announcement:� �workshop on manufacturing parabolic solar cookers and introduction to renewable energy technologies�

duration: 29^th to 31^st� january 2006.

venue: dhule, maharashtra, india.

organiser: prince (promoters & researchers in non conventional energy), jankibai trust, shamgiri, agra road, deopur, dhule: 424005, maharashtra, india.

introduction: prince (promoters & researchers in non conventional energy) is a voluntary group working under ngo jankibai trust. details of the organisation can be had from the website www.princeindia.org . developing new entrepreneurs is the key to promote new renewable energy technologies. hands on training is the way to develop new manufacturers.

parabolic cookers have enormous business potential as the cooking gas is becoming scare and cost is also expected to go up by another rs. 100 per cylinder in a year�s time. our experience in dhule shows that in this town there are more than 100 installations per year without any major advertisements or campaigns. the business can easily go up to 1000 units per year for such a small town. we expect business potential of more than 1000 cookers a year in almost every district. this indicates enormous potential these parabolic cookers, domestic and community models, have in asian and african continent. parabolic cookers have following advantages.

1. very fast: parabolic cookers are almost 4 to 6 times faster than conventional box cookers. most of the boiling dishes are cooked in span of around 20 to 30 minutes. this speed suits many city dwellers.
2. cooking starts early: cooking starts after one hour of sunrise. in many cases food is ready at 10.00 a.m. this suits office goers and students. this is not feasible in box cookers.
3. additional cooking capabilities: roasting, shallow frying is possible apart from steaming operation. boiling milk, boiling drinking water etc. can be added advantages.
4. taste is great.
5. can be used in almost all major states in india. climate is suitable.
6. for new manufacturers, capital investment required is negligible, no gestation period. they can start manufacturing from day 1 after the workshop.

parabolic cookers can bring in revolutionary changes in indian market.

few workshops have been conducted by us for� renewable energy technologies� and were well appreciated by the participants, national level news papers and magazines. we believe in giving hands on training for manufacturing the renewable energy gadgets and necessary follow up after the workshop. ����������

background: free training had been imparted to people approaching prince regarding parabolic cookers. however after such brief training of 2-3 hours, there have been very few trainees turned in to serious manufacturers. it was also observed that after brief training still there have been lots of mistakes committed during manufacturing of this seemingly simplistic product. hence it is planned to conduct a 3 day workshop covering all these aspects up to last details. based on feedback from prospective participants manufacturing aspects of �solar vegetable dryers� and installation and commissioning of solar water heaters are added to the scope of the workshop.

scope of the workshop: more stress on practical/workshop training will be given and there will be minimal classroom teaching and lecturing. organisers will like to ensure that all participants will be in a position to manufacture the parabolic cookers after they go back to their place of business. scope of workshop will include:

1.      all manufacturing details of �parabolic cooker of 1.4 m dia.�. participants will be involved in manufacturing at least one parabolic cooker from scratch. a manual with all drawings, photographs and instructions will also be given to the participants. information regarding operation, maintenance will also be practiced and will also be specified in the manual. a video cd will be prepared during the course of workshop as per instructions of the participants to record all manufacturing activities and this cd will be the part of workshop package.

participants are expected to conduct all recommended tests on at least one cooker.

2.      all details about policies of central and state governments, test procedures, test centers, registration with mones, subsidies etc. for these cookers.

3.      a presentation and lectures on �entrepreneurship in renewable energy�. introduction to other renewable energy technologies.

4.      introduction and basics of solar thermal technologies including different cooking systems, water heating systems, air heating systems, solar vegetable dryers etc. special emphasis will be given on following issues.

a.       manufacturing aspects of solar vegetable-fruit dryer for food processing applications. demonstrations on solar dryers/air heating system will be held.

b.      different solar water heating systems, criteria for selection of system, capacity calculations. detailing on installation, commissioning, plumbing, selection of material for pipe and insulation etc.

c.       introduction to �scheffler concentrators�.

5.      introduction to other solar concentrating cooking systems like �balcony solar cooker�, community solar cookers etc. technical details of these systems will be shared with the participants.

6.      organisers will not charge any royalty or technology transfer charges for �parabolic cooker of 1.4 m� domestic model and �solar vegetable-fruit dryers�. for other indigenously developed products such charges may be required.

7.      �brief exposure along with demonstrations to other renewable energy technologies like biogas, biomass will also be given.

8.      site visits.

9.      certificates will be issued to all participants.

medium of instructions: english and hindi.

fees:� fees for the workshop is rs. 3000/- per participant. this fee includes simple accommodation (in a hotel or guest house) from 29^th jan. 2006 morning to 31^st� jan. 2006 evening. people seeking accommodation in twin sharing rooms with attached bathrooms need to pay rs. 500/- extra.� fee also includes simple vegetarian meals, tea and snacks during the period of workshop along with site visits. training material developed during the workshop will be given to the participants. participants should send demand draft for full fees (rs. 3000/- or rs. 3500/-) in the name of �jankibai trust�, payable at dhule. limited seats are available and seats will be booked on first come first served basis.� in case of any cancellation before 15^th of jan 2006, 50% refund will be given. no refund there after. concession can be offered for participants working for ngos� and charitable organisation, with prior consent. �

sample parabolic cookers, jigs for manufacturing new cookers & raw material for new manufacturers can be made available.

eligibility: no bar. anybody can participate. owners of the organisations may come along with a technician or person related to fabrication. most operations are related to welding and drilling.

how to reach dhule: people coming from mumbai side can come by train. dadar amrutsar express has two coaches directly connected to dhule and timings are also comfortable. train leaves dadar at 11.50 p.m. and reaches here at 7.20 a.m. in the morning. for return the train leaves dhule at 7.25 p.m. and reaches dadar at 4.0 a.m. for people coming from south india or north india nearest convenient railway stations are bhusaval 125 km, jalgaon 95 km, chalisgaon 55 km, amalner 35 km, manmad 90 km. all these stations are well connected by road to dhule and there are frequent buses from state transport.

for any queries or questions please feel free to call back. please give wide publicity to this workshop. for the people who are new to prince are advised to visit our website www.princeindia.org to have introduction of prince group.

prof. ajay chandak.
prince (promoters & researchers in non conventional energy), jankibai trust,
shamgiri, agra road, deopur, dhule: 424005
ph: +91-9823033344, ph/fax: 02562-271795, 271995
email: contact@princeindia.org, ajay@princeindia.org web:
www.princeindia.org