Sustainable Product and Market Development for Subsistence Marketplaces

Matthew Alonso

Revati Daoo

Kelly Lin

Sid Madhubalan

Emily Purcell

Warren Widjaja

Table of Contents

I. Executive Summary ............................................................................................................................ 4

III. Situation Analysis ........................................................................................................................... 5

A. Internal Strengths and Weaknesses ..................................................................................................... 5

B. External Opportunities and Threats .................................................................................................... 6

Macro environment .............................................................................................................................. 6

Market (for product) – Size and growth potential .................................................................................... 7

Competition ......................................................................................................................................... 8

Customer information – Profile, benefits to customers, needs served, segments .......................................... 8

IV. Mission/Objectives - Profits, People, and Planet .............................................................................. 9

Profits ................................................................................................................................................. 9

People ............................................................................................................................................... 10

Planet ................................................................................................................................................ 10

IV. Field Research and Product Development .......................................................................................... 10

A. Discussion of learning from virtual immersion and emersion ................................................................. 10

Virtual Immersion .............................................................................................................................. 10

Emersion ........................................................................................................................................... 11

B. Description of idea generation and screening ........................................................................................ 11

Discussion of process and outcomes and appendix of matrix .................................................................. 13

C. Market Research ............................................................................................................................... 13

Detailed discussion of planned market research method and findings ...................................................... 13

D. Learning and Reflection from Field Research ....................................................................................... 13

E. Concept generation and evaluation ...................................................................................................... 14

Focused generation of concepts ........................................................................................................... 14

Evaluation ......................................................................................................................................... 21

Chosen Concept: The Stored Solar Vessel ............................................................................................ 22

Needs-Drivers-Context ....................................................................................................................... 22

Concept Testing ................................................................................................................................. 25

Prototyping ........................................................................................................................................ 26

Timeframe and goals .......................................................................................................................... 26

F. Technical specifications and Detailed Drawings .................................................................................... 26

Detailed Concept ................................................................................................................................ 26

Detailed Drawings .............................................................................................................................. 27

Packaging .......................................................................................................................................... 28

Ecosystem and process ....................................................................................................................... 28

Technical specifications ...................................................................................................................... 30

Customer needs/attributes - Technical specifications (Metrics/values) ..................................................... 31

Preliminary cost analysis ..................................................................................................................... 31

V. Marketing Strategy ............................................................................................................................. 33

A. Target Market Selection ..................................................................................................................... 33

Rationale based on market research and consumer behavior ................................................................... 33

B. Sustainable Marketing Mix ................................................................................................................ 34

Product ............................................................................................................................................. 34

Price ................................................................................................................................................. 34

Place ................................................................................................................................................. 35

Promotion ......................................................................................................................................... 35

VI. Action Plans ....................................................................................................................................... 36

A. Targeting and Positioning Statement Including Sustainability Issues ..................................................... 36

C. Sustainable Value Chain .................................................................................................................... 37

D. Design of the Value Proposition ......................................................................................................... 37

E. Communication of the Value Proposition ............................................................................................. 37

F. Manufacturing Plan, Product Forecast and Launch Schedule ................................................................. 37

G. Financial Forecast ............................................................................................................................. 38

I. Societal (People) Impact Forecast ......................................................................................................... 42

VII. Implementation, Controls, and Evaluation ........................................................................................ 42

A. Measures of performance – meeting triple bottom lines ......................................................................... 42

B. Monitoring and evaluating performance on multiple dimensions ............................................................ 43

VIII. Detailed appendix with field notes, images, and video: ..................................................................... 44

IX. References ......................................................................................................................................... 51

I. Executive Summary

Sol was founded in 2015 with the aim of promoting clean cooking and healthy living globally.

Our vision for Sol stemmed from the recognition that over 3 billion people worldwide cook

while using environmentally and individually harmful solid-based fuels, such as wood,

charcoal, coal, and dung1. Additionally, use of these fuels contributes to 20 percent of global

climate change.2

Our team has identified India as an ideal country to deploy the concept of stored solar thermal

energy. We gained this insight through in-person interviews and through market research. With

this data collection, we learned that engaging community members was key, and

entrepreneurship was a critical element in achieving community integration. In addition,

potential users desired a convenient, reliable product that instilled a sense of pride.

Our team is composed of a group of passionate innovators who have been immersed in cooking

in subsistence marketplaces. Through technical innovation and a deep sense of immersion into

local cultures, we have developed a potential solution to solve the global cooking problem.

Several technologies are still vying for dominance in the Indian market, and residents currently

use multiple fuel sources. The Sol Ember meets subsistence consumers’ need for a clean and

affordable energy source for cooking, while also satisfying their need to move up in social

standing. Our innovative business strategy positions us to rapidly capture market share and earn

the trust and respect of the communities we serve.

II. Sol – Ember

The Latin name “Sol” translates to sun, and thus captures our company’s mission to promote

cooking technology using the sun. Our team is comprised of students from diverse

backgrounds, ranging from engineering, design, architecture, information sciences, and

business. We believe our diverse backgrounds make us uniquely positioned to tackle the global

cooking problem.

Sol’s mission statement:

Clean cooking; Healthy living

The mission statement captures the essence of our company’s existence. With over 3 billion

people throughout the world affected by indoor air pollution, we believe our solution can

provide respite to millions who still use traditional cooking methods of burning firewood and

biomass. Further, obtaining fuel can be an expensive, dangerous, and time-consuming

endeavor. In implementing a solar cooking program, we hope to reduce reliance on

nonrenewable resources, create a safe, healthy cooking environment for women and children,

and allow women time to pursue educational and professional opportunities.

1 World Health Organization 2 Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves - http://cleancookstoves.org/about/news/04-22-2015-climate-change-tackling-black-carbon-emissions-from-inefficient-cookstoves.html

III. Situation Analysis

Below is the current situation analysis (Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats -

SWOT) in a tabular form.

Internal Strengths

● Diverse educational background and

experience of the team

● Culturally diverse team (Latin

America, South Asia)

● Seed capital from Global Alliance

for clean cook stoves

External Opportunities

● 400 million people in India exposed

to indoor air pollution from

inefficient cook stoves

● Women’s self-help groups very

powerful and willing to try new

products

● Community acceptance important

● Aspiration of the Indian rural

community and middle class to

move towards cleaner cooking fuels

Internal Weakness

● No awareness or misconception

about solar energy

● New technology adoption

● Company brand yet to be

established

● Diverse market

External Threats

● Competition from LPG, kerosene,

wood fire, cow dung, induction

stove, and their year-round

availability

The SWOT analysis is explained in detailed below:

A. Internal Strengths and Weaknesses

Sol is a United States-based engineering and design enterprise focused on serving those in

subsistence markets across the globe. Sol is comprised of a highly diverse team, with

backgrounds in engineering, design, research, library and information science, and business.

Each member of our team has extensive experience designing and implementing projects in a

variety of contexts. Our broad range of educational and experiential backgrounds enables us to

approach the product design, manufacture, and implementation from multiple aspects.

In addition, we highly value workforce diversity at Sol. We are a multicultural team with deep

roots in Latin America and southern Asia. With that, we have a strong ability to connect with

others, as we have been exposed to or lived in subsistence marketplaces in our ancestral

countries. When we see a problem, we have a wealth of different viewpoints and ideas to

address it.

As a startup company, attacking a diverse and challenging market is risky. We didn’t have any

cash reserves or additional projects to support us if our product was not adopted swiftly. It was

also a strategic advantage for us. It allowed us access to money earmarked for emerging

companies. We have seed capital from the Global Alliance for Clean Cook stoves. We identified

the Ember as the only truly clean cook stove that satisfies the Environmental Protection

Agency’s regulations for being “clean,” and it is available when our customers need thermal

energy.3

B. External Opportunities and Threats

Macro environment

1. Demographics

As of 2013, India was the third largest economy in the world, and had a population of 1.2

billion. Though the country is growing rapidly, the growth has been unequal, with roughly 30

percent of the population living on less than $1.25 USD per day.4 Solid fuels, collected from

the environment, are commonly used for cooking in households.

The Global Alliance for Clean Cook stoves reports around 400 million people in India (of which

90 percent are women) are exposed to the negative health impacts associated with indoor air

pollution from inefficient cook stoves.5 This exposure results in respiratory, pulmonary, and

vision problems. In addition, 25 percent of the 4.3 million global premature Household Air

Pollution (HAP) deaths occur in India every year, according to estimates from the World Health

Organization.6

2. Economics/Business

As mentioned in the Demographics section, communities commonly using solid fuels usually

are comprised of low-income families. The families we interviewed in India spent around $10-

15 USD on fuels per month. Thus, for a customer with limited income and spending power, Sol

needs to create an affordable and sustainable solar cooking solution.

