Fireless Cooker in Kabale

By Sara:

Part of my training in Kabale was on how to make and use a fireless cooker to prepare food, especially beans.  I trained a group of about 20 people, but all of the people Anthony was teaching in a different room wanted to see, so they came for the "unveiling" of the beans.  Here are some of the videos of what happened when we opened it up.  First, lifting off all the blankets and feeling the heat still inside:

Next, opening up the saucepan and seeing the beans.  Get a good look at peoples' faces when the lid is taken off!  And listen for the reaction of the first person to taste them:

Then, a video of people being served beans and a testimony from one of the participants:

Finally, everyone getting a taste:

After seeing this, one of the people in Anthony's group (who wasn't even in my training!) decided to try it the next day.  She said she always likes having beans, but there usually isn't someone home early enough in the afternoon to cook them for dinner.  So she soaked her beans overnight, boiled them in the morning, and put them into the fireless cooker she made (picture below).  That evening she went home and had beans for dinner!

One of the participants in the training is an agriculture field officer who trains community volunteers.  He is excited about his plan to teach all his 70 volunteers how to make a fireless cooker so they can teach other people in rural areas.  Too many trees are getting cut for firewood and charcoal, which is damaging the environment and making the cost of cooking fuel more expensive.  He said this cooking method will be very useful for the people he works with.