Sarah Collins’ Wonderbag offers fuel-efficient cooking, empowering South African women and enhancing environmental sustainability.
Sarah Collins, a South African businesswoman and innovator, invented Wonderbag to tackle the country’s energy poverty. The product offers a fuel-saving cooking solution that empowers women and supports environmental sustainability.
South Africa confronts a severe energy poverty crisis, particularly in rural areas, where approximately 600,000 households lack reliable and affordable electricity for cooking, heating, and lighting. Despite government objectives of universal electricity access by 2025, energy remains unaffordable for many low-income families, who allocate up to 27% of their income on fuel. Dependence on wood and coal for cooking contributes to indoor air pollution and associated health issues.
Therefore, in 2008, Sarah Collins introduced the Wonderbag, a non-electric, heat-retention cooker designed to mitigate the challenges posed by erratic electricity supply and high fuel costs. The Wonderbag allows food to continue cooking for up to 12 hours after being brought to a boil, using insulation to retain heat. The idea is rooted in traditional cooking methods Collins observed during her upbringing in rural South Africa and echoes the hay box concept used during World War II.
Collins has a varied background, including working in community development, running NGOs, and starting businesses such as a horseback riding safari venture. She has also been active in political and grassroots movements to improve the lives of impoverished women. Educated in South Africa and the UK, her work has focused on developing solutions supporting sustainable livelihoods.
The Wonderbag is constructed using chipped foam insulation encased in African-patterned fabric and secured with a drawstring. It is marketed as a tool that reduces cooking fuel use by up to 90%, shortens the time spent gathering firewood reportedly by as much as six hours daily, and contributes to lower household carbon emissions.
The company operates under a buy-one-donate-one model to scale its reach, with over 600,000 households across Africa receiving a Wonderbag. The business also integrates carbon credit trading and social impact financing to subsidise production and distribution costs.
“I love using this bag if I need to transport food, keeping it hot or cold. Besides tailgate parties, I can see using this for picnics, covered dish events, camping, or any time that I make a soup,” says Pamela Shank, highlighting the Wonderbag’s versatility for various occasions.
Sarah Collins has showcased her work at international forums, including TEDx and the World Economic Forum. The Wonderbag has also garnered recognition from Time magazine, which listed it among its Top 50 Genius Companies.
While the company has set an ambitious target of selling 10 million units of its products, it continues to expand its footprint within and beyond the African market, positioning its offerings as a practical solution in ongoing discussions about clean energy access, economic empowerment, and climate resilience.
