Wonderbag Cooks Food and Serves Humanity

Some of the biggest challenges for people in Third World countries have to do with food preparation. Gathering water and firewood for cooking are two of the most time consuming, and often dangerous jobs, for women and children.

Sarah Collins, a South African entrepreneur and activist, literally leapt from her bed one night with an idea to help resolve some of the burden of food preparation. She remembered that as a child, she had seen her grandmother wrap a pot of hot food among some cushions to help keep it hot, so that she could use the burners on the stove for other cooking. Sarah developed that concept to create a device to keep food hot, and even slow-cook food, without using a fuel source.

Ms. Collins and an activist friend, Moshy Mathe, created a prototype of a thick, insulated bag in which a hot pot of cooked food could be placed. They called it the Wonderbag. Closing the bag tightly over the pot and leaving it in a safe place all day would allow food to slow-cook in a similar way as a crockpot.

Variations of this method have been used by many cultures all over the world. Collins had witnessed bushmen cooking and burying food in the ground. In the US, settlers learned from American Indians to bury pots of beans in the ground, allowing them to cook all day. Logging camps adopted this practice, burying cast iron pots in what they called a ‘bean hole.’

There are multiple benefits with this kind of cooking. Once a pot of food has been sufficiently heated on a wood stove, it can be transferred to the Wonderbag. This means that stocks of scarce and precious firewood can be used for many more days. Cutting down on cooking time with inadequately ventilated wood stoves protects family members from toxic fumes. The Wonderbag is a time and labor saving device, and contributes to the health of the families using them.

You can buy a Wonderbag on Amazon.com. It sells for $50.00 retail, and with every purchase, a free one is donated to a family in Africa. People in the west like them because they’re an Eco-friendly choice. During holidays or large family gatherings, a big pot of stew or soup can be started on the stove, and then transferred to the Wonderbag, freeing up valuable stove-top or counter space in the kitchen.

It’s a win-win situation. To learn more about the Wonderbag, go to this Amazon page: Wonderbag.