3. Technological

Solar-based cooking is not a new concept. Sol has distinguished the company and its product

from other solar cookers by challenging fundamental assumptions about solar cooking—

mainly, the assumption that you can only cook when the sun is available. In addition, our

company not only needs to compete with solar-based products, but alternative fuel products

such as biogas, LPG, and kerosene. Considering the competition and the challenges that come

with introducing a new product into subsistence marketplaces, we believe solar as a concept

should be adopted first at the community level before entering into larger subsistence

marketplaces.

3http://www.iso.org/iso/home/store/catalogue_tc/catalogue_tc_browse.htm?commid=4857971&development=on

4 https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2046.html

5 http://cleancookstoves.org/resources_files/india-cookstove-and-fuels-market-assessment.pdf

6 http://cleancookstoves.org/country-profiles/focus-countries/5-india.html

4. Political/Legal

As a United States-based company, Sol understands that instead of reaching directly to the end

consumer, it would be better to enter the Indian market through local women self-help groups,

local nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), and/or key community leaders. Key people, such

as community leaders, can influence community acceptance of solar products, making for a

smoother adoption.

5. Social

For our target markets, Sol understands that solar cooking as a concept should be understood

by the community first. Through our initial interviews with rural Indian households, we

gathered that social and cultural acceptance is very important in subsistence marketplaces.

Therefore, we want to work with local organizations to ensure solar cooking is adopted as a

concept first.

Market (for product) – Size and growth potential

During the last several decades, India has experienced numerous changes regarding energy

consumption. This growth will continue to increase as families start earning more due to India’s

industrial growth. Traditionally, Indians preferred using firewood and cow dung. Currently gas,

firewood, cow dung, electric, and kerosene are the main contenders in the market.

In general, those living in rural villages use solid biomass fuel as their main source of energy.

The National Sample Survey Organization (NSSO) states that over 85 percent of households

in rural India use firewood and dung cakes as their primary source of cooking fuel.7

Additionally, these populations practice traditional cooking methods inside their houses,

leading to extremely high levels of indoor air pollution. Women and children suffer

disproportionately, as they spend more time indoors cooking.8 Further, “Women in rural areas

end up investing valuable time and effort in collecting fuel instead of focusing on their

children’s education or income generation possibilities.”9

The question that arises, then, relates to the transition to clean fuels such as liquid petroleum

gas (LPG), kerosene, or biogas in India. Generally speaking, the transition from biogas to clean

fuel types has been slow. One of the main reasons why the switch to cleaner fuels is taking so

long is because in many rural areas, fuelwood is freely or cheaply available, and the labor

needed to collect it is also readily available. With inexpensive fuel readily available, there is,

therefore, little incentive to make a switch.

As the income level increases, the willingness to spend more on alternative fuel sources rises.

Those who can afford gas cylinder deliveries spend around 600 rupees per month on fuel, using

gas, firewood, and kerosene as a backup. Through in-field research, we found that while higher

incomes did trend towards cleaner and more expensive fuels, we noted occasional wood and

dung use by those groups, depending on the community they were in. Middle income cooks

7 http://scholar.harvard.edu/files/avinashkishore/files/jobmarket.pdf 8https://www.esmap.org/sites/esmap.org/files/The%20Impact%20of%20Energy%20on%20Women's%20Lives%20in%20Rural%20India.pdf 9 http://www.thethirdpole.net/millions-die-as-most-indians-still-cook-with-wood-and-dung/

demonstrated an aspiration to move towards cleaner fuels. As education levels increased,

knowledge of the health issues associated with fire increased.

We observed a trend that the younger, more educated generations are making more decisions

for their families to adopt newer methods of cooking, such as an induction stove. We believe

this new trend will help inspire more families to adopt solar. Many families in India use more

than one of these fuels for cooking, suggesting that an alternative and seasonal-dependent

technology, such as solar, could be competitive. Additionally, solar energy is extremely

affordable compared to other clean cooking fuels, mentioned above.

It should be noted that, in part, the Indian government has made some efforts to get rural

households to switch to clean energy. Principally, they have provided price subsidies on

kerosene and LPG supplied by state-owned oil companies. This approach has largely been

unsuccessful, and the government is reducing the number of subsidies it offers. Additionally,

the Indian government also provides subsidies for rooftop solar plants, but, like the fuel

subsidies, the amount of aid provided for these endeavors has recently been greatly reduced. 10

Competition

Though there are other possible startup solar cooking companies, the main competition that Sol

faces are traditional fuel sources. The most common fuels in use currently are gas, firewood,

cow dung, electric, and kerosene. In terms of competition from companies, the only ones worth

mentioning are those that manufacture gas stoves, kerosene stoves, and electric induction

cookers. Firewood and cow dung are organic and collected by the user, along with the often-

used clay-based stoves used to burn those fuels. This poses a unique challenge, as we not only

face competition from large companies, but also incredibly low-cost alternative options. The

barriers of entry in this market may seem daunting, but we believe the comprehensive benefits

of the Sol Ember are enough to emerge as a strong contender in the cooking market of India.

Many of the stoves we observed were off-brand; interviewees did mention preferences for

Butterfly gas stoves and similar brands. The branded gas stove we observed, Surya Jyoti by HP

Gas, was marketed as being high efficiency and an “eco-green” product. Our competitors see

energy efficiency and environmental consciousness as a selling point in the Indian marketplace.

Prestige is an induction cook stove manufactured in India, and, at around 2000 INR, it is

affordable to purchase. We found, however, that many users could not afford the electricity to

operate it. Additionally, electricity was spotty in many of the communities we visited. In regards

to its use, the device was delegated to small tasks, such as heating milk for tea and water for

rice.

Customer information – Profile, benefits to customers, needs served, segments

Sol faces many unique obstacles due to the nature of our product and target market. Our

potential market, while huge, is incredibly diverse. In India, for example, over 780 languages

are spoken, and cooking culture varies widely between regions.11 As a focus, Sol is currently

targeting small villages around rural India and customers with a below-average income where

10 http://www.mnre.gov.in/related-links/jnnsm/introduction-2/ 11 http://www.peopleslinguisticsurvey.org/aboutus.aspx?page=Census

wood and gas is used as the main source of fuel. It should be noted that the median income for

about half the population in India is near 24,000 INR. Rural, low-literate households in India

earn roughly 17,000 INR.12 The people in these contexts use wood and gas alternatively,

depending on their financial situation, only buying gas when they can afford it. A number of

people use firewood, despite the fact that this task often requires long distance travel to collect.

During our field research, we were interested to learn that some people had misconceptions of

solar energy. Some believed that solar technology was a product that could be afforded only by

the rich, or that it negatively impacts the cooking process and the taste of the food. There is a

need for the communities to see this product work and taste food that is cooked on it to be fully

adopted and integrated into their lifestyle.

Sol can ease those worries by developing a product that is not only affordable, but also

culturally relatable to the people of India. As a team, we are developing products that can

improve the quality of life of its user by improving their cooking situation. Additionally, we

hope to go one step further and improve communities as a whole by incorporating an

entrepreneurial program. This program has two aims. The first aim is to improve the financial

situation of the entrepreneur. Running a business empowers the entrepreneur and increases his

or her self-worth. The second aim relates to effectively integrating solar cooking into the

community. We believe we need champions in every community to effectively market and

distribute the Ember. Community outsiders could not effectively convince members of the

community to use the Ember, and members would not have an incentive to purchase from them.

We found communities members wanted to support their neighbors, and would frequent their

businesses, provided the businesses had services they needed. The Ember will be able to satisfy

the cooking needs of the user, such as cooking in high temperatures and cooking when

convenient to them.

IV. Mission/Objectives - Profits, People, and Planet

Sol seeks to promote the concept of clean cooking and healthy living by empowering local

entrepreneurs and their community members to use sustainable energy sources.

We intend to achieve this goal by:

● Empowering current community members to operate clean cooking enterprises

● Providing training on business development and healthy living

● Producing a product that is sustainable and fits traditional cooking cultures

● Promoting development by improving living conditions and creating opportunities for

educational advancement

Profits

As a company manufacturing and distributing solar cooking solutions, Sol seeks sufficient

revenue streams to sustain our business and continue promoting healthy living. We have

identified two revenue streams to sustain our business, the first being direct income generated

from our stored solar enterprise. We will retain a portion of the Ember recharge fee in exchange

for providing the Ember, the parabolic collector, and training to the entrepreneur. The second

revenue stream will come from selling carbon offsets to the developed world. We balanced our

12 http://ihds.umd.edu/IHDS_files/02HDinIndia.pdf

financial plan excluding carbon offsets, as it is currently a variable and unpredictable revenue

stream. We will use these profits to invest in new ideas and provide return on investment to our

investors. Sol will start generating positive profits in Year 4.

