Solar Oven Partners Facebook pages have been showing director Randy Harwood mastering the basics of fabrication, supply and shipping at Solar Oven Partners three workshops. This summer, in addition to connecting at camps and conferences in the Dakotas, Randy put his boots on the ground at our mission sites.
“I have worked in all of our workshops building the components for our ovens, but the June trip to Four Corners Native American Ministry in Shiprock, NM was the f irst time I had the opportunity to actually assemble an oven.”
The Four Corners associates coached Randy on oven-building steps in an actual seminar setting. “They let me practice on three ovens by myself. After I mastered the process, I helped other oven recipients build their ovens. The reason we have recipients assist in assembling their own ovens is to strengthen ownership. Also, it is a time to talk about care and use of the oven and to build connections by asking about their lives,” Harwood explains.
In typical seminars, recipients invest a financial contribution as well as “sweat equity” in the ovens they get at the end of the two-day experience.
Four Corners NAM mission-site coordinator Rev. Debra Yazzie and Harwood plan four seminars to the Four Corners area in 2026, focusing on more remote reservation areas with high poverty. “It was hard for me to believe that in the United States, there are still places where people do not have running water and electricity. Our plan is to reach out next year and bring our partnership to some of the most remote regions,” Harwood says.
Harwood’s late summer visit in The Dominican Republic will help him design next year’s mission site experiences.
Abundant “free” sunshine usually turns solar ovens into practical cooking and baking “machines at various temperatures from 200 to 325 degrees.
“Our ovens are exceptionally lightweight and very efficient in retaining heat once they have reached cooking temperature. I was impressed by the variety of foods that can be cooked—anything from veggies and meats to cakes, breads and even hardboiled eggs.” By cooking foods obtained at local markets, attendees can experience the practicality and cultural adaptability of solar cooking.”
What happens when the sun doesn’t shine during a seminar? In San Cristobal Harwood learned first hand about flexibility.. In his recent blog Harwood explains how mission site co-ordinator Erasme Figaro and cooking instructor Gertrudis Garcia kept instruction moving and fed participants even on a cloudy day. Learn more about Randy’s trip to the Dominican Republic.