Solsource無煙竈 靈感來自藏民家

When she was researching climate change in China’s Qinghai province several years ago, Catlin Powers was invited into the home of a local family of Tibetan nomads.

幾年前卡特林•鮑爾斯(Catlin Powers)在中國青海省研究氣候變化時，有一次受邀到當地一家藏族牧民家作客。

The tent was filled with noxious yellow sMoke that stung her eyes and left her gasping for breath. “I had air monitors with me so I took some measurements and found that the air inside the tent was 10 times more polluted than the air in Beijing.”

帳篷裏瀰漫着刺鼻的黃色毒煙，刺痛了她的眼睛，讓她喘不過氣來。“我帶着空氣監測器，於是做了些測試，結果發現帳篷內的空氣污染程度是北京的10倍。”

The smoke was produced by the family’s cooking stove, a simple construction fuelled by yak dung and wood. Dr Powers, who lectures on sustainable technology at Harvard, learned that the sooty particles and greenhouse gases caused appalling health problems among the nomads.

黃煙是牧民家的爐竈產生的，這種爐竈構造簡單，以牛糞和木頭爲燃料。鮑爾斯博士在哈佛大學(Harvard)教授可持續技術，她瞭解到煤煙顆粒和溫室氣體已嚴重危害到牧民的健康。

Moreover, the stoves had a disproportionate impact on the women and girls who spend long hours inside the tents, inhaling the choking fumes.

而且這種爐竈對婦女和女孩的影響尤其大，她們在帳篷內待得時間更長，吸入了更多嗆人煙氣。

That encounter inspired Dr Powers and another American, Scot Frank, to create a solar cooker called the SolSource that is now expanding beyond its target audience in rural China into an unexpected new market: the US.

受此次遭遇啓發， 鮑爾斯博士與另一個美國人斯科特•弗蘭克(Scot Frank)設計出了一種名爲SolSource的太陽竈。SolSource的目標受衆本爲中國農牧地區的居民，但現在它已超越這一目標，進入了一個意想不到的新市場——美國。

The SolSource went on sale there in May with a $399 price tag and is being snapped up by fans of green technology, survivalists and even mainstream grilling enthusiasts.

SolSource於今年5月上市，售價399美元，受到綠色技術迷、野外生存達人甚至主流燒烤愛好者的追捧。

The unlikely export success is a boon for One Earth Designs, the Hong Kong company that Dr Powers set up in 2009 with Mr Frank, who studied engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

SolSource在出口方面意外獲得成功，對香港公司One Earth Designs是福音。2009年，鮑爾斯博士和曾在麻省理工學院(MIT)攻讀工程學的弗蘭克共同創建了這間公司。

The design of the zero-emission SolSource was finalised after dozens of prototypes were trialled in collaboration with nomad communities in China. It resembles a satellite dish and works by bouncing light off reflective panels on to the base of black cookware, creating heat.

SolSource採用零排放設計，在中國牧民社區的合作下，他們試驗了幾十種模型，最終確定了設計。它的造型像個碟形衛星天線，通過將太陽光反射到黑色炊具基座的反射板上來產生熱量。

“Our aim was to engineer a cooker that was powerful, portable, durable and safe to use,” says Dr Powers. “We knew we’d got it right when we went to collect the test models. The families didn’t want to give them up and their neighbours all wanted one too.”

鮑爾斯博士說：“我們的目標是設計一款功能強大、攜帶方便、結實耐用、使用安全的竈具。我們去回收測試模型時就知道自己成功了。那些牧民家庭都不願交出模型，連他們的鄰居也都想要一臺。”

In late 2012 One Earth Designs received a substantial cash injection from two green technology-focused investors, Doen and Calvert, which enabled it to set up a production line. Since then 2,000 families in Qinghai have bought a SolSource and they report that the stove has transformed their lives.

2012年底，兩位關注綠色科技的投資者杜恩(Doen)和卡爾弗特(Calvert)向One Earth Designs注入了一大筆資金，令該公司得以設立一條生產線。此後青海省有2000個家庭購買了SolSource，他們反饋說這款爐具改變了他們的生活。

“We only intended to sell in China,” says Dr Powers, “but we started receiving requests from all over the world.” Low-volume shipping costs were prohibitive so One Earth Designs raised funds via a Kickstarter campaign, filled three containers and sent them to different distribution hubs.

鮑爾斯博士說：“我們原本只打算在中國銷售，但漸漸收到來自世界各地的購買請求。”由於小批量運輸成本過高，One Earth Designs便通過Kickstarter衆籌活動籌集了資金，裝了3個集裝箱，將貨物送往了不同的配送中心。

Although China and the US are the only sizeable markets for the company so far, the Solsource has been bought by customers in 29 other countries. One Earth Designs has adopted a flexible distribution and pricing strategy. “In each country we work with strong partners who know the local marketplace to determine the optimal price,” says Dr Powers.

雖然該公司至今只有中國和美國兩個上規模的市場，但已有另外29個國家的消費者購買過Solsource的產品。One Earth Designs採取了靈活的配送和定價策略。鮑爾斯博士說：“我們在每個國家都有強大的合作伙伴，他們瞭解當地市場，能根據實際情況決定最優價格。”

In Haiti, for instance, two non-governmental organisations are selling them for $200 – a substantial discount to the price at which they retail in US boutiques – and offer customer financing and free solar cooking classes.

比如在海地，兩個非政府組織以每臺200美元的價格出售Solsource，大大低於美國專賣店零售價，它們還向顧客提供融資，並且免費教授太陽能竈烹飪技術。

Having become cash flow positive earlier this year, One Earth Designs’ next goal is to crack Australia. With frequent fire bans restricting the nation’s favourite social pastime, it hopes that this Christmas will see many Australians switching to a solar barbie.

One Earth Designs在今年早些時候已有正現金流，它的下個目標是打進澳大利亞市場。燒烤聚會是澳大利亞人最喜愛的休閒社交活動，但這種活動時常因禁火令而無法舉辦，One Earth Designs希望到今年聖誕節時，能見到許多澳大利亞人改爲舉辦太陽能燒烤聚會。