum 2018 

Caitlyn Hughes, SCI Program Director, joined the Interaction Forum along with organizations, change makers, and executives from the public, private and NGO sectors.  The Forum included representatives from 285 organizations and 16 countries.  SCI educated these partners about how to include solar cooking as a valuable solution in their work.  SCI ensured solar cooking was included in the discussion about refugee camps' energy needs and solutions at the session "Leaving No One Behind: Advancing Energy Access in Humanitarian Crises."

Leslie Black Cordes, Vice President of Programs and Operations at the Alliance for Justice (AFJ); Caitlyn Hughes, Program Director at Solar Cookers International (SCI); Corinne Hart, Senior Advisor for Gender and Environment in the Office of Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment at USAID presenting at the Clearinghouse on Women's Issues meeting in Washington D.C., USA.

Linking Sustainable Energy and Women's Empowerment

While in Washington D.C., USA, SCI was invited to speak as an expert on the Clearinghouse for Women's Issues (CWI) panel discussion, "Sustainable Energy: Key for Gender Equality and Women's Empowerment." The CWI wrote, "The clear expertise of both Hughes and Hart was extremely beneficial to developing understanding among our members and the CWI both thanks and supports their efforts to bring increased gender equity to the field of environmental policy."