The Story
Founded by Sarah Collins in 2008, the Wonderbag was developed as a solution to the South African energy shortage forcing blackouts across the country – with the aim of allowing families to continue cooking daily meals even with the absence of power.
Inspired by a method her grandmother had used in the 1970s to help save power when cooking, and similar to the concept of a haybox – which was used to keep food warm and preserve fuel during World War Two – Sarah first tested her idea by surrounding a pan of hot food with cushions after she had turned off the stove.
The brainwave was a success, and to her amazement the food had continued to cook for several hours! From here, Sarah developed the Wonderbag and started taking them into communities to see first-hand the impact they could have. The reaction from the women was overwhelming, and Sarah knew straight away that this simple idea had the potential to change billions of lives around the world.
How it works
The Wonderbag is a non-electric slow cooker that uses heat-retention technology to continue cooking food once your pan has been removed from the heat source.
To cook, simply bring the food to the boil on a stove, let it simmer, and then put the pot into the Wonderbag.
Cinch the Wonderbag tightly with the drawstring, and allow the food to slow cook to perfection for up to 8 hours.
With no additional gas/electric being used, households benefit from reduced energy bills, less time spent cooking, and lower household emissions.
