East Africa Cooking

By a stroke of luck, I found some sheet metal while visiting the village of Senyi last Sunday. This material is ideal for using as reflectors for the solar cooker I'm designing. Since it was relatively expensive ($5 per square meter) I'm not cutting it until I have run tests to determine the best shape for concentrating the sun's heat. I've rigged up a branch to hang a pot of water from, which I'm trying to bring to boil using the sun's heat. Unfortunately, the focal point of the reflectors moves pretty quickly, and once the pot is no longer in the focal point the water's temperature drops pretty quickly. This means that I've been able to get the water very warm (above body temperature, I'd guess), but not too close to boiling. Since this contraption is designed to cook meals, and since almost all meals need to come to boil to be cooked, it needs to be able to bring the pot's contents to boil.


We're traveling to Kampala this Friday, and while there I'll purchase tin foil, which is not sold in Nkokonjeru. This foil will be useful for reworking into different prototypes at little expense, which is exactly what I need since the first model I've made doesn't work properly.



The weekend trip to Kampala is largely for our projects. We're touring a coffee husk charcoal production center and picking up supplies that can't be found outside of the city, but we're also looking forward to the many restaurants the city provides. After a month in rural Uganda, all four of us are missing the delicious, artery-clogging food that is so common in America. There are a few treats to be found in the small town of Nkokonjeru. One treat is delivered by the ice cream boda boda, or by the ice cream bicycle. I suppose these two are in competition. The boda boda has an orange gatorage cooler is full of flavored ice that the ice cream man sells in cups or cones, and the bicycle is pictured here.

Another treat is one that I'm still afraid to try. Although it is considered a delicacy, it usually stares me down before I work up the nerve to dig in. Fish heads, and in particular fish eyes, are a favorite among many locals. For this reason, we hope to have guests over when it's fish night. (By the way, the picture is of a full-size dinner plate).