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also: No.1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12|13|14|15|16|17|18|19|20|21|22|23|24|25|
No.
02 Jan. 2004
Dear
friends,
Chuc Mung Nam Moi or
Happy Vietnamese New Year. This will be the year of the
monkey and starts on January the 22nd. Thank you very
much for your positive reactions and encouragements
after our first Solar Serve newsletter. Yesterday we
were trilled to hear Mr. Huynh Nam, Chairman of the
Danang People's Committee confirming the theme our last
newsletter: “Danang will be the 21th Century
‘gateway’ for Vietnam and the Asian region. This
passageway will lead to important areas such as Thailand
North West, Laos, Cambodia to West-highland and central
region in Vietnam, and further more to India North,
China South, and Myanmar”. We hope that this
gateway will become a beautiful royal ‘kingsway’ in
2004.
New
folder
In this second newsletter
we would like to tell you more about our solar cooker
project. We have made a colorful solar cooking folder in
English and Vietnamese and here is an example of the
front and back page. Give us your full name and address
and we will send an English copy to you. 
 
Vietnam
is rich in solar
energy
Many people in Vietnam
still depend on coal, straw, leaves or wood for cooking.
Open fires contribute to air pollution and cause lung
and eye diseases owing to people spending time in hot
and smoky kitchens. This traditional cooking method also
compels women and children to walk for hours each day to
find wood for daily cooking. Vietnam is rich in solar
energy. Every year it receives 1400-2000 hours of
sunshine in the north and 2000-3000 hours in the central
and southern part, but not many people take advantage of
solar energy for daily cooking.
 
A basic solar cooker is needed
Only
one basic solar cooker is needed to save lives, money,
time and even the environment. Since 2000, our solar
cookers for cooking food have been introduced in several
districts in Quang Nam province. Five hundred families
have been provided and almost 79% are using these solar
cookers frequently. People have been able to save money
(20%), time and even improve their
health.
Teaching
and training
The
use of solar cookers requires changes in cooking habits,
food, and food preparations. Therefore our staff set up
a solar cooking training program. The aim is to provide
teaching and training through workshops, home visits and
group meetings. Over the years, local people have
progressively adopted solar cooking as an alternative
cooking method.
 Factories
and new ideas
When
we start a project in the countryside, a small factory
is set up. Local handicapped and poor people will be
employed. New ideas will be researched and introduced.
This year we opened a factory for the new parabolic
solar cookers. We are also researching solar stills, an
old solar technology by distilling brackish and seawater
into clean water. On International Environment days the
participants of the local workshops give demonstrations
in solar cooking.
Our
aim
This
solar cooking project started in 1997 when five square
models from Holland were made and tested in northern
Vietnam. In 2000 we came in contact with the University
of Danang and started officially this Solar Serve
project. The aim is to benefit poor families and support
local handicapped and poor workers in building solar
cookers. We are non-profitable and therefore the solar
cookers are not for sale.
 Katu
ethnic minority
One of the challenges
for 2004 is the start of a solar cooker project in a new
area. Last week, some of our staff visited one of the
Katu villages. The Katu people are one of the
fifty-three ethnic minorities in Vietnam. Lately, the
government moved some of the Katu villages to the
countryside. Our staff will consider working with them.
It requires a new approach. Their culture is different
of the Vietnamese and we do not yet know what they think
about cooking with the “sun”. The Katu are known to be
very superstitious.
Keep
in touch!
Please be with us
during this year. It is great to serve in the presence
of the Sun.
Keep in
touch!
Greetings,
Solar
Serve Team
Called
To Serve
See
also: No.1|2|3|4|5|6|7|8|9|10|11|12|13|14|15|16|17|18|19|20|21|22|23|24|25|
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