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.

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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.