Wonderbag – the revolutionary, non-electric slow cooker, that continues to cook food for up to eight hours, using heat-retention technology – launches the Wonderbag Foundation Gaza Initiative. This started as a collaboration with global charity World Central Kitchen (WCK), bringing innovation to dire fuel shortages in Gaza. The Wonderbag continues to cook food that has been bought to the boil in 150 litre pots on new style pellet stoves, only using wood pellets, which allows food to keep cooking. This drastically increases the ability of the kitchens to deliver hot meals and doubles the number of meals cooked per pellet stove. A simple yet ingenious device, the Wonderbag is instrumental in conserving fuel, reducing the need for additional energy once food has been brought to the boil, and modernising a practical, centuries-old, cooking method, amid challenging conditions.
The Wonderbag Foundation established a base in Cairo on 6 January 2024, and within 2 weeks had their first Humanitarian size Wonderbags being used in kitchens in Rafah and transporting hot food on trucks up into the North of the Gaza Strip. Driven and executed by Wonderbag founder – Sarah Collins, she and her team managed in record time the landing and getting Wonderbags made in Cairo by Women-run sewing organisations and into use. The impact felt in all the kitchens with alternative cooking ways, has shown that humanitarian innovation is what the world needs in these catastrophic times, not only in Gaza but across the world.
Sarah Collins, no stranger to war, having worked alongside various partners in Ukraine, South Sudan, Syria and Somalia to name a few, shared a poignant update on Instagram: “As the situation in Gaza deteriorates, the desperation of people in these inhumane circumstances is beyond words. Thanks to the collaboration with WCK, we managed to get Wonderbags into Rafah. These Wonderbags are now being used to double the amount of food cooked in 150-litre pots, stretching fuel resources further and freeing up flames to cook more. This increase in capacity is crucial for feeding more people with the same amount of fuel.”
Collins adds, “In order to support people that have been displaced many times, the Wonderbag Foundation has established a team within Southern Gaza, and is now building additional kitchens and supporting families and a community of more than 50,000 people in the Mawasi area, funding shelter, building a community centre, and bare essentials for survival. We are hoping to get Wonderbags to people, so they are able to have individual Wonderbags to feed their families hot meals when required. Trying to restore some sort of dignity and routine in catastrophic circumstances”.
Wonderbag partners with Women community leaders leading relief efforts within communities and provides funding directly to these individuals who are the architects of social innovation within Gaza. They have over 100 volunteers they fund to search markets and support them in their endeavours. The Wonderbag Foundation is manufacturing Wonderbags in Gaza and are unable to rely on aid trucks coming in through Rafah crossing from Egypt.
By supporting the Wonderbag Foundation, people help amplify the reach and impact of this initiative. Each Wonderbag is a step toward energy conservation, hot meal provision, and the support of dignity for those in need. For more information, visit www.wonderbagworld.com/donate. The founder’s journey, Sarah Collins, can be followed and shared on Instagram @sarahcollinsnb and LinkedIn. Additionally, Sarah Collins is available for interviews, offering a unique opportunity to delve deeper into the story and impact of the Wonderbag Foundation Gaza Initiative.
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