On January 15, around 25,000 students across 500 schools in Mumbai, Thane and Palghar, will learn how to assemble a solar cooker and cook in it, too. “For example, add water, noodles, vegetables and masala in a solar cooker and keep it under the sun for 20 minutes. You will get ready-to-eat noodles,” explained Dr Alka Mandke, head of Keshav Shrushti, an NGO that takes up social service projects for integrated development, which is conducting the programme.

“Within 30-40 years, conventional energy will deplete completely. Solar cookers will be the need of the hour and everyone should know how to operate one,” said Dr Mandke. The solar cooker, which costs