Green News

The Kyoto Box is probably the cheapest and most useful version of the fancy solar cooker (solar ovens) models, we’ve seen. Winner of the contest for sustainable and practical green ideas— organized by the Forum for the Future, it’s a an amazing design by Jon Boehmer, a Norwegian based in Kenya, that plans to save the trees, reduce carbon emissions and most importantly save lives.

Since much of the rural part of the developing world still uses firewood to boil contaminated water and cook food, the Kyoto Box is definitely a clean alternative to a couple of billion people. Made from two cardboard boxes, which use reflective foil and black paint (to maximize absorption of solar energy) and is covered in a transparent lid, the temperatures inside this can go up to a good 80°C on a fairly sunny day.

Named after the international environment protocol, the Kyoto Box is perfect to capture sun for those who live in tropical and semi-tropical regions of Africa, India and South-East Asia. And since it only costs $6, it’s damn affordable and helps to keep more trees standing. Don’t you think?

Kudos to Jon!