Innovation has been the key to United States success. America’s children are hungry for innovative, creative opportunities. However, as the US has matured, our societal emphasis and encouragement of innovative educational development has waned. We are now being surpassed by the innovative emphasis of Europe and Asia. The educational sector where this is most apparent is in sustainable energy, and the regions of our country where this is most pronounced is the financially poorest communities. Our US FdS network encourages innovative vision through solar cooking design and the digital connection with our projects in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. Plus, students can experience it for themselves through Sun Oven donation or an international visit to our sites.

The Sun Oven Curriculum can be successfully implemented in all varieties of communities throughout the country. The FdS Network is in contact with solar cooking advocates throughout the country who are interested and available to participate directly with local school communities. The dilemma is often coordinating the individual schools with the local advocates. With participation in efforts such as this ChangeShop, it is the goal of FdS to increase visibility and promotion of our program in order to facilitate more in school programs by dedicated solar cooking advocates. The founder of the program, Kevin Adair holds a Double BA in Theatre and Experimental Psychology from Illinois Wesleyan University. Kevin has extensive training in developing programs for school presentations. Kevin has presented information-based programs for schools around the USA for over 25 years. The S,T,E, and M aspects of the Sun Oven Curriculum can add to the educational experience of students in any community where it is introduced and supported.

We are adapting, distributing, advocating and demonstrating the Sun Oven Curriculum that was developed by Rowena Gerber of the Miami Country Day School. We are also working to encourage solar cooking programs in schools nationwide. The programs can be fully contained within the school day, including video contact with other affiliated programs around the world. The sun is universal throughout our planet, and it shines the strongest in global regions with the fewest financial resources. Schools can also participate in our programs in the DR and Haiti. US students have led fundraising programs which in turn led directly to Sun Ovens being donated in the DR, Haiti and Africa. El Fuego del Sol is affiliated with Solar Household Energy (SHE-Inc.) which is an IRS certified Citizen Sector Organization which provides tax benefits to US citizens who donate Sun Ovens in the DR and Haiti. To clarify our answer under “About You,” we are actually a Hybrid Network that includes NGOs, individuals, corporations, educators and volunteers. Our members fit into several of the categories that are listed, but Hybrid Network is not one of the options provided, so we are indicating our more specific answer here. We are also dedicated to advancing the opportunity for American high school students to raise funds to travel to our international sites and directly participate in the GeoTourism experience of distributing Sun Ovens, cooking with fellow solar cooking enthusiasts and getting their hands dirty in our tree planting / reseeding programs. International travel can be life changing. Our Sun Oven Curriculum encourages inventive exploration of Science, Technology, Engineering, Math, Creativity, Global Climate, Conservation, Nutrition, Alternative Energy, Culinary Arts, Geography, Web Skills, Design, Manufacturing, Comparative Cultures, Advertising and Marketing. Other curriculums are theoretical; ours is hands on, and continuously developing. Other international programs focus on global regions on the other side of the world. The geography of our program is primarily right in the America’s, with the international locations only a two-hour flight from Miami. Our program connects American students with actual ongoing, scientifically based societal modification, research, and alternative energy implementation. Our work in the DR and Haiti is backed by solid carbon offset science and is currently generating statistically significant data on Sun Oven implementation / adoption methods. US participating schools can be involved at any financial level. The curriculum is free to use. Basic solar cooking exploration only requires recycled cardboard and aluminium foil for materials. The NGO fundraising component is optional, but gives the added experience of initiating direct international benefit led by local actions. The class or school organization can choose to offset their own carbon footprint in the process. For schools that can afford student immersion travel experiences, we encourage students to raise additional funds to provide travel sponsorships for outstanding, less affluent students from less privileged neighborhoods in the general region of the school.

