By Catherine Hoss

New doors are opening for Solar Oven Partners (SOP) south of the United States border in Mexico.

SOP Director Rick Jost Associate,  SOP Director Cathy Hoss, and SOP Advisory Board members Karen Workman and Dave Silbernagel, along with Lorna Jost, North Central Jurisdiction United Methodist Volunteers in Mission Coordinator, had a successful trip to Manos Juntas, in Rio Bravo, Mexico July 6—11.

Manos Juntas (Hands Together) Mexico (MJM), A.C. is a ministry of the Methodist Church of Mexico with the main facilities in Rio Bravo, just 15 minutes south of McAllen, Texas.  The team’s host was Guillermo “Willie” Berman, General Board of Global Ministries (GBGM) Missionary.

Photo: Manos Juntas Director Willie Berman discusses plans with SOP Board member David Silbernagel. A Carpentry Shop attached to the Center was the perfect location for building ovens. The carpentry shop will continue to be the site for future oven construction under the management of David, the MJM Carpenter. Photo by Catherine Hoss.

The Dakotas team taught oven-building and demonstrated solar baking between two community centers under the direction of MJM in Rio Bravo:  Project 92 and the Vamos Tamaulipas Community Project.  

One aspect of the MJM ministry is the work through community centers. Those centers empower the community to solve problems with their own means. Willie Berman’s vision is to build interest and demand for solar ovens through the sale of local foods cooked or baked at the community centers.  Each center will have a woman who teaches and directs the solar cooking program. 

MJM has a keen interest in empowering children with the sense of social responsibility and belonging in their communities.  Children ages 10-14 will participate in the construction of the ovens as well as selling the solar baked goods at the community centers with profits going back to its Solar Oven Enterprise and community center. By involving the children, MJM hopes to generate interest so that mothers will want to learn more about the ovens and how they can get one for their own use.

Photo: Rick Jost demonstrates those pesky rivets with team member Karen Workman observing, kids catch on quickly, eager to learn and build. They will be a part of the process going forward both in the oven construction and the baking and selling of solar cooked foods.  Photo by Catherine Hoss.

 The team traveled to the community center called Project 92.  Project 92 offers education for kindergarten through 6th grade, skills and job training for the parents, English classes, nutrition and health education, health care, counseling and prayer and more. The team’s goal was to build 10 ovens at Project 92 and demonstrate cooking with students, teachers and moms who came and participated in the building process, as well as preparing dishes, putting them in the ovens and sampling results.

The Dakotas team also worked at Vamos Tamaulipas Community Center on the edge of Rio Bravo.  

At both sites, Rick Jost and Cathy Hoss were able to spend time with the students talking (through Willie Berman’s interpretation) about how the oven works and its advantages and opportunities for preparing their families’ meals. 

The students were extremely interested in the Water Pasteurization Indicator (WAPI) and how it worked. Though water may be available in Mexico, good quality pure water is something most have to purchase for drinking and cooking.  So the WAPI was particularly interesting to them. 

Photo: Nina and Veronica prepare Masa Muffins. The weather was the perfect day for baking so the team ended the week “Fiesta-style” at Vamos Tamaulipas with 8 ovens full of food and quite a crowd of children and community members anxious for the results.  Throughout the week food cooked in solar ovens included Pork Carnitas (pulled pork for tacos/enchiladas), Conchas (a sweet bread that is a Mexican favorite) and Masa Muffins (corn bread muffins with jam inside) and even Dave Silbernagel’s scrambled eggs-a first for SOP! Photo by Catherine Hoss.

The SOP team returned to the Dakotas with hundreds of photos and great hope for this new venture among Methodist friends south of the border. In coming weeks, Solar Oven Partners will share more details about this potential new partnership with Manos Juntas Mexico.