Solar cooking uses sunshine for cooking.   We can cook food without electricity, gas,  firewood or any fuel that costs money or needs to be gathered.  Sunshine is free and available to everybody in many parts of the world all year round.   The altiplano of Bolivia has ..... days of sunshine in a year with clear skies.

A solar cooker or a solar oven concentrates the solar energy and heat to focus it on a small area.  While solar powered cooking takes longer than conventional cooking, the food tastes different, never gets burnt, and does not need to be watched so it is possible to do other chores while the sun is cooking the food.  Solar powered cooking does not pollute the atmosphere or generate carbon dioxide gas that is generated by combustion.

In December 2000, Gral. Oscar Escobar Quiroga was given a Solar Box Cooker.  Enthusiastic people who were new to solar cooking, but understood the theory of operation, attended the first demonstration at his home.   They started by putting frozen meat, fresh vegetables, potatoes and other food items in the pot.  The day was overcast, not really suitable for solar powered cooking, but when the box and the pot were opened four hours later, everyone was impressed that the meat was defrosted, and steam was rising from the pot.   After personally experimenting with different foods,  and developing different solar cooking recipes, he publicly  introduced the Solar Box Cooker at the Totora Founder's Day celebaration Fair on June 24, 2001.   An explanation of the physics of solar cooking given to the town Mayor, Commissioner, and the general public is shown in a video clip.  Enthusiastic people were interested in the theory of operation, the capability, and the limitations of solar cooking recipes and solar cooking devices.  Since representatives of different towns in the surrounding area attended the fair,  the Solar Box Cooker received widespread exposure to leaders who further distribute the information to their communities.  The video clip shows Gral. Oscar Escobar Quiroga describing the principle of operation, his success in cooking fish, different kinds of squash, pumpkins, potatoes, meat and eggs; he mentioned that the only thing it could not do was deep fried cooking, and that things did not overcook.

The Bolivian Army provides military training to the youth of the country who do not have the chance to go for higher education.   An important purpose is to educate and provide technical skills training to recruits and trainees.  The practical skills taught can be applied to serve the community and to help earn a living when the trainees return to their home towns or villages.  Such skills include carpentry, electrical wiring, plumbing, and auto mechanics.  Through his ties with the Bolivian Army,  Gral. Escobar brought Solar Box Cookers to the attention of the officers, who introduced it into the training curriculum of the Army in Cochabamba.  The curriculum included all aspects of Solar Box Oven cooking, including the theory of operation, construction,  effective use, and further research in trying out new designs.  The training began with the 2001 May session and was introduced to ....... trainees, who in turn will introduce it to their families, friends, and townspeople by actual application.  Their enthusiasm and interest has resulted in changes to the basic oven, and also to modifications to use local material and improved performance, and the development of new solar cooking devices and solar cooking recipes.  It is expected that training will be expanded to other training camps of the Bolivian Army in the future.

The Solar Box Cooker is one way of using sunshine to cook food.  Information on this and other solar cookers, and the history of solar cooking can be found in The Solar Cooking Archive of Solar Cookers International in both Spanish and English.