People

Sol strives to empower product users by creating entrepreneurial options, more income

channels, and having a positive impact on the local and global environment. Many women and

children are impacted by the negative effects of current cooking methods. By providing a

cheaper and healthier option for users, Sol wishes to improve the lives and lifestyles of

consumers in India.

Planet

Sol’s mission goes beyond the impact of our users. Not only do we wish to alleviate the negative

impact of solid-based fuel burning at a local level, we wish to change how people cook on a

global scale. Our vision is to see our sustainable solution to cooking become a household name

and a universal product. We see a possibility for everyone to utilize the energy of the sun for

their cooking needs, regardless of income level. This would lead to a greener planet and a

healthier world.

IV. Field Research and Product Development

A. Discussion of learning from virtual immersion and emersion

Virtual Immersion

The first semester of the course focused on virtual immersion in subsistence contexts. Through

case studies, supplementary resources, and hands-on exercises, our team gained valuable insight

into the lives of those living in subsistence. We then utilized this information during the emersion

portion of the class, which took place in India.

Our class began by reading two interesting and insightful books called The Blue Sweater by

Jacqueline Novogratz and Nickel and Dimed by Barbara Ehrenreich. These books reflected the

daily struggles faced by low-literate and low-income consumers. The authors put themselves in the

subsistence context and shared their experiences in the books, which shed light on the struggle low-

income, low-literate families face to make basic ends meet, secure good education, save for medical

emergencies, etc. Yet, given the opportunity amidst all the tough circumstances, the people in

subsistence communities have the resilience and commitment to make their lives better.

Next, we participated in a poverty simulation exercise, a role-playing activity in which everyone

was assigned different roles based on real people in a subsistence context. Our roles included a

high school dropout single mother, an hourly minimum wage worker, a disabled adult, and a senior

citizen. As part of the simulation, we each had to manage rent, pay for utilities, and provide food

for our families with our limited resources and constraints. The simulation was an eye-opening

experience where we learned what it means to work hard and struggle to make ends meet.

As part of class assignments, our team started with readings, which included interviews of women

in subsistence marketplace. The interviews helped us to gain a bottom-up view of subsistence

marketplaces. We then watched “Day In the Life” videos to understand a typical day in a

subsistence context in both urban and rural areas. We discussed how the context differs from a

traditional marketplace. Additionally, we discussed how corporations (such as ITC Annapurna

Salt) working in rural areas serve the bottom of the pyramid. Time and again we observed that any

solution that we devise must be affordable and effective. For subsistence marketplace families, the

consumption was need-based; hence, in our final product, we would have to convey the need of

the product to these families to facilitate adoption.

Emersion

Our team then took a 10-day field visit to India to observe and interact with subsistence

marketplaces more closely. The team participated in 15 interviews with a variety of participants,

including married women, men, shop owners, restaurant owners, and farmers. The interviews were

spread across rural, semi-urban, and urban areas in and around Chennai, Delhi, and Panipat.

Ultimately, these interviews helped our team gain a better understanding of consumer behavior in

subsistence contexts.

Our interview questions started with the basic ice-breaking questions, such as interviewer’s age,

occupation, and daily activities. We then asked questions about cooking styles, preferences,

monthly budgets, and culture. The interviews provided us with great insights regarding the

complexities involved in designing a clean cooking solution for subsistence marketplaces. For

instance, from the interviews we observed that cultural acceptance was an important factor in

choosing new products.

Also from the interviews, our team understood that cooking quickly was crucial for women, as

their day’s schedule was tight. We further observed spending patterns on fuel, the amount of food

cooked on an average day, and preferred cook stoves. After the field visit to India, we readjusted

our needs, context, and drivers, and came up with a new list. The new needs, context, and drivers

were more specific and focused than our earlier list.

B. Description of idea generation and screening

Throughout the first semester, we started brainstorming on different ideas involving solar for

cooking. Our initial ideas were broad and open-ended, yet focused on subsistence marketplaces

(Figure 1). We categorized ideas from our team members and continued the idea generation process

throughout the fall semester, during which we got feedback on our ideas from the class.

Figure 1

Focusing on the core product, our team came up with a set of criteria that the end product would

have. We refined the ideas and criteria several times, and at the end of fall semester we came up

with the idea and criteria ranking. This activity helped our team reach a consensus about our top

idea. Through the exercise, the stored solar and community solar projects emerged as the team’s

top ideas.

After the India trip, based on the valuable insights from the field visit, our team refined our criteria

further, as to make the criteria more specific and clearly defined. We then improved on some of

the existing ideas and split the criteria into two separate sections, “Product” and “People,” to justify

the need for the criteria. The team then ranked the ideas and criteria from 1 to 7. We ranked the

ideas among each other so as to get a relative ranking score for each of the ideas instead of ranking

each idea from 1 to 10.

Figure 2: Before India field visit Figure 3: After India field trip

Discussion of process and outcomes and appendix of matrix

The idea-criteria ranking exercise helped us narrow our focus on stored solar and community solar

concept. Our team then moved to the next step of detailed design and specifications.

C. Market Research

Detailed discussion of planned market research method and findings

1. Pre-India Market Research

Prior to the team’s trip to India, we explored existing solar cooking products, including parabolic

solar cookers, box oven cookers, collapsible umbrella cookers, and many more. Our aim for

researching these existing products was to provide avenues to implement in our final solution and

to consider the pros and cons of current solutions. In addition, our team used a parabolic and box

oven cooker to test out the cooking experience firsthand.

2. India Interviews

During our trip to urban and rural contexts in Chennai and Delhi, we adapted the initial structure

of our interviews to gain deeper insight from the interviewees. We framed our interviews to make

them more conversational, rather than a question-and-answer session. We prioritized exploring

their lifestyles and culture, while supplementing our research surrounding fuel sources and cooking

methods. Of note, our interviewees were mostly housewives with varying degrees of education.

We also interviewed vendors and husbands to learn their perspectives of cooking. Throughout this

experience, we showed some simple sketches of parabolic cookers to gather user feedback.

D. Learning and Reflection from Field Research

During the fall semester, we learned about the initial steps of developing the product by identifying

the needs, drivers, and context of our target users. In addition to the videos and articles that were

given to us during lectures, our initial idea generation concepts were based on information that we

researched individually.

After the fall semester, we were given the opportunity to participate in an immersive experience in

India, where we had the opportunity to interview our target users. Our interviewees came from a

variety of backgrounds, though many of the people we talked with were married middle-aged

women with children. From our interviews, we learned that most of the women wake up early in

the morning to prepare both breakfast and lunch for the whole family. Lunch was packed for

consumption at a later time. During the late afternoon or early evening, women began dinner

preparation.

As their main fuel source, wood or gas was used alternatively, depending on their financial

situation. If using wood, interviewees highly preferred collecting wood in the surrounding forests,

despite the great effort and distance involved. In their understanding, not spending money is the

best option, although they sacrifice a huge amount of time for travel.

When we introduced the concept of our solar cooking project, we noted that several of the younger

interviewees appeared more interested in solar energy compared to older generations. Many of our

interviewees seemed skeptical about our concept and had misconceptions about solar technology,

thinking that it would negatively affect the taste of their food. Some people regarded it as a highly

technical product market for a higher-income audience.

We later learned that social acceptance plays a large part in product adoption and use. Typically,

interviewees were more willing to try a product if it was already used by members of their

community, giving the product a seal of trust and approval. Such was the case when gas stoves

were introduced to the community, which before that had only cooked with wood. We also learned

that they gain information about these products from their television, which is provided by the

government. Product commercials expose them to new products on the market.

Please see Appendix F for further details.

E. Concept generation and evaluation

Focused generation of concepts

We started the process of concept generation by having a thorough understanding of our needs and

the functions a final concept would need to serve. We participated in many activities that clarified

and refined our list of needs. After our initial research, field emersion, and many other activities,

we settled upon the following list of core needs: quick cooking, inexpensive fuel, heat control,

cooking large portions of food, and having a compact stove.

With these core needs in mind, we moved on to idea generation. Some ideas had been in our minds

since the start of the class, and others were formulated during brief exercises of quick-fire idea

generation. We made sure to not suppress any ideas; we wrote down anything and everything that

came to mind.

