New initiative equips women with entrepreneurial skills in clean cooking and business management

JINJA, Uganda, November 18, 2024 - The Solar Cooking Program trains women in Uganda to become culinary entrepreneurs. An initiative of the Solar Electric Light Fund (SELF), the program equips participants with skills in solar cooking and baking, as well as marketing and accounting, to create career pipelines in the culinary space. The year-long pilot phase recently concluded in the Busoga rub-region. Initial results show hundreds of women earning income from the program, with additional benefits to clean cooking locally.

For the pilot program, SELF partnered with the Rape Hurts Foundation (RHF)—a Uganda-based organization that provides refuge and support to survivors of sexual- and gender-based violence. According to the Uganda Demographic and Health Survey, up to 22 percent of Ugandan women aged 15 to 49 have experienced some form of sexual violence. SELF and RHF developed the program to create career pathways for survivors on their healing journeys.

"Despite what they've been through, these women look toward the future with hope and ambition," says Hellen Tanyinga, founder and executive director of RHF. "This program allows them to grow their skills and be at the forefront of this greater shift toward clean energy and clean cooking."

According to the United Nations, 2.1 billion people rely on polluting cooking fuels, the vast majority in sub-Saharan Africa. These fuels, such as charcoal and wood, are estimated to cause 2 million premature deaths annually. By focusing on solar cooking, the initiative introduces an alternative solution for food production in this region.

The organizations deployed two solar bakery businesses, one in Jinja at the RHF head office and one in Kamuli at the RHF Bukyerimba vocational school. These locations, known as the Sanyu (or "happiness") bakeries, are equipped with Lytefire solar cooking units, commercial-scale appliances that can bake, roast, dehydrate, and cook a variety of foods at scale.

People can come to the bakeries and receive skills trainings in solar cooking. Participants also learn business skills, such as marketing and accounting. Once graduated, participants can apply to work at one of the two bakeries. They can also utilize the units, free-of-charge, to set up their own cooking or catering business.

"Before coming here to join the solar cooking program, I didn't have a job, and I was trying so much to get a job," says program participant Ritah Akite, 25. "But when I came here and joined the solar cooking program, I learned different skills in baking bread, cookies, cakes, buns, and the skills enabled me to be self-reliant."

To date, the program has trained 1,738 people. It has also raised awareness for the importance of clean cooking, and raised local demand for clean alternatives such as solar. In a region of Uganda that remains largely unelectrified, standalone solar appliances offer a sustainable and practical solution for food production.

"Clean cooking technology is a win-win for the planet and for human health," says Bob Freling, SELF's executive director. "It can also be a source of opportunity and a tool for lifting people up. That's our goal here."