Interdisciplinary Seminar:
Education for Sustainable development
Convener: Eliane Didier, France

A Comparative Study of a Solar Cooking Device and Three other Selected Cooking Devices and its Implications in Sokoto Metropolis, Nigeria
Halima S. Bamalli, S.L. Ajayi and others, Nigerian Association of University Women

Solar energy is a free fuel source for cooking. It is non-polluting in that it eliminates the use of wood as fuel. It also eliminates, for the average rural woman, the drudgery of searching for fuel wood on a daily basis This study compared solar energy with three cooking devices that use wood. All were used to cook beans, yams and sweet potatoes in solar experimental station, Sokoto. The cooking times were recorded and the relative acceptability of the foods cooked was scored by panel of judges. The results show no significant difference in cooking time and the acceptability of the foods cooked. However, a significant difference existed in the physical properties of the foods. Hence, the results of this research work can be used to educate rural woman to stop the use of wood fuel in the semi-arid area where the research was conducted.

Mrs Halima Bamalli teaches in the Home Economics Department of the Federal College of Education, Zaria, Nigeria.