INDIGENOUS COOKS IN MEXICO SWAPS OUT GAS FOR SOLAR POWERED STOVES

The Mexican state of Oaxaca offers a rich and diverse cuisine that has become a source of national pride. Unfortunately, the region is also one of the poorest in the country, so measures that lower their expenses and make resources more available to them can have a significant impact. As part of a revolutionary effort, over 500 Indigenous women in 50 communities began cooking with solar stoves, gaining the moniker of Cocineras Solares, or "Solar Cooks."

The Cocineras Solares campaign, spearheaded by environmental activist Lorena Harp, has chefs replacing their wood or gas stoves with reflective panels that harness solar energy. Despite its simplicity, the system allows women to use a variety of techniques that create their cuisine, such as simmering and baking, as well as reheating food and creating meals that require several hours of heat exposure.

This strategy also has a favourable impact on the cooks' health and welfare. They no longer have to spend hours inhaling stove smoke, nor do they have to keep a tight check on their pots for fear of a fire disaster, because the processes do not involve flames. They also don't have to rely on firewood, which has become scarce after a fire decimated the forest in the adjacent hills last year.