The key to success in connecting with schools internationally is to provide educators and students with direct real-time access to US initiated innovation at work. The more successful and scientific our process in the DR and Haiti, the more we anticipate more schools in the US and solar cooking presenters being involved. In our network, Rowena Gerber, actively connects with other educators and school programming bodies. FdS projects are diligently documented with the goal of replication and scalability, e.g., our Whitepaper at elFuegodelSol.com. Our factory has produced 400 Sun Ovens and nearly 200 of them have been distributed. Our top solar chef is Olga who is a community leader and a baker in Oviedo. Olga used to bake cakes in the kitchen of her church, but she needed to pay for propane plus the ingredients. Now, she coordinates cooking in the Sun Ovens at the GJ Community Center at noon, and uses the Sun Ovens in the afternoons to bake cakes to sell for her business. Olga is now on staff and travels to train leaders in other communities. Olga is featured in the videos on the media page. Our Fair Trade Chocolate Tour is also growing in attention and in the success of the science of chocolate cultivation as a Rain Forest retention / protection strategy. Our goal is to dramatically increase the number of schools and universities involved in our program. The response that Rowena has received, as well as the workshops led by FdS staff have opened the door to major scalability of our programming. We are also developing a school curriculum based on the FdS Fair Trade Chocolate Tour. The FdS ecological technology product line is growing to provide complete human basic needs. The advent of our DR building materials factory will supply ecological economical safe prefab buildings throughout the island. FdS will continue to incorporate recycled and indigenous natural materials whenever possible. We plan to create complete self-sufficient communities including solar electricity, wind power, potable water, waste recycling and waste-to-energy.

After 6 years of growing a profitable, scalable, innovative, culturally integrated, employee-ownership-based, developmental business and educational alliance, we find the concepts of “challenges/opportunities” more applicable than “barriers.” Circumstances, and how we address them, will determine whether the continued development of FdS happens more quickly or more slowly. Circumstances in the US will determine the number of schools and universities involved in our curriculum programs. Funding is always an issue in schools in the US and in our projects abroad. Reaching educators to let them know that our curriculum is available free-of-charge is a direct effort in itself. The issues always include the timeframe for financing / international involvement / project publicity / educator interest. The July 18, 2011 Newsweek includes this quote from U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan in remarks in the spring of 2010 at the Asia Society in New York.: “In this global economy, the line between domestic and international issues is increasingly blurred, with the world’s economies, societies, and people interconnected as never before. I am worried that in this interconnected world, our country risks being disconnected from the contributions of other countries and cultures.” The interconnectivity of the Sun Oven school program in the US with the FdS developmental programs in the DR and Haiti directly address Secretary Arne Duncan's issue. The tragic earthquake in Haiti has left millions homeless, now two years later, but the international community is paying more attention. DR laws provide the opportunity of encouraging importation of renewable energy technologies. We are certified for tax-free importation. We are open to partnerships to introduce new technologies. We have established a true hybrid value-chain for American companies / individuals / schools to verifiably offset their own carbon footprints and receive tax benefits by introducing quality solar cooking appliances. The program needs more publicity and participation. FdS will always benefit from additional clients and groups for geotourism, ecotourism, philanthropic tourism, business tourism, and consulting. We provide logistics to make ideas happen in the DR and Haiti. International competitions are becoming more broad and more frequent and are moving toward evaluating each developmental project on its own merits in order to achieve financing and support. FdS participates whenever and wherever possible in this development. FdS collaborates with non-profits, corporations, government agencies, educational institutions, artists, innovators and activists toward improving the environment and society. A true Hybrid Network, we form close working relationships with for-profits and non-profits to work together to improve ecological and social environments. Collaborators include: For-profit companies: Sun Ovens International, Transcon Steel, Grupo Duarte (Legal Services and Business Development in Santo Domingo, DR), Cedano Legal Services, Elfi Wall Systems, Neptun Ultra-Efficiency Lighting, Woodgas Stoves, Architecturalhotwire.com, rebuildhaitibetter.ning.com and Dias-y-Nueve Grado Estudio Sostenible (Sustainable Architectural Design Studio); Non-profit / COOP organizations: Grupo Jaragua, Grupo CONACADO, SHE-Inc. Solar Household Energy, Global Exchange, Equal Exchange, WBEZ – Chicago Public Radio, Solar Cookers International, the William J. Clinton Foundation, The Technological University of Santo Domingo (INTEC), University of San Francisco, Faith in Place, Rise International, Bethel UCC Elmhurst, IL, The Union Church of Santo Domingo, The Zakat Foundation of America, The Natura Park Ecological Foundation, The Annual Higuey Book Fair and The Rotary Club of Higuey, DR; Government agencies: the Center for Export and Investment – DR, ProIndustrial, Dominican Customs Service, National Energy Center, The US Embassy Commercial Services Division, American Citizens Services Division of the US Consulate, Haiti government through the Building Back Better Communities program and the Green Technologies Expo. Our curriculum was developed by and we continue to germinate / codevelop programming with Rowena Gerber of the Miami County Day School.