Wonderbag

Wonderbag is a stand alone, non-electric insulated bag designed to reduce the amount of fuel required in the cooking of food in developing nations.[1] Instead of being placed on a stove for the duration of the cooking period, food is instead heated to a hot enough temperature then transferred to the Wonderbag, which uses the principle of thermal insulation to continue cooking, and keeps food warm without needing addition fire, or additional heat.[1] The Wonderbag is estimated to save up to 30% of the total fuel costs associated with cooking with paraffin alone. In developing countries there are numerous advantages for the product as it immediately helps ease deforestation of natural reserves, and it frees up those who would spend their time gathering the extra wood for fire fuel.[1]

Designed by Durban, South Africa-based entrepreneur Sarah Collins of Natural Balance, and poverty activist Moshy Mathe, the Wonderbag is aimed at societies where fuel is expensive or time-consuming to gather.

As of January 2012, over 150,000 Wonderbags were in use in South Africa, with the manufacturers and partners such as Unilever intending to promote the use of the device worldwide.[2] As of January 2013 over 650,000 have been distributed in "South Africa, Rwanda, Kenya, and Syrian refugee camps in Jordan."[1]

History

Sarah Collins came up with the idea for the Wonderbag during power outages in South Africa in 2008. Recalling times when her grandmother had used polystyrene cushions as primitive insulators to allow food to continue to cook once removed from the stove,[3] she experimented with the same technique herself successfully, and attempted to use the same technique to benefit poor households. The idea was further developed by Moshy Mathe, whom Collins had met during a flight, by replacing the cushions with an insulated bag.[4]

The device received international coverage at the 2011 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Durban,[4] where a Wonderbag was presented to Ban Ki-moon, the Secretary-general of the United Nations.[3]

Design

The Wonderbag consists of an inner layer of insulation containing recycled polystyrene balls, with an outer, draw-string[3] covering of poly-cotton textiles.[2] The manufacturers expect that in time the polystyrene (which is non-biodegradeable) will be replaced with a polyurethane blend.[4]

The Concept of Wonderbag is similar to the Thermal Cooking pots which has been available on the market since the 1990s. The benefit of the Wonderbag is that in theory, it can work with various pot sizes as opposed to the traditional thermal cookers where you can only use the supplied pot; should the supplied pot get damaged or stolen, it will render the traditional thermal cookers useless. Given the flexibility, Wonderbag is more ideal for developing nations as you can save cost in the product itself and compatibility in working with existing pots in the kitchen. Wonderbag is said to be compatible with 2 to 9 quart pots with short handles.

Use

To use the Wonderbag, first a cooking pot is heated as normal on a stove until it reaches the required cooking temperature. At this point, the pot is removed from the stove and placed in the bag, where due to the insulation the receptacle remains near the stovetop temperature for an extended period. Rice, for instance, may be cooked by heating in a pot of water for two minutes until the water boils and then placing in the Wonderbag for another hour, while for a meat dish the stovetop time is twenty minutes and the bag time five hours.[2]

The Wonderbag requires no change to social habits, unlike solar cookers, which require that food be cooked during sunlight hours rather than in the evening.[4]

As with a haybox, the Wonderbag's insulating qualities mean it can be used both to keep food at cooking temperatures and as a refrigeration device.[4]

Fuel savings

Due to the reduction in fuel used, the Wonderbag is estimated to reduce carbon emissions by up to half a ton of carbon dioxide per year if used three times a week.[4] Total fuel saving are estimated by the manufacturers at 30% over five years for South African families compared to heating by paraffin stove alone.[5] Estimates on total savings suggest that up to 10% of total household income could be saved due to the reduction in fuel costs, along with the associated time savings due to less gathering of fuel being required.[4] Although the Wonderbag can save vast amounts of fuel, there is a risk of bacterial growth if the food items are allowed to remain in the danger zone for one or more hours. For this reason, food cooked in Wonderbags should normally be reheated to boiling before eating. Using a food thermometer eliminates the guesswork; It's Safe to Bite When the Temperature is Right.

Retail and production

As of December 2011, the Wonderbag retailed for approximately £9. Were the device to qualify for credits under the United Nations Clean Development Program as a programmatic Clean Development Mechanism project, the expected market price would be £1.20 (as for every bag sold, verified carbon offsets would be traded on the international market[6]), which is more affordable for the poorest communities.[4] As of November 2011, the Wonderbag was in the final stages of being registered under the program.[7]

Promotional work in South Africa included a pilot scheme by Unilever, which distributed the bag for free to consumers who purchased three boxes of Rajah curry powder.[2] The scheme attracted more than double its projected uptake. Unilever intends to expand the scheme to other countries worldwide, as well as distributing another five million Wonderbags in South Africa.[4] Natural Balance aims to distribute 100 million bags by 2015, and for every household worldwide to own a Wonderbag by 2020.[3]

In 2011, a pilot program was also conducted in the city of Durban by the eThekwini Municipality, which saw the distribution of 3500 Wonderbags to residents in the Cato Manor area. Benefits that are being observed from households participating in the pilot include; saving money for energy costs, improved health through reduced smoke inhalation, improved safety through less open flame and significant time savings, where people do not need to stand over an open flame.[8]

As of January 2012, 8000 jobs have been created by the Wonderbag in South Africa,[3] where over 150,000 Wonderbags were in use.[2]

Natural Balance intends a "soft launch" of the product in the United Kingdom (with the production of around 5000 units, manufactured in the UK) following the projected opening of a base in Oxford before a wider launch in the third quarter of 2012.[4]

The Wonderbag is available in the United States through Amazon, As of October 2013 Amazon's retail price is approximately $55.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Wonderbag insulated cooker helps African women
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 Chen, Yi (25 January 2012). "Insulated Bag Retains Heat To Slow Cook Food With Less Energy". PSFK. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 McGuinness, Ross (2011-10-14). "Wonderbag: The eco cooker with bags of potential". Metro. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 4.4 4.5 4.6 4.7 4.8 4.9 Lean, Geoffrey (9 December 2011). "Durban climate conference: the bag ladies with a vision". Climate Change. The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
  5. ↑ "Changing people's lives". Wonderbag. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
  6. ↑ ": Wonderbag..a cooking revolution". SAAEA. 2010-04-20. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
  7. ↑ Kemantha Govender (2011-11-14). "South Africa: State Product Soon to Be UNFCCC Accredited". BuaNews. Retrieved 2012-01-27.
  8. ↑ ": eThekwini Residential Cooking Energy Efficiency Pilot". 2012-11-11. Retrieved 2013-02-28.

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