By Linda Taaffe

Los Altos Hills resident Laila Petty has been cooking in her back yard nearly every day since January, using a piece of cardboard, tin foil and a plastic bag in preparation for her trek to the Afghan refugee camps in Pakistan this month, where she plans to launch a long-term solar cooking program.

Petty spent four months in the Jalozai refugee camp last year distributing food to approximately 58,000 people.

Cooking presented life-threatening danger every day, at every meal. Malnutrition, waterborne bacteria and the explosion of land mines during the collection of firewood killed and crippled people daily, she said.

Petty plans to implement a long-term solar cooking program in the camps, something that will enable refugees to cook more of their food supply, pasteurize their water and spend less time walking among land mines searching for fuel, she said.

“What good is it to give them food if they don’t have the means to cook it with,” she said. “I want to do something that will make them self-sufficient.”

Solar cooking has been introduced in Afghanistan before, with mixed results. Petty modeled her plan on successful projects in other countries introduced by Solar Cookers International of Sacramento.

Cost and education have been two roadblocks in the success of solar cooking programs, she said.

Petty plans to bring folded cardboard CooKit panel cookers to the camps. Using cardboard, tinfoil and glue, she will teach refugees how to make their own cooker. The second part of the program includes two-to-three- day cooking presentations, teaching leaders from each area how to use the cookers. She will follow up with visits to the camps.

“Long-term sustainability and continuing education are critical parts of the project,” she said. Eventually Petty would like to see the program incorporated into the school curriculum.

The solar CooKit works somewhat like a regular stove. Many of the essential survival foods may be cooked on the CooKit.

The CooKit is a folded cardboard cooker faced with tinfoil. A black cooking vessel is placed inside a clear plastic bag and set in the center of the cooker. The black pot absorbs the heat and the bag produces steam, locking in the heat.

The stove can reach 250 degrees, Petty said. She has cooked everything from rice, vegetables and lentils to chicken using the stove.

Cooking times vary depending on prevalent weather conditions. The factors that affect the cooking time are the quality of the sunlight and the types and quantities of the food being cooked.

Afghanistan is one of only 30 countries in the world with the best sunlight for solar cooking and water pasteurization during much of the year. Even though the winters are very cold in this area of the world, there is an abundance of sunshine, which is conductive for solar cooking.

Petty’s project requires funding for facilities, supplies, food and support workers for the initial training sessions. Materials required include: cardboard, aluminum foil, laminated cardboard, plastic bags, glue and black paint to paint aluminum pots.

For more information about the project, call Town Crier Staff Writer Linda Taaffe at 948-9000, ext. 319.