Through these idea-generation sessions, we eventually settled upon seven concepts that we felt

warranted further evaluation. The seven concepts are as follows:

1. Stored Solar Vessel

This concept was our first idea, and has been a baseline throughout our idea-generation process.

This idea utilizes the energy of the sun to heat a vessel that is designed to store solar energy, and

release it throughout the day and night. The vessel contains phase-changing salts, which hold and

release immense amounts of energy and would need to contain insulating components for when

the vessel is not in use. This concept addresses many needs of the target consumer. For starters, the

cultural change of having to cook at specific times of the day is immediately addressed by the heat

storage aspect of the concept. Apart from this, the user would cook on a surface quite similar to

what is currently used and wouldn’t need much adjustment in the way of cooking techniques.

2. Community-stored Solar

This concept is an application technique of the above concept. The idea of the community-stored

solar concept includes educating an entrepreneur about the nuances of storing solar energy for a

profit. This businessman/woman would purchase and charge many heat storage vessels and deliver

them door to door every morning. End users would then use the delivered vessels to cook

throughout the day, according to their schedule. The vessel would then be picked up at the end of

the day. This concept is attractive, because it is an extremely sustainable model in terms of

emissions and also incorporates the aspect of job creation and entrepreneurship.

3. Multi-function Stove

The multifunction stove concept is a design that utilizes multiple fuel sources to cook daily meals.

This concept is predicated on the need for consistency and reliability of daily meals. With the

multifunction stove, the user would be able to use gas, kerosene, electricity, or solar energy (maybe

even a combination of those sources) to cook their food. Living in subsistence means having a lack

of security in one's paycheck day to day. This often translates to not being sure of your particular

available fuel; one day it could be gas, and another it could be electricity. The multifunction stove

would be an elegant alleviation of this problem while remaining aligned with the current culture of

the end consumer.

4. Home-built Cooking Center

The home-built cooking center is a large, cabinet-shaped cooking center that would combine stored

solar technology with box style sun oven techniques. The cooking center would be made of locally-

sourced materials and designed so that the user does not need to bend over to use it. This idea is an

example of a concept that was generated through the quick-fire idea generation exercise. The needs

addressed in this concept include the ability to cook with an inexpensive fuel source and the ability

to cook bulk amounts of food.

5. In-ground Sun Oven

The in-ground sun oven is an elegant redesign of an already existing product: the traditional sun

oven. Normally, a sun oven is designed by building an insulated box that is surrounded by reflective

panels, which focus the energy of the sun into the compartment where food can be cooked. Our

redesign eliminates the often expensive insulated box portion of this design by utilizing the natural

insulative properties of the earth. The user would simply dig a hole in the ground and place a

reflective apparatus around that hole. From here, cooking utensils, such as a pot or pan, can be

placed in the hole and cooked as with a traditional sun oven. We see this as a cost-effective design

concept because of the elimination of the insulated box portion of the traditional design.

6. Collapsible stove with tracking

This concept involves a collapsible parabolic cooker with a built-in tracking device. The idea here

is to aid in the need of a product that doesn’t take too much space in the home. Another important

aspect is that users cannot be expected to tend to a parabolic throughout the day to adjust the

alignment. Therefore, a tracking device would make this product self-sustaining and eliminate the

need for constant adjustment.

7. In-home solar cooker

This concept is a design where a parabolic concentrator could be placed on the roof of a home or

apartment complex. The heat collected from this device would then be piped down to various

kitchens throughout the building. The effect here is an added amount of convenience for users in

that they don’t need to move from the comfort of their homes to begin the cooking process (as with

some of our other designs).

Evaluation

After an idea-generation session, it is important to evaluate and rate our concepts. We evaluated

each concept against a list of strict criteria we designed to express the best interests of the end user

and the ethical code and goals of the team as an entity.

While keeping in mind the needs of our customers, along with the things that were most important

to us as a future company, we came up with eight criteria that our product must consider. The

criteria were as follows:

1. Culturally Acceptable

2. Intuitive

3. Sustainable

4. Effective

5. Reliable

6. Safe

7. Affordable

8. Storable

Our rationale for choosing each criteria is as follows:

● The product must be culturally acceptable to be adopted and used.

● The product must be intuitive, because a complicated product that needs extensive

instruction or training won’t do as well in the market.

● The product must be sustainable, because it is important that we leave as little of a carbon

footprint as possible, and it is also important to the user because we do not want to impact

their surrounding environment negatively.

● The product must be effective, because our users need a certain level of performance in

their stoves to cook the culture’s traditional meals.

● The product must be reliable, because often there is no second option for people living in

subsistence.

● The product must be safe, because we don’t want anyone to be hurt by our final design.

● The product must be affordable (high value), because the people we are designing for are

living in subsistence and what little income they have often fluctuates.

● Finally, the product must be storable, because our customers often have cramped living

spaces.

We used these criteria to rank each of our concepts. Each team member ranked our seven ideas

from 1-7, based on how well the ideas fulfilled that criteria compared to the other ideas. For

example, the least safe idea would get a 1, the most safe idea would get a 7, and all the other ideas

would be ranked with assigned numbers 2-6. We did this for every idea, and added total team

evaluations to choose our final, most effective and viable solution. This exercise revealed that the

Community Stored Solar concept best fit the interests of our user and us as an entity.

Chosen Concept: The Stored Solar Vessel

Needs-Drivers-Context

For our chosen concept, we then reanalyzed our needs, drivers, and context diagram. This time we

mapped each individual need that our chosen concept satisfies, with drivers and context.

● Bottom-up Problem Deconstruction

In deconstructing the problem, we used a bottom-up process to see the problem from the

consumer’s perspective. Through this process, we identified that the need to eat and feed their

family is of great importance to those living in subsistence. From this perspective, we made further

connections between the need to cook and the ability to maintain a flexible, culturally acceptable,

and fiscally conservative lifestyle. In turn, this led to deeper questions regarding versatility and

reliability of cook stoves and fuel sources.

● Needs – Metrics – Benchmarks – Specifications

We specified the metrics, benchmarks and specifications for each need. The metrics used were the

commonly used standards or references for those needs. For example, for the quick-cooking need,

the metric we used was the minutes taken to cook. The benchmarks were used to compare how our

chosen concept fares to the existing traditional methods of cooking. For example, for the need –

heat control – the benchmark set for our chosen concept was that it should allow the user to set

Low/Med/High temperatures. Specifications were the quantified units of measurement. Even for

qualitative needs such as cook large quantities, we tried to define quantitative specifications.

● Top-down Problem Deconstruction

Through top-down deconstruction, we evaluated how to solve the global cooking problem. With

such a broad scope, we worked to narrow our focus to locations that display a great need for

alternative cooking solutions. Additionally, we aimed to understand the needs of the target users,

their budget, and the cultural climate of their communities. Finally, we considered the

implementation process of alternative cooking solutions.

● Process Design (Ecosystem)

Concept Testing

To test our concept, we built a series of scenarios with accompanying images to portray first the

concept of solar cooking, then the concept of solar energy storage, and finally a method of

community distribution. We also created a visual questionnaire for our interviewees. Sometimes

through our interviews, certain concepts or words were difficult to convey, and we were not always

sure if we were correctly interpreting what was being described to us. For this reason, we located

pictures from our field visit in India to depict the typical responses to our questions. This created

visual cues to help convey our questions and standardize responses, creating pictorial multiple

choice questions. After each series of scenarios, we created question sets to capture their feelings

and interpretations as the interview progressed. This way, we could capture how their thinking was

evolving and help tease out what the barriers to solar cooking may be.

In our preliminary on-site concept testing, users felt very favorable to the concept of stored solar

thermal energy and felt it was something they could use. There was resistance, however, to the

community-based stored solar program; people seemed to want their own systems. When we

reflected on this, we felt it may have been too abstract to determine if the community program was

feasible, and we hope that our series of images will provide a better context for interviews to judge

our concept.

Prototyping

After reviewing our observations, we came up with several concepts of what the stored solar

program should look like and how it should be operated in the home. Due to limited capabilities

with metal fabrication, we may not be able to have a correctly sized stored solar thermal system,

but we will attempt to build a functional prototype and create detailed designs for our ideal device.

We believe in creating a safe cooking solution to help eliminate common cooking problems. While

a stored solar solution will eliminate many of the safety concerns of cooking with a fire, like air

pollution and risks associated with collecting fuel, by design it will still be a very hot device. Our

prototype will use a double-walled vacuum container made from commercially available

cookware. We will use aluminum foil as makeshift radiation shields to reduce the amount of

thermal losses and create a product with a safe outer temperature.

