The Natural Balance Wonderbag Project

Using the tried and trusted principles of insulation cooking, Wonderbag elevates domestic meal times to matters of international significance.

The Wonderbag concept has its roots in a passion for the environment, sustainable development and poverty alleviation.

Cooking in the Wonderbag reduces the consumption of fossil fuels. As a result, less CO₂ is released into the atmosphere. Due to its potential to mitigate the effects of climate change the Wonderbag project is to be registered by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) as a Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) project. This means that for every bag sold, verified carbon offsets will be traded on the international market.

• reduces cooking fuel consumption by 30-50%;
• reduced CO₂ emissions by approximately 500kg per year; and
• saves about 15KWhr of electricity and 1,5 litres of paraffin per week.

How does a Wonderbag work?

The Wonderbag is an insulated container made up of two poly-cotton bags filled with polystyrene balls. It can hold a pre-heated dish safely for several hours while cooking its contents through heat retention.

Cooking is done in two stages. First, the food is brought to the boil on a conventional stove or cooking fire. Once the food has reached the desired temperature and is heated through, the second step is to transfer the cooking pot to the Wonderbag. The insulated Wonderbag ensures that the temperature of the food is maintained to continue and complete the cooking process.

The Wonderbag cover is made of poly-cotton with a Shweshwe print. It is filled with expanded polystyrene (EPS) that consists primarily of carbon and hydrogen. EPS is ecologically harmless, contains no CFCs and is fully recyclable by:

• Grinding it down to produce new EPS.
• Using it as a lightweight aggregate for concrete and insulating mortars.

• Improved air quality in homes by reducing smoke from cooking fires
• Safe, cost-effective cooking
• Tasty, nutritious meals which can be prepared ahead
• Reduced food wastage as food cannot burn or overcook in the bag
• Job creation and skills development

The Wonderbag and the CDM

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is the world's official body regulating reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, the most prevalent of which is carbon dioxide (CO₂). The CDM ensures that carbon credits are real, verifiable and additional to any carbon reductions that would otherwise have occurred.

The Wonderbag is one of Africa’s first projects to be registered with the UNFCCC. It satisfies the CDM requirements for both emission reductions and socio-economic benefit in the following ways:

1. An approved energy efficiency project type. With a Wonderbag, cooking a meal requires only 5-10 minutes of conventional energy. It reduces the use of fossil fuels both directly (less wood, gas, paraffin and coal is burned), and indirectly (less electricity is generated by fossil-fuel power stations).
   
   
2. Using the UNFCC additionality tool. An offset project is considered additional if it derives part of its funding from the sale of offsets. Only offsets that have met additionality criteria result in a net benefit for the climate.
   
   The project aims to establish Wonderbag use in up to one million households within seven years. This ambitious target is only possible if carbon finance subsidises the cost of manufacturing, marketing and distributing the bags.
   
   
3. Making a net-positive contribution to the economic, environmental and social welfare of the people who use it. The benefits of the Wonderbag project are numerous:
   
   
   • Air quality in the home improves, because less fuels such as paraffin (kerosene), wood, coal or animal dung need to be burned for cooking. Lower electricity use reduces the devastating ambient air pollution associated with coal-burning power stations.
   • Total community demand for wood as fuel in rural areas is reduced, thus promoting forest re-growth and biodiversity.
   • The manufacture and distribution of Wonderbags create employment and skills development opportunities with more than 1 000 people trained in the first year of implementation alone.
   • The carbon funding is foreign direct investment that has a grassroots-level community development impact.

Carbon offsetting is...
... when a person or organisation buys greenhouse gas reduction credits from a project elsewhere to neutralise their own emissions.

A CER is…
… a carbon credit generated by a CDM project and is equal to one ton of CO₂ equivalent (CO₂e)

Wonderbag partner network

Wonderbag achieves its environmental conservation, poverty alleviation and employment creation goals through a powerful network of partners.

Project development
Wonderbag’s international project development partner is the UK-based ClimateCare business unit of J.P. Morgan, one of the world’s premier investment banks.

Manufacturing
The NGO Youth for Survival, under the leadership of Moshey Mathe, is training 1 000 women entrepreneurs to manufacture Wonderbags.

Youth for Survival improves the living conditions of young people in South Africa by conducting educational campaigns and providing free basic skills training and life orientation.

Distribution
Natural Balance has a long-standing relationship with the NGO loveLife, South Africa’s HIV-prevention campaign for young people.

Working with the 730 loveLife hubs countrywide, Natural Balance is busy setting up Wonderbag sales agent teams, thereby creating hundreds of jobs nationwide. The agents receive extensive product and sales training, as well as business and personal finance management coaching.

Monitoring and evaluation
Wonderbag users are regularly surveyed to evaluate usage rates and customer satisfaction. This process verifies carbon reductions annually and channels user feedback into continuous product improvement efforts.