"Receiving the Lytefire Solar oven has improved our lives. We are glad to testify the beauty in using solar energy because it’s cheap, user friendly and we no longer spend money on electricity or charcoal."

"Throughout the process, Lytefire proved itself as an innovative, resourceful, and thoughtful partner in Uganda. They offer an impressive product, and back it with in-depth knowledge and supportive staff. The Lytefire units have a triple impact of fighting climate change, enhancing food security, and supporting rural entrepreneurship. This technology has great potential to help the world. I am pleased to recommend Lytefire."

"Such a great example of sustainable innovation supporting local entrepreneurship, livelihoods, and school meals. Thank you for the inspiring initiative and for the important collaboration, Lytefire!"

"Joining the Lytefire project was a special moment and the best decision we have ever made because in most countries in Africa, especially in Uganda, we are educated to look for jobs as job seekers not as job creators but this bakery group with the Lytefire solar oven and training has given us an opportunity to create jobs."

"Plan International Uganda has been very satisfied with Lytefire’s pedagogy, methodology, organization skills and the solar concentrator Lytefire (solar oven) is very well adapted to Uganda’s context for small entrepreneurs. The Lytefire is empowering people and is a good solution for climate change mitigation among vulnerable populations."

"The second prize awarded to the solar bakery recognizes a project requiring very little capital, using updated techniques for baking bread through concentrated solar power. It meets the requirements of sustainability and accessibility, is highly replicable across all regions, and is a reliable way to stabilize and retain local populations, as the bakery serves as a hub of social activity."

"The Lytefire is the best for baking as it is environment friendly. For our group and myself during this training I have acquired advanced baking skills, good hygiene practices and entrepreneurial skills during the training. Using the Lytefire we will provide our community with good quality solar snacks or bites that are smoke free."

"We are able to save 500€ per month of buying bread that we now bake ourselves, and on top of that, the solar bakery brings an income of 260€ every month from additional sales"

"Solar artisanats will soon be recognized as an instrument of the world of the future. And not only in France"

"This product holds the solution to a group of global issues that we need to tackle now! "

"I think Lytefire is an almost indispensable tool for the future."

"In Sudan, we have been very satisfied with Lytefire’s innovative solar oven and the company’s professionalism, technical support, responsiveness, and clear scale-up plans. Plan International is looking forward to continuing the partnership and scale-up phase."

"The training was amazing and it helped me in many different ways; It has improved my entrepreneurial skills, baking skills and understanding solar energy and how the Lytefire works. It has helped my technical skills as I can operate, maintain and fix the machine."

“The Lytefire Oven is giving us 275 KSh (€2,70) per day, but with the charcoal oven it’s only 75 KSh (€0,70). That’s a big difference.”

"Joan’s bread is better than any other. So yummy! Her solar fire bakery is the best bakery in town."

"The Lytefire will help the community to bake bread with solar, instead of firewood and charcoal. I wish for it to create income within our community because the locals will save money for transport and will buy fresh local solar baked bread within walking distance!"

"Our beers are brewed thanks to the power of the sun! To reduce our carbon footprint and the use of resources required for our lifestyle and consumption, the sun is our best friend!"

"Under the initiative of ADSCAL and with the excellent service provided by Lytefire, four solar ovens have been installed for the bakeries and a pastry shop run by a women’s group in the village of Agnam, as part of the fight against deforestation in a region strongly affected by climate change. The energy and dedication shown by Mrs. Wissenz go far beyond the project itself and give us complete satisfaction and confidence in recommending this work."

"I’m so happy about the inauguration and presentation of the DIY oven… The important people were there: the mayor of São Domingos, the secretary of the Luxembourg embassy, and the director of the IEFP (the vocational training center), a project I managed to bring to life! We succeeded in reaching 220°C for two hours! But the weather is extremely cloudy at the moment, and since I bake sourdough bread, I’m not very flexible! My vision is that we can offer training around the oven, but also training for building it, so that the oven can spread throughout Cape Verde!"

“Here are two beautiful examples of what can be done here with the Lytefire DIY. I now need to find a serious user in Mexico who is ready to get involved. I also want to promote this technology. At the moment, I’m starting the construction of the building that will be used to prepare the ingredients before baking, and people from the community who want to learn will be able to come. I hope to discover more people passionate about this work. In addition, it will be a very visible example for interested artisans. A whole promotional program for the future!”

"It’s clear that Lytefire is a pioneer in what could be the starting point for a new economy, one that’s much more virtuous and cleaner!"

"I believe the Lytefire will help employment for youths, reduce usage of charcoal and emissions to the atmosphere because we will be using direct sun through concentrated solar energy!"

"We made popcorn as a snack this morning, (look how hot the cooker got at 9am). Then this afternoon the students used it to make a stir-fry using ingredients from the garden (collard greens, garlic, onions, eggplants, and herbs)."