We envision a final device with a variable heat control solution. We will use distance from our

vessel to control the temperature, like a traditional fire or outdoor grill. The user will boil water

and heat oil for frying directly in contact with the cooktop, and we will have a few levels of

temperature control for other dishes.

Timeframe and goals

March 20th: Clear plan and method for creating prototype; list of raw materials needed completed

March 20th-April 3rd: Purchase materials for prototype and begin testing various ergonomic

positions of handles for vessel

April 10th: Clearly draw and have a plan for final design of prototype

April 17th: Finish prototype of vessel

F. Technical specifications and detailed drawings

Detailed Concept

The Sol Ember is the personal cooktop for our subsistence user. The Sol stovetop component is

powered by stored solar energy and is locally manufactured. A fan system to control the temperature of

the heat reveals a hand-crafted rangoli pattern as it is opened.

Detailed Drawings

Before reaching our final design, we brainstormed ideas on how the product will be best presented

to the target users.

Core product /augmented product and core process

To address the global cooking problem, we applied a new technology that would allow our user to cook

with a safe, clean, and sustainable fuel source. The technology stores solar energy and slowly releases

the heat through phase-changing salts. We began to design, mock up, and prove out a solution with this

material.

Leveraging the community dynamic of rural India, our users can build their own business of selling

stored solar vessels to their neighbors and pursue their dreams of being an entrepreneur.

Packaging

The Embers will be sold in insulated bags for future usage and delivery. Pamphlets primarily filled

with images will accompany the embers to be used as a secondary mode of communication and

education for our users.

Ecosystem and process

The Sol System allows the user to charge up multiple stored solar vessels on the solar parabolics

and deliver the charged one to their customers. Using rural India’s strong community dynamics,

we want to train one or two women entrepreneurs for several households. That way, Sol will be

integrated seamlessly into the community while creating opportunity for the users.

Technical specifications

We propose using existing solar concentrators in combination with our stored solar vessels. The

commercial solar cooker will need to be capable of consistently achieving 400C at its focal point

and have a high power rating. To achieve this, the concentrator will need to collect 1.5 square

meters of sun or higher. This will provide approximately 1000-1500 watts and will be sufficient

for each collector to charge 5-6 stored solar vessels with 5MJ of energy each day. This will provide

enough cooking capacity, for example, to boil 12 liters of water. At this energy level, the device

would weigh approximately 15kg. It is desirable to reduce this amount, and testing may show that

we can use smaller amounts of storage material. Our customer concept testing will also inform us

how much energy we need to store and what the willingness is to use a heavy or lighter device.

Customer needs/attributes - Technical specifications (Metrics/values)

Standard cooking needs are water pasteurization (72C), water boiling (100C), baking (100-200C),

frying (190C), and searing (350C). In the Indian context, the temperature needs typically fall

between 72C -190C. Providing a higher temperature will increase the time to boil. While this is

not an essential need, it has been stated as a requirement for adoption.

Meal preparation time in India is typically in the morning hours (5-7 a.m.) and in the evening hours

(5-7 p.m.). Therefore, the device needs to function during these times and cook up to three meals

a day, as the noon meal is prepared with breakfast. From our interviews, about 5MJ of energy is

used per day to cook these meals in India (20MJ burned with an efficiency estimated at 25 percent).

An analysis of water estimates places the actual amount of energy needed closer to 1 MJ; further

study is needed to refine these numbers.

Preliminary cost analysis

Assumptions

Below costs do not include the R&D costs, assuming the complete product can be built either by

our startup or outsourced to a third party.

Some of the broad categories of costs considered are:

● Product

● Training

● Marketing

● Sales and Distribution

● Benchmarking

To compare our project to other available options on the market, we selected a few benchmarks.

The table below summarizes the needs of our customer and how they can be evaluated using

standard tests.

V. Marketing Strategy

A. Target Market Selection

Rationale based on market research and consumer behavior

Our target segment is families in subsistence marketplaces. When we initially started working on

idea generation, our company had two customer segments in mind - the United Nations Human

Rights commission and rural Indian markets. However, after our field trip to India, our company

got great feedback during our market research interviews. We also saw a lot of women willing to

try new products and even convince other women to try new products. We thus narrowed our target

market to rural Indian households that are heavily dependent on solid fuels for cooking. Given the

varied weather conditions in India, we decided to start with the state of Rajasthan first, because the

state has an abundance of sunshine and scarce availability of wood.

Firewood or any fuels source, really, is primarily used for cooking, and women were in charge of

cooking in most of the families we interviewed. This further compelled us to target women,

especially women’s group leaders, in subsistence communities.

Our interview data also suggests that women’s group leaders are willing to try new concepts and

learn new ideas. During our field research, one question we asked was, “Would you try a new cook

stove?” The response was heard most often was, “If someone in the village uses it, I might use it

as well.” These answers demonstrate that knowing someone who is using new methods to cook

and the respect of one’s peers were key factors in decisions to use new cooking technologies.

The primary takeaway from our field immersion interviews was that people wanted to see the solar

device and learn how it works in person. We believe the women’s group leaders can fill that

position, as they have the drive to access capital and the network to run community-based solar

cooking ventures. Many women we spoke with were very entrepreneurial and showed keen interest

in the community-based solar shop. By educating women in rural communities regarding solar

cooking about the benefits of solar cooking and the benefits of our product, Ember, we believe we

can ultimately reach our target segment (families living in subsistence).

Based on our field trip insights, below is the exchange model for Sol. The picture describes the

various interactions with our stakeholders. Sol will provide design for Ember to the manufacturers,

who then provide the finished product, i.e., the Ember and parabolic, to Sol. As mentioned earlier

in the report, Sol will train the female entrepreneurs, who will in turn sell Ember to the end

customer. The end customer will use Ember, and in exchange pay a daily, weekly, or monthly fee.

This fee will be used to pay the entrepreneurs’ wages and also towards the company’s operational

costs. Ember users will also generate carbon credits, which Sol plans to trade in the carbon

marketplace, and thus carbon offsets is an additional revenue stream for our company.

B. Sustainable Marketing Mix

Product

Our product, Ember, will help families in subsistence save money while using a sustainable fuel

source. The product will be sourced locally, with some materials imported from the US. Procuring

local materials for the product will help our company gain local consumer buy-in. Involving the

local community in the product manufacturing/assembly phase will also help us create the solar

concept awareness needed in the community.

Price

We understand that consumers in subsistence marketplaces are extremely price sensitive, and have

planned to use locally-sourced materials to ensure the price of Ember is within our target

consumer’s reach. Considering sourcing metal to India and setting up manufacturing locally in

rural India, we estimate each Ember will cost the end consumer INR 10 daily (or INR 2500 per

year, assuming 250 days of sunlight).

The figure below shows how Sol Ember compares to other cooking options available to rural Indian

families. The metrics used for comparison are health and affordability. From the diagram, we can

see that Sol fares better than the other alternatives on both metrics.

Place

Sol seeks to set up a community-based solar service; hence, the value chain is crucial for our

product to succeed. Sol will provide training to women’s group leaders on many topics, such as the

benefit of using sun for cooking; how to adjust the parabolic reflectors to heat the stored salts; how

to heat, store, transport, and operate stored solar vessels; how to maintain accounts for items sold;

and basic troubleshooting issues for Ember. The solar shop owner will thus be incentivized to

convince and sell as many stored solar salts as possible.

Promotion

We have divided our promotions into short-term and long-term. Our promotions will focus on

educating consumers about the negative effects of using firewood, including long-term health

issues and environmental degradation. We also want to increase awareness about solar cooking.

Initially, we will focus on women’s group leaders, and they in turn will educate other women in

the community. As such, our primary method of promotion will be through educational posters,

facilitated workshops, and word-of-mouth.

In the long term, Sol will use billboards, television commercials, and magazine advertisements to

promote Ember and improve sales.

Below is the diagrammatic representation of Sol’s marketing strategy:

VI. Action Plans

A. Targeting and Positioning Statement Including Sustainability Issues

We are targeting women’s group leaders in rural India, in particular those with limited access to

free fuel sources. Rajasthan has limited access to wood, and it is currently illegal to collect wood

in the forest areas where many communities currently harvest wood for cooking. We chose

women’s group leaders, as they have been identified as a key influencer in Indian communities.

