CONTACT:
Mark Schweiger; Sologear LLC
Ph.: 888-786-0612
E-Mail: mark@sologearcorp.com
New Ethanol Fuel Source Could Potentially Avert Humanitarian Tragedies in Refugee Camps Worldwide
MADISON, WI (December 3, 2008) — Dave Franchino, a founder of Madison consumer-products start-up company Sologear, LLC will present at Beyond Firewood: Exploring alternative fuels and energy technologies in humanitarian settings. Beyond Firewood, an international research conference organized by the Women’s Commission for Refugee Women and Children, will take place in New Delhi, India, on December 11—12, 2008.
Beyond Firewood is the first international conference investigating the use of alternative fuels to combat the violence against women in refugee or internally displaced persons (IDP) camps. Within IDP camps, women face incredible danger and brutality—rape, assault and murder—as they collect firewood for cooking or for sale. The conference introduces researchers and technical experts to humanitarian agencies. The overall conference goal is to address the safety of women in these settings.
Franchino and Sologear, LLC co-founders Chad Sorenson, Mark Schweiger and Tom Bush developed a proprietary solidified ethanol fuel that is a replacement for traditional charcoal in barbecue grilling. Sologear’s uGO ™ FlameDisk™ starts instantly and provides 40 minutes of quick, clean and safe heat when used in a conventional grill. At the end of the cook cycle there are no lingering dangerous hot coals, which further enhances user safety. The FlameDisk was introduced in a U.S. test market in the summer of 2008 and is slated for national expansion in the spring of 2009.
Franchino has been invited to introduce the ethanol fuel source to relief agencies attending the conference and explore the possibility of its use as an alternative to firewood in humanitarian settings. “We’re honored by the invitation to speak at Beyond Firewood and our company is hopeful that the FlameDisk™ technology might help address the rampant and horrific gender-based violence in and near IDP camps throughout the world,” says Franchino.
About Sologear: Sologear, LLC is a Madison, WI based company that is developing and marketing a line of revolutionary new products under the uGO brand name for the consumer grilling industry. See http://www.ugogrill.com for more information.