"When the sun rises early morning and the sky is blue, I am sure it’s a good baking day with the sun rays. Since our bakery demand rose from the 10kg per day to not less than 40 kg a day it’s impressive to see how well the Lytefire can handle such a big batch of production. And it’s so good to see myself and other bakers I work with put in a full tray of ready to be baked products as they are taking out the fully baked tray of solar goodies."

"Training with the Lyfeire technology is environmentally friendly and using solar as a form of energy that will sustain my life and the community without causing harm such as C02. As a bakery we are preserving the environment and the other living organisms."

"What attracted me to the Lytefire was the simplicity of the product, and the fact that it’s an extremely robust and a highly efficient mechanical unit."

"The community still considers solar energy as an alternative, yet it is the first energy source that isn’t owned yet; nobody utilizes the sun."

"I enjoyed the training and it the importance of using solar energy as a natural source of energy! I have gained self-confidence, being creative and how to work in a team. I believe the Lytefire will help bring income for the bakery team at Smart up Factory and create job opportunities within the community."

"The Lytefire really represents the hope that we will re-localize economic processes."

"Adapt oneself. Yes, solar energy requires adapting to nature. We do not place the oven in the same place all year round. We are the ones who focus the mirrors by hand for each cooking/roasting. We don’t find it painful but rather beautiful and poetic. We are not machines. This is what gives us the energy to get to work every morning. This is what makes our products beautiful and above all what makes them sustainable."

"December 16 - almost the shortest days of the year!
This morning - 1° in the air, this afternoon 4°. Temperature reached 230°C with the oven. I could have gone higher without any problems, but it wasn’t needed for roasting. After buckwheat, I roasted spelt.
Emitting zero carbon to the atmosphere, 10 kg of roasted coffee substitute! The sun gives us free and abundant energy, so let’s make the most out of it!"

"Since the beginning of February, the Fourmi team at our low‑tech conserverie has been hard at work DIY‑building its solar concentrator.
But why bother building our own production tool?

DIY is an essential way to reclaim our production tools.
By knowing every bolt, every weld, every material used, we’ll be able to maintain and repair it ourselves, reducing our dependence on external suppliers and technicians.

It’s one of our key pillars for creating a more sustainable and resilient artisanal food‑preservation model.

Would you believe me if I told you that we had never welded or even cut steel before?
Do‑It‑Yourself isn’t just for seasoned makers!
All you need is a good dose of motivation, a strong desire to learn, and ABOVE ALL, the right people around you!

This project would not have been possible without:
– Comme Un Établi: this unique shared workshop where professionals and beginners in metalwork can collaborat
– Émeline Delvoye from Atelier Ouka, the metalworker who agreed to accompany us in this crazy challenge
– The plans for the collective solar cooker and the Lytefire community, who made it possible and accessible to build this beautiful tool

A huge THANK YOU to all of you for making this project a reality!”

"All our seeds are first roasted using a rather unusual piece of equipment, whose efficiency is astonishing! We use a solar concentrator which gives us a maximum temperature of 275° C without the need for fossil fuels (I told you, it’s amazing!)."

"What moves me the most I think is the ability that this tech is providing to women to emancipate themselves, to empower themselves, to take the lead."

"These tools are quick to build and effective for the job. As indicated by the Lytefire team it really did take us 2 hours to calibrate the mirrors but then our surprise was great once the water started boiling and the veggies and burgers started to sizzle in the pan!"

"I’m especially excited about this technology because it can be built locally, so it will not be limited by the harsh import duties imposed on us"

"I think I choose Lytefire because it’s the simplest way I found to try what I was thinking about. I already knew that I needed some concentrated solar power for my brewery. And Lytefire was from what I found, that was existing already, it was the simplest. And the design I built and experimented with, was the quickest."

"With the Lytefire, we can produce lots of bread in a day without having to face rising energy costs and therefore increasing our costs to our customers."

"Your design is easy to understand and straight-forward to build. We achieved the advertised temperatures in the first try with none of the complications experienced by other students that used a different solar concentrator design."

"I was able to assemble the oven almost single-handedly on Saturday. I didn’t break any mirrors during assembly, although I was apprehensive because it’s tricky, but I got the hang of it! And on Sunday, taking advantage of the beautiful sunshine, I was able to heat it up and baked a first batch of cookies."

"Many of you ask us if it has to be hot to roast and if we can only roast in summer. In reality the answer is no, because only the solar radiation matters for heating power. For example, even though there is snow all around us, we heat the oven just as much as in the middle of summer. Just as it is possible to get sunburned in the mountains in winter. On the other hand, if the sky is cloudy or something gets between the sun and the earth, like the smoke from Canadian fires in July, then the heating power is reduced and we will take 45 minutes instead of half an hour to rise to 180°C."

"It’s because we offer young people an experience that is both physical and sensory, and because the NeoLoco solar bakery is not far away, that our events with the solar oven have a real impact."

"When we use it with students and the public, it is an impressive and popular tool. Making popcorn with it or stir-frying from the garden are the most common ways that we use it."

"Well, the Lytefire project was undoubtedly a successful and motivating endeavor - challenging, certainly - but very satisfying, not only from my point of view, but also from the students’ point of view. "