Women’s groups are a core establishment in the local communities, and gaining access to these

groups will secure Sol’s place in the community. Solar cooking is more effective when

communities adopt it and support others in its use. We envision the women’s groups supporting

members in starting a community solar cooking venture and being their initial customers. Without

this core group of support, the business could lose visibility and customers during the rainy season,

when they may not be able to provide any services. In addition, we expect these groups to provide

financial guidance and assistance to the entrepreneurs running the business.

While solar cooking is the best solution for any clear day, it faces competition from more reliable

fuel sources like gas or electricity. To the individual in subsistence marketplaces, these sources of

fuel are just as clean and extremely convenient to use. The user is removed from the negative

effects on our environment from power generation and extraction of fossil fuels. This perception

could impact the adoption and perceived need of solar fuel. The high upfront cost of the vessels

and system components is another barrier. While they are extremely durable and long-lasting by

necessity, it may take up to a year or two of fuel savings to recover the initial investment when

compared to gas or electricity.

B. Sustainable Product Design

The Sol Ember is made entirely from recyclable metals and is a phase change material. In current

designs, the inner chamber may be susceptible to corrosion, and in the long term may need to be

replaced. This would be a key component in refurbishing the vessels. At an added cost, the vessel

can be protected from corrosion, and a metallic coating will be applied if the phase change material

used is corrosive.

C. Sustainable Value Chain

Nothing would prevent this technology from being deployed and constructed in almost any country

worldwide. At the time of deployment, a cost analysis should be done to determine if the

manufacturing investment and local labor costs justify local manufacturing. To date, all phase

change materials considered are available globally. If a corrosive phase change material is selected,

local metals may not be acceptable and could pose an issue.

D. Design of the Value Proposition

The design of our value proposition came from asking two simple questions of a hypothetical

consumer: what do you give and what do you get? We identified two hypothetical consumers

through this exercise: the entrepreneur who is vital to the community solar venture, and the actual

everyday user of the Sol Ember. We decided to focus on the everyday user, as this is the more

relevant and larger quantity user of the product. In addition, our product is meant to be used in

conjunction with other cooking technologies, as opposed to replacing them completely. With this

in mind, we identified a few things to illustrate our product’s value proposition.

First, Sol understands that the user would be sacrificing money initially, as well as energy

independence. We must also consider the time it takes to learn and adopt new methods of cooking.

Further, there may be possible social stigmas attached to a new product such as solar cookers.

In terms of the value added, we see numerous benefits from using the Sol Ember. First and

foremost, the Ember requires zero fuel to operate, meaning an overall reduction in cooking costs

to the user. The Sol Ember also allows the user flexibility to cook during any time of day or night.

In addition, the Ember saves valuable time that would otherwise be spent finding and collecting

firewood. It also eliminates the need to burn solid fuels, leading to a healthier and happier user

experience.

E. Communication of the Value Proposition

As previously noted, we see a heavy reliance on word-of-mouth advertising. During our interviews,

we came to understand the heavy reliance on learning and sharing information with neighbors and

the immediate community. While this could act as a hindrance, we see this quick-fire form of

communication being to our advantage. Along with this, we must have a heavy on-the-ground

presence ready to train and assist the many entrepreneurs who are vital to our success.

F. Manufacturing Plan, Product Forecast, and Launch Schedule

We will manufacture the Sol Ember after we have reviewed many iterative prototype designs and

initial tests. We will have phases of in-field test runs and apply the changes and improvements

identified from the trials in the Ember before we widely manufacture it. Once we find an ideal

design, we can design and implement the necessary manufacturing processes.

Without a doubt, regardless of the final design, the Sol Ember will need to have a parabolic reflector

component. This reflector is arguably the most difficult aspect of the manufacturing process. The

plan is to choose an appropriate material, for example aluminum or a composite mix, and use a

hydraulic press to shape and form the “satellite” shape of the parabolic reflector. After we have

formed this piece, we will cover the reflector in an extremely reflective paint-like material.

The other challenging aspect of the manufacturing process is the fabrication of the solar energy

vessel. The final design could be made from simple raw materials or from existing storage vessels,

such as a vacuum double layer pot that can be sealed with salt inside of it.

G. Financial Forecast

Sol will manufacture Ember locally in rural India. However, we may import some of the metal to

the manufacturing facility. Implementation will begin with the pilot phase in a village in

Rajasthan, and from one village, Sol will expand to the neighboring villages and eventually the

whole of India.

Sol wants to be self-sustainable within five years. We want to ensure that the investors get a

return on their money and the company generates enough profits to sustain itself. Our financial

projections show that the company will be profitable from Year 4 (assuming we sell Embers to

approximately 9,000 new households each year).

Entrepreneur and wages:

The table below table the number of entrepreneurs Sol will add each year and their compensation.

Each entrepreneur will earn INR 37500 per year.

Marketing, trainings, administrative costs

The table below lists the marketing costs for the next 5 years:

Trai

ning

s

cente

r

costs

(INR

)

100,00

0 100,000 100,000 100,000 100,000

Acco

unts

pers

on

wage

100,00

0 200,000 300,000 400,000 500,000

Number of

women

entrepreneurs

365 730 1095 1460 1825

Salesperson

wages (INR)

13,687,500 27,375,000 41,062,500 54,750,000 68,437,500

s

(INR

)

Trai

ning

stipe

nd

(INR

)

500,00

0 500,000 500,000 500,000 500,000

Mar

ketin

g,

traini

ng,

acco

unts

and

traini

ng

stipe

nd

costs

(INR

)

919,00

0

1,238,0

00

1,557,0

00

1,876,0

00

2,195,0

00

Equipment cost:

The table below lists the cost of individual components of Ember and the parabolic. These costs

are based on the data for existing solar parabolic manufacturing companies in India.

Cost of one parabolic (INR) 2,520

Cost of Ember

(cost of vessel +cost of stove) (INR)

2,520

Cost of Vessel (INR) 2,205

Cost of Stove (INR) 315

Cost of Ember to Customer:

Sol plans to sell Ember to each customer at INR 10. Assuming 250 days of sunlight, and daily

recharge required, the yearly cost will be INR 2500.

Sol financial projections:

Below table lists the financial projections for Sol for the next 5 years.

As shown in the table below, the company will start generating profits from Year 4. Also, the

below profits are without considering the resulting revenue from carbon offset trading.

Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Year 4 Year 5

Numb

er of

house

holds

targete

d in

one

year

9125 18250 27375 36500 45625

Costs

(INR)

38,861,

500

56,207,

000

70,213

,500

84,220

,000

98,226,

500

Yearly

Reven

ue

from

Ember

sales

(INR)

22,812,

500

45,625,

000

68,437

,500

91,250

,000

114,06

2,500

Profit

(INR)

(16,049

,000)

(10,582

,000)

(1,776,

000)

7,030,

000

15,836,

000

With over 9000 households using Ember each year, Sol plans to trade the Co2 emission saving

for carbon credits in carbon trading marketplace.

The below table lists the potential saving ( in INR) per year, and hence this is an additional

revenue stream for Sol. Assuming a range of carbon offset rates available is INR 189 - INR 3780

per ton Co2 saved.

Assuming 1 household of 5 members using 5 kilograms of firewood per day

Co2 emitted per day = 0.0082 metric tons

Co2 emitted per year = 2 metric tons

Metric tons of

Co2 emitted

per year total

users

18,752

37,503

56,256

75,008

93,759

Carbon offset

revenue

lowest

possible

amount (INR)

14,176 28,353 42,529 56,706 70,882

Carbon offset

revenue

highest

possible

amount(INR)

283,528 567,057 850,585 1,134,113 1,417,642

Yearly

(minimum

savings)(INR)

3,544,104 7,088,209 10,632,313 14,176,418 17,720,522

Yearly

(maximum

savings)(INR)

70,882,088 141,764,175 212,646,263 283,528,350 354,410,438

Below is a graphical representation of Sol’s financial projection. The purple and green lines

represent the profit after carbon offset trading.

H. Ecological (Planet) Impact Forecast

It is important to remember that the use of all types of energy sources have some impact on the

environment. Fossil fuels - coal, oil, and natural gas - however, cause substantially more harm than

renewable energy sources. The direct and indirect impact of fossil fuel use include air and water

pollution, damage to public health, wildlife and habitat loss, water and land use, and global

warming emissions. Likewise, the potential adverse environmental impact associated with solar

power can include land use, habitat loss, water use, and the use of hazardous materials in

manufacturing.

I. Societal (People) Impact Forecast

The Sol Ember and the Sol entrepreneurship program promote the improvement of the individual

and the community. Through our clean fuel product, we instill feelings of pride, ownership, and

empowerment in users. Through the Sol entrepreneurship program, we hope that our users will

spread the word about the benefits of solar energy and improve their lives by running their own

businesses. Ultimately, we want to knit communities closer together and empower people while

helping them adopt healthier lives.

