Wonderbag is a stand-alone, non-electric insulated bag designed to reduce the amount of fuel required in the cooking of food in

developing countries A developing country is a sovereign state with a lesser developed industrial base and a lower Human Development Index (HDI) relative to other countries. However, this definition is not universally agreed upon. There is also no clear agreem ...

. Instead of being placed on a

stove A stove or range is a device that burns fuel or uses electricity to generate heat inside or on top of the apparatus, to be used for general warming or cooking. It has evolved highly over time, with cast-iron and induction versions being develope ...

for the duration of the cooking period, food is instead heated to a hot enough temperature then transferred to the Wonderbag, which uses the principle of

thermal insulation Thermal insulation is the reduction of heat transfer (i.e., the transfer of thermal energy between objects of differing temperature) between objects in thermal contact or in range of radiative influence. Thermal insulation can be achieved with ...

to continue cooking, and keeps food warm without needing additional fire or heat. Working on the principle of

thermal cooking A thermal cooker, or a vacuum flask cooker, is a cooking device that uses thermal insulation to retain heat and cook food without the continuous use of fuel or other heat source. It is a modern implementation of a haybox, which uses hay or straw ...

, the Wonderbag is estimated to save up to 30% of the total fuel costs associated with cooking with

Kerosene Kerosene, paraffin, or lamp oil is a combustible hydrocarbon liquid which is derived from petroleum. It is widely used as a fuel in aviation as well as households. Its name derives from el, κηρός (''keros'') meaning "wax", and was regi ...

("paraffin") alone. In developing countries there are numerous advantages for the product, as it immediately helps ease

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. The most concentrated ...

of natural reserves, and it frees up those who would spend their time gathering the extra wood for fire fuel. Designed by

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South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the Atlantic Ocean, South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the ...

-based entrepreneur Sarah Collins of Natural Balance, and poverty activist Moshy Mathe, the Wonderbag is aimed at societies where fuel is expensive or time-consuming to gather. As of January 2012, over 150,000 Wonderbags were in use in South Africa, with the manufacturers and partners such as

Unilever Unilever plc is a British multinational consumer goods company with headquarters in London, England. Unilever products include food, condiments, bottled water, baby food, soft drink, ice cream, instant coffee, cleaning agents, energy dri ...

intending to promote the use of the device worldwide. over 650,000 have been distributed in "South Africa, Rwanda,

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, and Syrian refugee camps in

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History

Sarah Collins developed the idea for the Wonderbag during power outages in South Africa in 2008. Anna Pearce describes in her book "Simply Living - The Story of the Compassion and the Wonderbox" from 1989 how the old idea of the hayboxes turned into polystyrene filled cushions - The Wonderbox - to cook in South Africa () Wonderboxes were also distributed beginning as early as 1976, while not a new invention, the wonderbag is an innovative take on an old design. The original Wonderbox was designed and produced by Shirley Buys (née Woodbridge) in Durban in 1976, based upon the Hay Box design used in her childhood in war-time England. Shirley trained as a patternmaker and designed the inverted oversized 'beanbag' containing recycled polystyrene chips in a polyester-cotton fabric bag and lid within a corrugated cardboard box and personally marketed it across Zululand between 1976 and 1980. Compassion of South Africa, a non-sectarian Christian action group opposing Apartheid, and the particular assistance from Brigid Oppenheimer facilitated Shirley's design and marketing and published a comprehensive recipe book with a lot of graphics to help illiterate users follow the recipes. The design was deliberately not patented and Compassion of South Africa asked to be recognised in the sharing of the recipe book. Shirley manufactured the Wonderbox in her workshop in her Morningside Durban home for over 3 years before Compassion established several other manufacturing facilities across South African, and shared the design freely.

Design

The Wonderbag consists of an inner layer of insulation containing recycled polystyrene balls, with an outer,

drawstring A drawstring (draw string, draw-string) is a string, cord, lace, or rope used to " draw" (gather, or shorten) fabric or other material. Ends of a drawstring are often terminated with a sheath called an aglet. The ends may be tied to hold the d ...

covering of polyester-cotton blend textiles. The manufacturers expect that in time the polystyrene (which is non- biodegradable) will be replaced with a

polyurethane Polyurethane (; often abbreviated PUR and PU) refers to a class of polymers composed of organic units joined by carbamate (urethane) links. In contrast to other common polymers such as polyethylene and polystyrene, polyurethane is produced from ...

blend.

Use

To use the Wonderbag, first a

cooking pot Cookware and bakeware is food preparation equipment, such as cooking pots, pans, baking sheets etc. used in kitchens. Cookware is used on a stove or range cooktop, while bakeware is used in an oven. Some utensils are considered both cookware ...

is heated as normal on a stove until it reaches the required cooking temperature. At this point, the pot is removed from the stove and placed in the bag, where due to the insulation the receptacle remains near the stovetop temperature for an extended period. Rice, for instance, may be cooked by heating in a pot of water for two minutes until the water boils and then placing in the Wonderbag for another hour, while for a meat dish the stovetop time is twenty minutes and the bag time five hours.

Fuel savings

Due to the reduction in fuel used, the Wonderbag is estimated to reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to half a ton per year if used three times a week.

Retail and production

The Wonderbag is not available in the United States.

References

{{reflist, 2, refs= {{cite web, work=Climate Change , first = Geoffrey, last = Lean, url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/climatechange/8946254/Durban-climate-conference-the-bag-ladies-with-a-vision.html , archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111209224838/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/environment/climatechange/8946254/Durban-climate-conference-the-bag-ladies-with-a-vision.html , url-status=dead , archive-date=9 December 2011 , title=Durban climate conference: the bag ladies with a vision , publisher=The Daily Telegraph, date=9 December 2011 , access-date=2012-01-27 {{cite web, last=McGuinness , first=Ross , url=http://www.metro.co.uk/news/newsfocus/888568-wonderbag-the-eco-cooker-with-bags-of-potential , title=Wonderbag: The eco cooker with bags of potential , publisher=

Metro Metro, short for metropolitan, may refer to: Geography * Metro (city), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urb ...

, date=2011-10-14 , access-date=2012-01-27 {{cite web, last=Chen , first=Yi , url=http://www.psfk.com/2012/01/insulated-bag-cooks-food.html , title=Insulated Bag Retains Heat To Slow Cook Food With Less Energy , publisher= PSFK , date= 25 January 2012, access-date=2012-01-27 {{cite web , last=May , first=Meredith , url=http://www.sfgate.com/food/article/Wonderbag-insulated-cooker-helps-African-women-5112097.php , title=Wonderbag insulated cooker helps African women , publisher=SFGate , date=3 January 2014 , access-date=7 August 2015

External links

Official website
Cookware and bakeware Sustainable technologies