On-going Projects and our Partners
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Solar Oven Project
The traditional way of preparing food is harmful to the environment and to those who have to carry firewood, water and charcoal, and who have to breathe in wood or cooking smoke.
One alternative that is completely safe and free, after having paid for the oven, is solar cooking.
By using the rays of the sun, this oven can reach temperatures hot enough to bake bread and cake, to boil rice, yams or potatoes, or even make stews and soups.
It doesn't even need water (except a little for cooking rice), as yams and potatoes have sufficient water already in them. This uses radiant heat, so there are no flames and less chance to burn food.
The Cox Family Christian Trust is committed to this project and will, as funds become available, continue to supply ovens to the area. Their supplier is an American living in Ghana called Ron Pickings, and his Solar Utilization Network company is based near Accra.
Seen here in the village of Murugu with a cake being baked by the rays of the sun which are reflected into the oven by the mirror reflectors. Even if you don't actually use it all the time, you can keep a pot of water in it to have a quantity of boiling water all day, without the need for burning wood or charcoal.
Income Generation Schemes.
Having received a donation from our partners in the Cox Family Christian Trust, we have purchased twenty-one beehives, various bags of harvested nuts and grain.
The beehives have been spread around the church members, and over half have already reported good productivity. This will enable some income to be shared by those who keep the hives and the church, to bring much needed income into the church to pay for the building and local welfare issues.
The grain and nuts have been bought at the time of harvest for two specific reasons.
The first is to retain a quantity to sell at a profit sufficient to purchase another batch at next harvest time. Some of the stored items are to be used to feed the needy among the church, for example, the children who come to the town for schooling often have very little to give towards their keep.
Marion Cox, a qualified Cordon Bleu chef from England, takes a cooking lesson during a three day Cookery Education Seminar that was held in Damongo in January 2008 and 2009.
Over thirty people attended the seminars and came away with good levels of knowledge in areas of cooking they had never seen before.
Marion used the solar cookers to show them how to make bread, biscuits and cake. She showed them how to make stews, meringues and many other dishes seldom seen in Northern Ghana.
Here she shows a pie with lattice pastry on top.
Here, Marion's friend Monica learns something new as well.
In 2008, our Partner Tim Cox held a couple of seminars on such things as:
- Conflict management
- Managing violence and aggression
- Change management.
In 2009, he held a week long series of seminars, this time covering: -
- Presentation Skills
- Coaching Skills
- Interview Skills
- Assertiveness training
- Communication Skills
In 2008, Tim & Marion Cox brought a solar powered/rechargeable DVD player, projector and speakers.
This enables the Chruch leadership team to carry just one bag out to the villages to show the JESUS film in the Hanga language.
In 2008, Tim Cox conducting basic eyeshight tests to establish strengths required for reading spectacles. Over 300 spectacles were given out in 2009 and 250 in 2008.
This helps the literacy program, as often the light is poor when people want to read, so any help is a bonus.
Malcolm Spreckley trying out one of the village borehole pumps.
Malcolm came to Ghana representing Southborough Lane Baptist Church in Kent, England. Malcolm and his church have a heart for fresh water, so undertook to assist the building of many boreholes in many of the villages.
While on the trip in 2006/7 he met Tim & Marion Cox, and has since joined the CFC Trust as a Trustee and then accompanied them on the 2007/8 trip.
His church have also assisted with the purchase of a quantity of bricks for the church building project.