VII. Implementation, Controls, and Evaluation

A. Measures of Performance – Meeting Triple Bottom Lines

Sol strives to make a significant impact on society while protecting the environment and producing

a profit. We are driving sustainability for people by creating a renewable energy source for a daily,

energy-intensive task: cooking. We are also mindful of people’s livelihoods and lifestyles, creating

a product that can be a business venture and works around people’s schedules. The clean heat

produced by Ember will replace the dirty smoke that pollutes lungs and sickens families. The

Ember frees women to run businesses, seek education, and do whatever they need to do to live

happy and productive lives. We are protecting the environment by reducing the use of fossil fuels

and climate change-inducing black carbon. Three billion people are currently emitting soot into the

air every day with their wood and other solid fuel cook fires, contributing to 20 percent of today's

global climate changes. For every person who is able to use or own a Sol Ember, that number is

reduced, and in three years that person’s negative impact on the environment from cooking

becomes a thing of the past. We encourage people to live happy lives while protecting the planet

for our future generations.

There is no doubt Sol will protect our future and help people live healthy lives, but can it turn a

profit? Social and environmentally friendly exercises have the most difficulty competing with

traditional products, because people are paying full price to protect people and our planet. The Sol

Ember makes financial sense in part because of its durability. While it has a high upfront cost, its

cost will be paid by the user in as short a timeframe as one year. Additional revenue will be

generated through carbon credits, which have become a significant revenue-generating source for

environmentally friendly products. Sol will stand alone with its profits on Ember, but this will

allow for additional R&D and serve as a basis to provide microloans and financing to our

customers.

Sol is not just a company; the sun provides us with life, and we look to sustain that life by being a

truly sustainable company and steward of the environment.

B. Monitoring and Evaluating Performance on Multiple Dimensions

The two dimensions of the product that we can monitor are the performance of the entrepreneurial

program and the actual product itself.

Monitoring entrepreneurial program:

● Evaluate whether there is an increase of interest in the program after a set time

● Ask customers about their experience with the seller and the delivery system

● Ask sellers about any problems in performing their jobs after a set time

● See how the delivery system is impacting the seller after a set time

● Learn about sellers’ experiences interacting with customers, asking questions such as

whether the vessel was in good shape when it was returned or any other issues involving

customers

● Ask sellers whether there is a change in the difficulty of their jobs, for better or worse, over

a set time

Monitoring performance of actual product:

● Evaluate how often new vessels can be produced locally

● Evaluate how long a vessel can be used after its purchase

● See whether there is a decrease in performance of the vessel over time

● Evaluate the process of returning used vessels and acquiring new ones

VIII. Detailed appendix with field notes, images, and video:

Appendix A - Comprehensive Needs Assessment

1. Quick cooking

2. Inexpensive fuel

3. Heat Control

4. Compact

5. Ability to cook for many people

Appendix B - Solar Parabolic and Stored Solar Bill of Materials

Appendix C - Engineering Criteria and Tech Specs

Appendix D - List of Interview Questions

PRELIMINARY:

· Do you mind if we voice record our conversation?

GENERAL:

· Who all is in your family?

· What do you do and what does your family do for a living?

· Who cooks in the family?

· What is a favorite meal/dish that your family enjoys?

· How do you cook? Gas, kerosene, firewood?

· For whom do you cook?

· Do you have any issues with that method of cooking? Explain.

DURING COOKING:

· What is your least favorite part of cooking your favorite meal?

· How long is your preparation time?

· How soon do you start cooking before consuming food?

· What kind of vessels and utensils do you use?

· How many dishes do you cook usually?

· Do you cook indoors or outdoors?

· When do you eat/when do you start preparation?

· Do you have a preferred cooking temperature? How hot is your fire?

· Does the speed (rate) of cooking matter to you?

Appendix E - Written/Recorded Interviews

Day 1

Interview A: Pushcart owner and wife

· 37 years old & 28 years old with 3 daughters

· Husband has no education while wife has 8th standard

· They have been in Chennai for 4 -5 years and came from village

· Work: they use gas stove to sell food

· Owns around 1500 – 1600 rupees per day (400 – 500 rupees net)

· Uses one gas cylinder per week (750 rupees per cylinder)

· Business hours: 6:30 am to stop with 2 shifts

· Buys ingredients day to day and not in bulk

· Living 1600 rupees and they hate spoilage

· Children go to private English medium

· Sells at bus stop and the husband and wife have the same tasks

· They have trouble with alcoholics and cops who bribe them

· They use approximately 20 liters of water and 3 kg of lentils

· They are hesitant about solar because they are not trained

· The size limitation for the solar needs to be gas cooker sized

· They usually cook at high flame

· They cook dosa, sambar, chutney

· Their pushcart is 5 ft by 2.5 ft

Interview B

· Income of 22,000 Rp.

· The rainy season is the worse

· A lot of money goes towards school (10,000 rp initially and 5,000 after)

· Has been in village for 10 years and used firewood

· Gas has been used for 10 years

· The cons of gas is gas has been increasing in cost

· Interested in solar

· But concerned with the place she has to find for solar equipment

Interview C

· 4 daughters, 2 are married, 1 studying in computer science

· They live in slums with 6 -7 other families

· Income: 3,000 rp per month

· Wake up at 6:30, cleans and washes vessels and utensils

· Breakfast: Idli, dosa, other vegetarian courses

· Dinner: Chapati, rice, curry

· Gas cylinder costs 420 rp (1 cylinder per month)

· Cons of firewood: Eyes and nose are irritated

Day 2

Interview D

· A daughter works in hospital

· There are approx. 200 families

· Income: 3,000 rp per month

· 9 am – evening is when the husband works

· 12 pm – lunch

· 10 pm – bedtime

· They use primarily firewood and sometimes kerosene stove

· She walks 4 km to the woods around 3x per week for firewood

· Bundles are around 3 ft. wide with 20 sticks weighing around 7 kg

· When she cooks on firewood stove, she has neck pain and back pain

Interview E: Dosa cooker + Deliverer

· Owns a 2 burner (gas stove)

· He has used this for the past 5 years

· Used to use firewood

· Now, still uses firewood

· Buys firewood 40 rp (25 kg)

· Used to work at printer place

· Would want to open up own printing place because he has experience

· Has own business cards to advertise himself and has started to do catering

Day 3

Interview F:

· Age 43

· Paints at the artisan center

· 5:30 AM – wake

· 9:00 AM – Go to work

· 1 -2 PM – Lunch

· 5:30 - home

· 10 pm – sleep

· Her son got her an induction cooker

· She learned how to use it because of her son and the instruction booklet

· It was written in Tamil and had pictures

· She sees advertisements for cookers

· When she sees others are using it, she will too

Interview G

· 59 years old and has a 60 year old husband

· 5,000 rp income per month

· Uses gas stove now and firewood (because mother cooked that way)

· She uses kerosene to cook rice

· She uses firewood because it’s easy to use

· The kerosene she can do without

· She sees advertisements for gas stoves on tv

Interview H

· Her dwelling = sheet roof with wooden windows

· She uses gas fuel and firewood and cow dung (this is what most people use)

· On a daily basis she cooks: idly, dosa, chuney, pongal

· Rice for breakfast

· Dinner is always different

· Her special dish is fish sambar (spices, salt, water etc.)

· She uses 2 cylinders so she rarely runs out of gas

· People usually mock new technologies

Day 4 (1-1-15)

Interview I

· 2 sons and one daughter

· Paints walls as an occupation

· Refrigerator (no) – outside of the kitchen

· Has gas stove

· Has an old burner before

· Butterfly branded stove – 3 burners

· Size = 3.5 in. tall – too tall for her liking

· Younger son helped choose a new one

· She told her son about the height problem

· 5 years = 1st gas stove

· 4 years = 2nd gas stove

· 1 year = 3rd gas stove

· Last device she purchased was a washing machine last Christmas

· She wanted to machine wash her dishes instead of hand washing

· She also has a Blender

· FAMILY OPINION IS IMPORTANT

· BUYER IS NOT NECESSARILY THE USER

Interview J: Sukinar

· 22 years old

· Recently married

· She has been in Chennai for 1 month

· Husband arranges food (3,000 rp per month)

· She is a housewife

· Sister is nearby

· she uses laptop to watch movies

· She recently has bought a mixer/blender

· Her husband bought the product

· Studying at government college and she has a laptop

· She is learning Photoshop

· She first learned how to cook from her mom

· She had to cook rice as her first dish and she felt nervous because she didn’t know

how it would taste

Interview K: Goodling Maria

● 1 brother and parents

● 9th grade

● 14 years old

● English - writes and reads better than speaking

● cooks a little bit to help out

● likes to watch TV and paint

● likes badminton

● helps her mom cook - cut vegetables and fetch items

● visits grandma

● watches scary movies

● MGM theme parks

● Has gas stove for the last 14 years at least

● has kerosene

● grandmother (kerosene)

● makes tomato rice

● wants to be a software engineer

● grandmother knows about solar

Interview L: Viji

● Lives with her in-laws

● 26 years old

● her husband works at printing press

● starts at 6 AM - breakfast at 7 am

● cooks breakfast and lunch separately

● weekly magazines and t.v.

