Although designed for disaster zones where the electricity infrastructure has been damaged, this solar cooker concept looks like it could work anywhere where there’s enough sunshine. So, not the UK, then.

It’s essentially a parabolic mirror (much the same shape as a satellite dish) that collects the suns rays concentrates them onto a couple of cooking pots — the principle is not unlike using a magnifying glass to start a fire, but the mirror obviously uses reflection rather than refraction.

In tests, the prototype was able to boil a pot of water in 60 minutes under scattered cloud with an ambient temperature ranging between 19C and 25C.

The solar cooker is designed for self assembly and all components, plus an emergency food and water supply, are stowed inside the package formed by two units clipped together. The set-up is reckoned to be sufficient to last four people for up to seven days.

[Solar Cooker]