An International Humanitarian Project of District 6450
Rotary International

Villagers in Honduras celebrate the arrival of their new sun oven - the heart of a new micro-bakery

The Temple Solar Project

The Temple Solar Project finances, purchases, delivers and sets in operation large baking and cooking sun ovens in world-wide locations where natural fuels are depleted and populations are undernourished. The large Villager Sun Ovens are the basis for self-supporting community bakeries to replace outdated and environmentally harmful methods of cooking and to provide new, healthy means for feeding the citizens in deprived areas of underdeveloped nations. The Temple Solar Project, a humanitarian service of Rotary District 6450, has brought the means for cooking and baking without fossil fuels to numerous communities in foreign lands where natural resources have been depleted or are at great risk.

Reducing Environmental Damage.

Solar ovens are meeting urgent environmental needs to reduce global warming that result in large part from the consumption of wood and other fossil fuels. Beyond the concerns for health and the loss of cooking fuels through deforestation, continued burning and the increasing damage to the atmosphere due to carbon dioxide emissions. One solar oven replacing the use of fossil fuels can save 150 tons of wood and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 275 tons per year. Healthy solar baking replaces poor charcoal cooking and increases production by multiples of 25 or more.

Funding Solar Micro-Bakeries.

Contributions from Rotary Clubs and Rotary Districts throughout the United States and other countries, along with matching grants from the Rotary Foundation have financed 45 large sun ovens, 35 in operation and 10 more currently in progress. These ovens are creating new enterprise in regions of Honduras, Dominican Republic, Ghana, Angola and Nepal.

Villager Sun Ovens require a total investment of $13,500 to manufacture, deliver and place in operation as a complete setup to establish a micro-bakery in a community determined to have urgent need. The complete process requires the joint commitment of a Rotary Club in a developed country, the Temple Solar Project committee, a Rotary Club in the receiving district, assistance from The Rotary Foundation and a humanitarian organization. Collectively, under the leadership of the project committee, antiquated and ineffective methods that fail to feed and that endanger the environment and people are replaced with the simple, high technology of solar energy.

Donors and Making Donations

Contributions are sought from Rotarians, Clubs and Districts who wish to join in this effort to feed, educate and protect people and their environments in desperate areas of our world. Click on the Donors Button to learn how you may make a contribution to this project. Click on other buttons to learn more about the Villager Sun Ovens, the global sites where ovens are already in operation or to learn about other aspects of the project. Click on email addresses to correspond directly with the project chairperson or with the fund raising coordinator.