Letter from India
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With the COVID (20)19 pandemic transforming our daily lives, I virtually reach out to you all – especially those currently in the epicentres of the virus. For better of for worse, it is showing every person how we are all interconnected to one another. Everyone is vulnerable to the virus or its side effects.
Without suggesting any of us put on rose coloured glasses, I have a couple points of encouragement:
1. Here in Canada today a 99 year old man in a Vancouver care home was reported as being recovered from the virus.
2. Below I have copied an email that Amogh Sahaje from India sent this morning to my good friend Jack Anderson in Canada. Both men work to help promote Solar Cooking in areas of the globe which have a scarcity of cooking fuel, which I’ve previously blogged about here – cookers of the world unite.
This story illustrates one of many good works still occurring in the present moment, in spite of the durable new corona microbes. My hope is that Amogh brings you a few rays of hope and sunshine amidst these dark times.
My commentary is coloured purple.
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Sat, 28 March 2020 From: Amogh Sahaje (India)
To: Jack Anderson (Canada)
Hope you are well and safe in this time of crisis! Is Canada too on high alert?
Here in India we are under a lockdown and restricted from venturing even out of the house! There is no movement allowed, except for emergencies… Hope the pandemic situation improves, but it doesn’t seem to happen soon. Moreover the paranoia about the disease seems more of a concern to me.
Nevertheless just about at the commencement of the lockdown, me with my friends from the village could construct solar stoves for a pilot project at the district that is supported by Agro Science Centre, which is a government undertaking. Attached are the photographs of this effort. Also attached is a short video footage of cooking conducted by them at the centre.
building the oven… it’s a focusing type cooker and gets very hot!
Amogh’s innovation adapted the parabolic design (below right) and uses many small mirrors
(photo capture of the video and the stew was boiling like crazy!)
We did eventually sell the solar stove whose photographs I had shared with you in an earlier email (of it being constructed in my village). Those who bought it made a tiktok video clip of it, which got about 3 million views yet. We are getting more orders already and are selling!
Just wanted to keep you posted!
Wishing the Best, Amogh
For inspiring stories of solar cooking projects check out Solar Cookers International https://www.solarcookers.org/
Let’s all work together
to be as well as possible
Bruce
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through the luminary lens 
You are an inventory.Great work.
Love the Indian initiative. While some complain that nothing can be done, others show how it’s possible.
Thanks Rosaliene. So true.
Amogh has asked me if I’d like to add the actual design to the post, and I would so I think he will send it to me.
That’s such good initiative.