Gregor Schaper's ovens are free to use and as green as it comes

Dec 7, 2012 13:51 GMT  ·  By

The town of El Sauz, near Mexico City, is now home to several solar cookers brought here by a German entrepreneur named Gregor Shaper.

Needless to say, when Gregor Shaper first installed his solar-powered ovens in the town of El Sauz, locals were a tad skeptical about his being able to use them to actually prepare food that required heavy cooking.

Still, Gregor Shaper has proved them wrong, as just one of the solar reflectors he has installed is fully capable of providing this German entrepreneur with the energy he might need in order to feed a group of roughly 60 people.

As Gregor Schaper puts it, "At first people here in the region were very skeptical about the usefulness of my project. Once they saw the facilities and what we can do with these reflectors, they realized that they work." Inhabitat reports that one such solar cooker costs about $4,000-$5,000 (€3,068 - €3,835), yet the oven more than pays for itself in a relatively short period of time.

This is because, once up and running, the solar cooker has no need for anything but sunlight, and thus helps Gregor Schapers save the money he would otherwise be forced to spend on gas.

Not to mention the fact that, regardless of how much food this German entrepreneur makes, nobody could ever blame him for polluting the environment by releasing greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.

Needless to say, these ovens also help promote green-oriented behaviors amongst the people presently living in the town of El Sauz.

"You can cook for a group of up to 60 people per reflector. It's good for social and economic development in rural communities," George Schaper said with respect to his cooker and the business of building it.

The solar panels used to make these ovens are fitted with light sensors, which means that they automatically turn towards the sun.

It is Gregor Schaper's hope that soon enough he will be able to use the same technology to power a greenhouse and a system of Steam baths.