Project: Solar Cooker
Team Members:
David Bakka, Project Lead
Summary:
Two-thirds of the thirty-four million households in Uganda rely on charcoal. To meet this demand, Uganda loses ten trees per hour to unsustainable deforestation. These actions intensify climate change and are reinforced by the profitability of the economic activity. Through work with Kairos Energy, the lead of this project sought to reduce this problem by building an integrated digital briquettes distribution network, however, the charcoal problem persists. In response, Solar Cooker was created.
Solar Cooker is a solar-powered cooker customized for households on a subscription basis to counter dependence on charcoal. The solution relies on rechargeable solar batteries in a solar-powered cooker which eliminates the reliance on charcoal by being ten times cheaper and faster to use. Its efficiency meets the daily cooking energy needs of households at a cheaper price than relying on charcoal. This means that unsustainable deforestation to meet charcoal demand can decline from ten trees per hour to almost zero in five years.
Sustainable Development Goals:
Affordable and Clean Energy
Sustainable Cities and Communities
Climate Action
Skills & Resources Needed:
This project is looking for mentors and business experts in the energy industry to help refine the project strategies and share their expertise in renewable energy to help the project improve their approach.
Solar Cooker estimates $50K USD would be necessary to launch their pilot and build a minimum viable product.
The team includes an engineer, but shall also require an additional teammate software developer to help build their mobile money subscription system. Despite their presence in a local incubation program, they are looking to join an international accelerator to help grow their expertise so that they can achieve an international product-market fit.
A product designer to help us build our first MVP.
An affordable battery provider like WattsBattery just cheaper.
A team of experienced renewable energy experts.
Post-Capsule Goals:
Accelerator Program
University Partnership or Collaboration
Launching Your Own Startup
Project Motivation:
Growing up David Bakka pioneered a number of afforestation campaigns in his high school, among those were tree planting projects (the initiative planted more than one thousand trees in the school neighborhood) however his efforts were hindered by locals that plucked the trees for lucrative purposes. So Bakka decided to start a briquette distribution company to combat charcoal consumption in order to reduce unsustainable deforestation. Despite the progress of the briquettes initiative, trees were still being trimmed at a large scale.
After interviewing most of his users of briquettes, who were mainly charcoal sellers, he came to the conclusion that a solar-powered cooker could be a sustainable alternative. Bakka looked at nearby solutions in the renewable energy field and solar was being used to combat most household needs like lighting and charging but not cooking so he took the initiative to explore this gap in the market.