● fridge

● gas stove

● boils rice in vessel, not in rice cooker

● communal stove to buy mix

● buyer = eldest brother in law

● user - her and the ladies

● she likes gas stove (sees the fire) not the induction

● firewood - she is comfortable with using induction to heat bath water

Interview M: Viji

● Firewood - his mother had difficulty

provide oxygen, a ft. long tube to blow

during the rainy season

12/29/14 - Village Context

Interview 1 - Housewife

Husband works to 9:00 PM

She works from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM

Gets up at 5 AM, prepares breakfast and lunch, goes to work, lets cows graze, prepares dinner

by 8 PM, watches tv in evening

Lives in thatched house, 1 room, forest around house

Cooks outside using firewood and kerosene to ignite fire

stove made of sand/clay

Travels 4 km to get fire wood

goes into forest 3 times a week

goes with 4 to 5 neighbors

favorite meal to cook - idly for breakfast and rice with chutney for lunch

takes 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the evening to prepare meal

uses 1 kg of rice

Control fire with amount of wood - low amount of fuel for low fire etc.

Doesn’t use gas also uses cow dung for fuel

Takes bath with cold water

Carrying firewood hurts hand and experience back pain

Wants to switch fuel source to gas but doesn’t have the money to do so as she can only afford

200-300 rupees/month for fuel

Thinks gas is preferable over solar because you can control the temperature

Would have to taste what food cooked with solar energy tastes like first before committing to

buying solar cooker

Interview 2 - Caterer

38 years old, works in nearby town in the catering business and delivers to factory

areas in a 5 Km radius

Lives with mother, wife and daughters (age 7 and 8)

Wife is 36

Wife has no education, started cooking group

Makes dosa out of his house

Works from 7 AM to 2 PM, Starts cooking at 4 AM

Uses gas on a 2 burner stove

Use 2 cylinders of gas a month cost is 450 rupees

Prepares 50 meals a day

Revenue - 800 rupees a day, spends 400 on supplies

Income is around 12 k rupees/month plus revenue from catering weddings

Sometimes uses firewood to save on fuel cost

Firewood costs 40 rupees for 25 kg so 1100 rupees a month on fuel

Worked in printing press before working in catering business

Learned to cook/cater from a friend

Has no interest in solar - worried kinds may throw stones at cooker

says ppl discard solar cooker after a few years bc they don’t have guidance or

instruction on how to maintain it

Interview 3 - Housewife

o Rents grocery store, sells dry goods, husband works in construction, has 2

daughters, 10th grade education

o Age 27

o Family unit earns 4k rupees/month - husband works seasonally/contractually

o Gets up a 4:30, cooks after 6:00 AM, opens shop at 6:30, husband works after

9:30, closes shop at 8:00 PM

o Daughters help take care of shop when she cook meals for family

12/30/14 - Semi-Urban context

Interview 1 - Housewife

· Age 53, son is a mechanical engineer

· Currently learning to design dolls/sculpting/painting

· Makes rice and tea for lunch

· Lives on first floor in a 1 bedroom apartment

Matt -

· What would it take you to switch to solar?

- Other people adopting it and her seeing it work

- Again, needs to know about it

- would look into advertisements

Interview 2 - Housewife

· Age 56

· 9th grade education, lives with husband and son

· Earns 2000 rupees/week from art center

· Husband spray paints cars

· Uses kerosene/wood in emergency

· Thinks kerosene stove makes a lot of noise

· Planning on buying induction stove next year because everyone is using induction stove

· Came to know of solar cooker during a conference in Delhi where she presented art work

· Safety concerns with gas stove, husband is alcoholic and leaves gas stove on

· Thinks solar cooker wouldn’t work during monsoon season or when it’s cloudy

· Also thinks people in the city may not want to buy solar cooker

· Sid. “Yeah, induction cooking is totally the way to go!”

Interview 3 - Housewife

· 40 years old, husband works in Chennai, son works at Japanese car company

· Earns 15k rupees/month

· Uses gas stove, has 3 cows

· Uses fuel (wood?) to feed cows

· Cooks for 4 people a day including daughter and husband

· Wants to buy induction cooker

· Takes 10 days for gas cylinder to arrive, when she runs out of gas she uses kerosene

Interview - Second Village, 1st

· Sends daughter to school by bus (12km from home)

· Prepares breakfast at 6:30AM

· Collects wood from 10AM - 5AM

· Buys gas if money is available

· Husband is handicapped and cannot work

· Company nearby that hires people

· House = roofs made from palm trees

o walls made out of clay

o Separate room for cooking and goes outdoors

· Stove made out of clay, bought for 200 rupees

· Has been using it for 5 years

· Thinks that process of collecting fire wood is hard but has to keep on going

Interview - Second Village, 2nd

· Works as a plumber

· Goes to Chennai at 7AM, goes back at 8PM

· 33 years old

· Spends time with son during free time, watches TV

· Goes to hotel for breakfast, takes lunch from home

· Wife uses both gas and firewood

· Decided to use gas because smoke from firewood affects wife

· Influenced by neighbors for the use of gas

· Wife chooses the stove to buy

· 5300 rupees for the stove and 550 rupees for a cylinder per month

· earns 550 rupees a day, 6 days a week

· Wife asks for the mixi due to difficult dishes

· Studied until 9th grade then started working

· owns a house

Interview - Second village, 3rd

· 40 years old, son has a Bachelor of Arts, daughter has 3 kids

· Farmer, husband also works as a farmer, they lease the land

· She farms watermelons and cucumber. If have access to water, can farm vegetables

more

· Wakes up 5AM to prepare breakfast and lunch.

· Only uses gas stoves for cooking, pays 5000 rupees to buy stove

· Husband bought the stove under her instructions

Interview - Last Chennai village, 1st

· 36 years old, family earns 9000 rupees per month

· Son is in 4th grade, daughter in 6th grade

· Cooks with clay stove and firewood

· Lives in tack house, interested in using gas but only allowed if moved to cement

house

· Knows how to use gas, wood, and kerosene stoves

· Cooks for both breakfast and lunch at the same time

· No cooking during the day

· Works for agriculture labor during free time

· Both husband and wife discuss about big purchases

· Joint decision for budgeting and planning

· First priority comes for family maintenance, 2nd for special occasions, 3rd saving

money for children, 4th for emergency loan funding

· Both collect firewood

· Recognizes solar as solar panels as electricity converters

Interview - Last Chennai village, 2nd

· 52 years old male

· 4 daughter, and 1 son (family of farmers)

· Owns small shops at home, wife takes care of the shop

· Thinks solar cookers are high class technology, skeptical about personal capabilities

· Wife learned how to use gas stoves from neighbors.

· Wife cooks early morning for breakfast and lunch, cooks dinner in evening

Interview - Last Chennai village, 3rd

· Husband and wife, newly married

· Parents live with them, both in agriculture

· Husband has degree in chemistry

· Wife studied education in college

· Wife wakes up at 5AM and prepares breakfast and coffee, Lunch takes 2 hours to

prepare

· Husband comes back home at 7, wife starts to cook at 6PM

· They both think they can try solar cooker since it has no pollution

· Most important factor for them is that it cooks quickly and factor that it only works

if there is sunlight

· They do not feel good about cooking outside the house

Appendix F - Photographs and Videos

IX. References

1. http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs292/en/

2. http://cleancook stoves.org/about/

3. file:///C:/Users/revatidaoo/Google%20Drive/MBA%202/SBE/uganda-executive-

summary.pdf

4. file:///C:/Users/revatidaoo/Google%20Drive/MBA%202/SBE/india-cook stove-and-fuels-

market-assessment.pdf

5. http://www.genderconsult.org/res/doc/SAFE_Uganda.pdf