With the fest right around the corner, the Oasis English Press sat down with Achyuthan Raghavan, the Coordinator of the Renewable Energy Club, to learn more about the club’s work and their Oasis event.

Achyuthan explained that the club has traditionally focused on research—particularly around climate change, renewable energy solutions, and waste management methods. However, the club is now in the process of transitioning toward a more technology-oriented approach. 

For Oasis ’25, the club is set to host Solar Cooking, an event they have been conducting for several years. With the help of Prof. Manoj Kumar Soni, the club uses solar cookers from the Heat Science Lab—specifically, two parabola-shaped and one circular. Their on-site work would consist of them baking pizza and cake, and later donating their proceeds to Nirmaan.

Achyuthan added that the stall timings were decided keeping in mind the availability of sunlight—it would run from 9:00 A.M. in the morning and last until late afternoon. ‘The preparation for the event isn’t so tedious,’ he said, owing his remark to Prof. Soni, who would be providing all the necessary ingredients. Prof. Manoj Soni would be providing them with homemade pizza base and batter, dairy from Amul, and vegetables. Their main job, according to Achyuthan, would be to set up the stall and the solar cookers in an optimal spot at Krishna Parking. The cooking would be done live, showcasing the process to the customers. According to him, their cake batches almost always sold out, and the pizzas were prepared on order. ‘It takes about 10-15 minutes for each batch, but with good sunlight, 7-10 minutes will do the job,’ he added. ‘The Solar Cooking stall by REC is very popular. People call me before Oasis to ask if we are doing it this time too.’

As Coordinator, his job ranged from allotting time slots to his workforce to bringing in customers to the stall. He commented that the experience he found the most interesting was witnessing the people’s fascination with seeing how a day-to-day chore could be done in a renewable fashion. ‘Even though most people have heard or read of it, seeing it actually happen wows everyone, like the sun can actually do that!’ he said.

The target of the club is to bring awareness to the people about the availability of renewable options. In parting, Achyuthan stated that he felt that people should not be forced to do it; rather, they should be made aware of the impact that their actions could have on the environment, and the things that they could do to make a difference.