Parabolic Basket and Tin Can Solar Cooker

Here is an interesting article (and instructions) on making a parabolic reflector solar stove by weaving a parabolic "basket" and attaching lids from cans to create the reflector. Conclusion:

Overall this was a successful project. We were able to meet our goal of pasteurizing water. The solar basket can pasteurize water in a quart container in about an hour with optimal conditions. We attempted to bake bread in our first demo by placing the dough in the black can used as a jar pedestal. The bread partially baked. We believe the device will bake bread completely by positioning the dough near the top of the inside of the can rather than at its base. Also, if the can could be placed in a concentric, transparent container like that containing the black jar. We successfully made brown rice in the black jar. The device meets most of our criteria for appropriateness.The criteria that it meets are that it makes use of waste materials, it uses local materials, it does not negatively impact the environment,it is inexpensive to construct and easy to operate. On the down side, it takes a while to gather the materials and do the actual construction, it is not exceptionally efficient due to the can lids not having a mirror finish and not being in a perfect parabolic shape. It would definitely take some time to adjust your lifestyle to factor in the time it takes to heat water in the solar basket. If the solar basket was providing you with your only means of clean water, it would be very important to plan ahead. This first attempt at creating a solar basket may not prove to be all that durable. The can lids rusted within two months in our coastal environment. However, this may not be an issue in a desert environment. Perhaps cans containing supplies sent to refugees could be made of polished metal that does not rust. The basket is strong, but the bands of aluminum are flexible and may lose their shape over time. The ribs of the basket are only single lengths of blackberry runner and they have the potential to crack or snap. It is not necessary to have a lot of education to construct this basket, but it would be important to have some familiarity with parabolas. We did make use of some algebra and calculus, and the ability to use math equations greatly helps in creating templates for the correct overall basket shape and constraining band diameters.