Solar oven for baking bread in Denan
As part of The Denan Project’s blueprint for developing self-sufficient communities, in September 2008 a commercial sized solar oven, manufactured by Sun Ovens International of Chicago, was safely delivered to Denan. The solar oven was made possible by several generous donors interested in setting up a cottage industry for the villages.
Bread made with solar oven
Its primary purpose is to supply bread to the patients in our hospital. Any surplus bread would then be sold in the village to fund the baking operation.
Denan’s predominantly cloudless environment and its proximity to the equator make it an ideal location for solar cooking. The oven is equipped with a small cart so that it can be wheeled by hand to a covered location at night or in case of bad weather. It is designed to easily pivot so that it can maintain an optimum angle to the sun as the hours of the day pass. We estimate that there will be up to 10 hours of baking time everyday during the dry seasons. This could produce as much as 300 loaves of bread per day. And it would all be done with a clean and renewable energy source.
