Solsource无烟灶 灵感来自藏民家

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.

几年前卡特林•鲍尔斯(Catlin Powers)在中国青海省研究气候变化时，有一次受邀到当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.”

帐篷里弥漫着刺鼻的黄色毒烟，刺痛了她的眼睛，让她喘不过气来。“我带着空气监测器，于是做了些测试，结果发现帐篷内的空气污染程度是北京的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.

黄烟是牧民家的炉灶产生的，这种炉灶构造简单，以牛粪和木头为燃料。鲍尔斯博士在哈佛大学(Harvard)教授可持续技术，她了解到煤烟颗粒和温室气体已严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.

而且这种炉灶对妇女和女孩的影响尤其大，她们在帐篷内待得时间更长，吸入了更多呛人烟气。

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.

受此次遭遇启发， 鲍尔斯博士与另一个美国人斯科特•弗兰克(Scot Frank)设计出了一种名为SolSource的太阳灶。SolSource的目标受众本为中国农牧地区的居民，但现在它已超越这一目标，进入了一个意想不到的新市场——美国。

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于今年5月上市，售价399美元，受到绿色技术迷、野外生存达人甚至主流烧烤爱好者的追捧。

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在出口方面意外获得成功，对香港公司One Earth Designs是福音。2009年，鲍尔斯博士和曾在麻省理工学院(MIT)攻读工程学的弗兰克共同创建了这间公司。

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采用零排放设计，在中国牧民社区的合作下，他们试验了几十种模型，最终确定了设计。它的造型像个碟形卫星天线，通过将太阳光反射到黑色炊具基座的反射板上来产生热量。

“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.”

鲍尔斯博士说：“我们的目标是设计一款功能强大、携带方便、结实耐用、使用安全的灶具。我们去回收测试模型时就知道自己成功了。那些牧民家庭都不愿交出模型，连他们的邻居也都想要一台。”

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，两位关注绿色科技的投资者杜恩(Doen)和卡尔弗特(Calvert)向One Earth Designs注入了一大笔资金，令该公司得以设立一条生产线。此后青海省有2000个家庭购买了SolSource，他们反馈说这款炉具改变了他们的生活。

“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.

鲍尔斯博士说：“我们原本只打算在中国销售，但渐渐收到来自世界各地的购买请求。”由于小批量运输成本过高，One Earth Designs便通过Kickstarter众筹活动筹集了资金，装了3个集装箱，将货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.

虽然该公司至今只有中国和美国两个上规模的市场，但已有另外29个国家的消费者购买过Solsource的产品。One Earth Designs采取了灵活的配送和定价策略。鲍尔斯博士说：“我们在每个国家都有强大的合作伙伴，他们了解当地市场，能根据实际情况决定最优价格。”

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，两个非政府组织以每台200美元的价格出售Solsource，大大低于美国专卖店零售价，它们还向顾客提供融资，并且免费教授太阳能灶烹饪技术。

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在今年早些时候已有正现金流，它的下个目标是打进澳大利亚市场。烧烤聚会是澳大利亚人最喜爱的休闲社交活动，但这种活动时常因禁火令而无法举办，One Earth Designs希望到今年圣诞节时，能见到许多澳大利亚人改为举办太阳能烧烤聚会。