The association "Planet Science Mediterranean" organizes each year, with the regional council PACA and the DRJS, summer camps where youth can spend part of their vacation in nature as well familiarize themselves with renewable energy.

11 boys and 3 girls 14 to 17 years of age coming from different horizons and regions of France participated in the fabrication of the "Batan" solar concentrator. They also learned of the beauty of the south of France canoe, canyon exploration, beaches and so on.

During the camp these youths were more or less in the know on solar energy. Though at first would have perhaps preferred to do nothing but sleep and go to the beach, by the end they worked longer on the machine than planned to try to finish before their departure. As full completion in time was unlikely, a box type solar cooker was also constructed. I myself was never thrown into such an adventure.

At some points we had to improvise to overcome the technical problems that arose. I think to specifically the welding involved. In retrospect, it is essential to confirm that someone actually knows how to weld before starting a construction involving welding. "Tapping", the process of making a threaded whole for a bolt, is also a delicate procedure. It was also necessary to manage the use of powerful metal working tools, which was sometimes difficult.

If you are an educator and consider a similar project, keep in mind you will spend most of your time explaining how the tools work, since it is no longer something most kids manage to pick up independently. Safety is of course always the priority, and the youth also require supervision and repetitive explanation of how the tools are used. With students unfamiliar with the tools expect to take at least 12 days, two to three hours a day, to build a Batan from scratch.

Unfortunately we did not completely finish the concentrator in time for the end of their stay. Considering it was my first time building a solar concentrator and first time teaching how to build one it was completely unexpected. Fortunately, enough of the machine had been built for the teenagers to tangibly grasp the principles of solar concentration and the working of the machine. I completed the finishing touches, and when I sent the photos of the finished machine their reaction was "Super!" "Glad to have participated!" "The cats meow!"

You can contact me for any further information at: oliviervachez (at) hotmail.com