The Pepper Eater Project

About Us

The Pepper Eater Project originated in Stanford’s Entrepreneurial Design for Extreme Affordability class at the Hasso Plattner Institute of Design in 2009. The team included Samuel Hamner, Megan Kerins, Siobhan Nolan, and Scott Sadlon, a group of Stanford Engineering and Business grad students.

After successfully conducting an on-the-ground feasibility study in September 2009, Sam and Scott are continuing as an independent design and strategy team with the goal of implementing the Pepper Eater in Ethiopia and other developing markets. Most recently, we have partnered with Compatible Technology International to help us achieve that goal.

Current Team

Samuel Hamner

Sam is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford as part of the Neuromuscular Biomechanics Lab. He traveled to Ethiopia twice in 2009 for the need-finding and feasibility trips, where he interviewed users during field testing, researched local manufacturing facilities, and established a network of potential project partners.

Scott Sadlon

Scott earned his Master of Science in Mechanical Engineering at Stanford in June 2009. He established an assembly facility for the Berkeley-Darfur fuel-efficient cooking stove in North Darfur, Sudan in 2009 over a two-month period. During this time, he successfully managed relationships between the Darfur Stoves Project organization in the US, Oxfam America offices in Boston and Sudan, Oxfam’s local NGO partners, and local employees. Scott recently returned from a fact-finding trip to Haiti to explore the current needs for efficient solid-fuel cook stoves in the country’s reconstruction efforts.