Enlightened Energy.

A poor village is light years ahead in solar energy.

LIKE A SCHOOL SCIENCE EXPERIMENT, EIGHT ORANGE BOXES SIT in a line atop a staggered row of tables. Wide flaps inlaid with metallic sheets open to the sky, reflecting light into the boxes' dark interiors. Occasionally a woman moves down the row, pausing to make adjustments.

The eight vividly colored boxes are solar ovens at aptly named Restaurant Solar, the only eating establishment in this village of 300 inhabitants in northern Chile's arid Valle de Elqui. The ovens are a novelty in a nation with just 10,00