Solar Cooking For Climate Resilience in Mali
Upifting women and protecting ecosystems with locally made solar cookers.
Photo Credit: Emmanuel Théra
Solar Cooking For Climate Resilience in Mali
Upifting women and protecting ecosystems with locally made solar cookers.
The Challenge: Cooking with Fire is Failing Families
Photo Credit: Emmanuel Théra
In Mali, nearly all families still cook with polluting fuels.
95% of urban households rely on firewood and charcoal. In rural areas, many cook with dried cow dung, often the only option. This dependence leads to:
- Widespread deforestation and land degradation
- Dangerous air pollution inside homes
- Lost time, income, and safety for women
- Greater climate vulnerability across entire communities
Women and girls suffer the most — spending hours gathering wood, inhaling toxic smoke, and risking their safety just to prepare a meal.
The Solution: Locally Made Solar Cookers
Photo Credit: Emmanuel Théra
Through a first-ever partnership with the United Nations Environment Programme’s Climate Technology Centre & Network (CTCN), Solar Cookers International (SCI) is working alongside the Government of Mali to expand existing solar cooking programs in both rural and urban settings.
Solar cooking offers:
Smoke-free, fuel-free cooking
Reduced pressure on forests and ecosystems
Immediate cost savings and long-term health benefits
A path toward climate resilience
Photo Credit: Emmanuel Théra
Built for Mali, Made in Mali
Photo Credit: Soudan Infos
Every solar cooker in this program is:
Locally manufactured by Malian partner
Designed for different cooking styles and family needs
Built to withstand Mali’s tough weather conditions
With your help, SCI supports four different solar cooker designs, each tested and adapted to local communities. This approach strengthens local economies and ensures the cookers are built by and for the communities they serve.
You’re building solutions that last, and that truly belong to the people who use them.
Empowering Women and Youth
Women are at the heart of SCI’s solar cooking program in Mali.
Women are trained as solar cooking advocates and leaders.
Youth and women gain income-generating opportunities linked to cooker distribution, training, and production.
This is more than clean cooking — it's community transformation.
None of this happens without you.
Photo Credit: Emmanuel Théra
Real Impact, Real Change
Photo Credit: Emmanuel Théra
So far, you’ve helped:
Distribute 140 solar cookers across two pilot communities
Benefit over 2,400 people with cleaner air, lower fuel costs, and safer cooking
Develop a national roadmap for scaling solar cooking across Mali
And this is just the beginning.
Your Role in Building a Resilient Mali
Solar cooking is a simple, powerful solution that addresses poverty, health, gender inequality, and climate change — all at once. It’s a powerful, practical solution and it happens because you step up.
Your support powers this transformation. You can help more families cook without fear, protect Mali’s forests, and build a resilient, sun-powered future.
Photo Credit: Emmanuel Théra