FOTO goes to Remba Island on Lake Victoria!

Friends of the Old staff Seline and Pamela went on a four day work trip to Remba Island to promote solar cooking and water testing. Remba Island is on Lake Victoria and is rocky and very remote. There is no firewood or charcoal on Remba Island as must be imported from Mbita by boat. The scarcity of firewood on the island combined with plenty of sunshine makes solar cooking and water pasteurization an ideal solution for the locals.

Most structures are made of corrugated iron as there is no timber or construction clay.

Pamela demonstrates the use of the fireless basket

Seline makes a point about the solar cookit and fireless basket to keen listeners.

And a crowd started to gather.

Boats at beaches to get back and forth. There are eight beaches between Remba and the mainland which serve as fish markets and economic centres.

Seline at the beach at Remba Island

Pamela at the beach

Seline setting up before curious onlookers

Pamela answers all their questions

Another scene from the shore

 The economy of Remba Island relies heavily on fishing, therefore incomes rise and fall with the fishing seasons. At this time there was little disposable income as fish were off-season.

"Can this cardboard really cook without fire...?"

Seline clarifies solar cooking in the midday shade

More enquirers assemble

Smiles all round as Pamela presents a delicious solar-cooked cake!

Taking final questions

At the end of the demonstrations, Remba locals enthusiatically bought solar cookits, fireless baskets and CeraMaji. There was not enough to satisfy demand. Clearly, these things turned out to be good solutions for the energy problem at Remba Island.