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Her husband also kept busy teaching classes on a variety of solar cooking-related topics.
“One of the problems with solar cookers,” Boylson said, “is that they don't work when it’s not sunny.” He was able to teach locals how to use rocket stoves, which are simple, fuel-efficient wood stoves. He also taught them how to insulated baskets that let food continue to cook after once being heated and how to purify water using a solar cooker. "You can clean a liter of water for an hour in the sun," he said. “That's very important in areas where the water is highly contaminated.”
Perbal said she enjoyed seeing how delighted people were when they saw how much money they could save with solar cooking, she said. "It really makes a difference in their income.
“Since they have no access to high-quality tools in Brazil, most are imported and thus far too expensive for modest incomes, Michael ordered 17 sets of aviation-style tin snips in the U.S.A. and had them sent to Brazil,” Perbal stated in a press release. Gov. Ronaldo Carneiro invited Perbal to accompany him on several of his official visits. “He wanted to make all the Rotary Clubs of his district aware of the existence of our program.”
Carneiro and his wife, Ivani, were excellent public relations people, Perbal said in the release. “Our workshops mostly took place in the faraway satellite townships around Brasilia, where there is still a lot of poverty and lack of access to the most elementary facilities.”
The Jackson Rotary Club now has five teams of teachers in Brazil able to teach the use and making of the solar cookers, the rocket stoves and the hay baskets. “We gave them all the information needed to acquire the local material to make the devices. ... We had the good luck to find adhesive aluminum foil, which made the manufacturing of solar cookers much quicker and easier than if we had to glue aluminum foil to the cardboard. It also makes the final product better finished and sturdier than the glued version.”
Perbal said she’s delighted to be a part of Rotary. “I love their way of being supportive (and of) trying to be helpful.“ Mostly, it's the club’s motto, “service above self” that attracted her to Rotary. “That was the main thing,” she said.
“I also thank my fellow Rotarians in Brazil who helped us to spread the available money, indicating where to buy cheaper material and did not hesitate to become our partners in order to continue the good work,” Perbal stated in the release. “Also my heartfelt thank to our dear friends who provided us with lodging, food and encouragement.”
She also gave credit to Michael “without whom I never could have done this. He was of great help, he is an excellent teacher and knew how to communicate with the students without speaking their language. He even designed an alternative model of rocket stove, entirely made of scrap material, easily available in Brazil. He is not a Rotarian, but certainly knows the meaning of ‘Service Above Self.’”
Perbal will give a PowerPoint presentation of the trip during the Jackson Rotary’s meeting:
Tuesday, Dec. 9
7:30 p.m.
Teresa’s Place restaurant in Jackson.
The event is free and open to the public. Preceding the presentation, Rotary members and members of the public are invited to enjoy dinner together at the restaurant at 6:30 p.m. Dinner costs $12 per person.
Call 296-3408 for more information or to reserve a seat.
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