The slow process of adjusting the mirrors

Improving the prototype of our solar oven is big work for us. Step by step we learn more and improve our invention. Now and then it remains a struggle. Sometimes we clash with ourselves in this slow process, and sometimes we feel we are the happiest people on the world.

Continuously adapting and improving the construction and just getting slightly better results deprived Rick of his energy. And that's not what we hoped for. To see such a moment of fatigue as the time to make decisions and choices was what we needed. We had a very inspiring talk about the state of the project and at the end we decided to stop improving the mirrors, accept their current state and start to work with it. It seems so simple, but it was a turningpoint. It showed us new details and different ways of working.

The thing is that the small mirror is quite good, and the big one refuses to get in the exact right shape. May be we won't have an exact focus point, and may be the material of the mirrors wasn't the best choice. But we have, although it may be a bit blurry, an immensely strong bundling of solar energy, and we are going to use it!

We are transforming our ceramic ovens into tin kilns now and we'll start working. After we made the decision to do this, ideas for great new ovens appeared, like ovens specially designed for blurry mirrors ; ) The enthusiasm is back and it hasn't left us since.

During our continuous learning process we also have developed an improved model. An array of mirrors and ovens we can take with us on our travels. So they need to be light, smaller and quick in assembling. We imagine they feel like an air balloon or a kite, and we are very inspired to build this new model.

The first test
We've started testing late in the afternoon, on the 21^st of September. We came to 391 degrees, and then the sun disappeared behind a cork oak. These things happen in Portugal!

Rick checks if the focus point is in the right position.  

The first test gave us a bit more then 383 degrees.

We're not certain if ceramics will work for now, but this temperature is more then enough for melting tin. The goal of making ceramics is a fantastic force that brought us to were we are now. And working on it continuously brings us closer. One day it will all work fantastically, and it will all be normal to us. For now we walk the way to get there, and this is a great experience. More about further testing developments in a few more days...

About one and a half month to go in Portugal

It's a very strange psychological mechanism; if you are halfway in your stay somewhere, you start to get concerned about with what will happen afterward. No matter how long you're there. Slowly we are starting to make plans for what we are going to do when we leave here. Rick actually made his first 'to do list' in three months.

What's next?

Our plan at the moment is to travel back at the end of October along the Spanish Mediterranean coast and hop over to Morocco for a few days. Doing short stretches upward until it becomes too cold. Then we race back to Holland in a single stretch. We're not in a hurry so it might be mid-december before we will arrive. Already we are planning some visits to people and places along the route.

We began looking for places where we can stay and work next year in spring or summertime. It would be ideal to find a place where we are able to fully focus on testing and working with the solar oven for some months. So if you know any place close to the Spanish or French Mediterranean coast (or a bit more inland), where people have setup a project with crafts, spirituality and/or ecology, please let us know. We would be very glad to hear it from you.

We need eyeprotection to look into the focus point

Try this recipe, it's amazingly good!

A huge sage bush (dutch; Salie) grows in the garden here, and we wanted to cook something tasty with it. Then we got this great tip from a girl from Berlin (Thank you Annette!).

And because Annette's recipe made us very happy, we really need to share it with you:

You take quite some fresh sage, from your garden of course, as everyone does have ; ) Cut it into pieces, and then you mix it with fresh soft butter. Put it aside and give the butter some time to absorb the flavor of the sage. Boil some (fresh homemade) pasta. Mix it with the sage butter, a little bit of coarse sea salt on top, and put it in your mouth...

We find it's deliciously! Close to divine! The butter is also very nice to put on your lunch toast or to flavour your couscous with.

Enjoy! 

Anna & Rick