Reconnecting with Nature
for Sustainable Lifestyles, Organizations, and Communities

Transition Industries

Solar Ovens

   We started out with one of the cardboard box solar cookers to see how well they really work. And they do. They're especially nice in the Southwest desert in the summer time when it's just too hot to use a conventional oven, and even cooking a pot of rice on the stovetop makes the kitchen uncomfortable. And as conventional energy prices continue to rise, and the Pentagon continues to secure rapidly dwindling global oil supplies for its own voracious appetite (ever wonder what those old men who act like twelve year-olds are going to do when the oil for the war machine runs out?), it's up to us collectively to start doing things differently.

   Plans for the cardboard box solar cookers are all over the Internet, so I won't waste bandwidth and repeat them here. They'll get up to about 225F and cook a pot of rice in 2-3 hours, and make a great pot of beans and casserole type dishes. You can even slow cook a chicken in one, but you have to be attentive and keep the box turned to track the sun. Our plan is to build an insulated aluminum solar cooker with hinged top. As soon as the prototype is complete we'll get some pictures on-line and be ready to start taking orders. So check back regularly. And if you live within bicycle distance, we'll even deliver with one of our trailers.

   To order an oven, get a little support for building your own, or to arrange a presentation or workshop on how natural systems principles can ground and provide a pragmatic and viable framework for transitioning to sustainability for your family, group, organization, or community please contact nature@attractionretreat.org or give Dave or Allison, co-founders of Attraction Retreat and Natural Systems Solutions, a call at (520) 887-2502.