What if your next corporate event left something truly useful behind? With the Solar Oven, one of the most original green formats in our catalogue of over 130 experiences, teams do more than collaborate — they design, build, and give back. This eco-sustainable team building activity combines creativity, problem solving, and corporate social responsibility (CSR) into a single, engaging 2-hour experience, available both indoors and outdoors.
The Challenge: Building with Your Hands (and the Sun)
The heart of the activity is as simple as it is fascinating: each team receives recycled and reclaimed materials and must design and assemble a working solar oven — one capable of concentrating sunlight to generate heat. There’s no magic formula, no step-by-step manual to follow. Participants must think together, experiment, make mistakes, and adjust their approach. It’s problem solving in its most hands-on, immediate form.
The technical challenge — figuring out how to angle reflective surfaces, how to insulate heat, how to make the structure stable — becomes the perfect trigger for natural leadership to emerge, along with active listening and genuine teamwork. No specific skills required: just a willingness to get involved.
A CSR Experience That Goes Beyond the Day
What makes the Solar Oven truly unique in the Italian corporate team building landscape is its tangible impact. Once the activity is complete, the finished ovens can be donated to schools, local communities, or non-profit organisations, turning a corporate training moment into a measurable act of social responsibility.
This dimension — building something that will actually serve others — adds a layer of meaning rarely found in traditional activities. Participants don’t just return to the office with pleasant memories: they return with the awareness of having contributed to something greater. For companies with ESG goals or structured CSR programmes, the Solar Oven is a powerful tool for both internal and external communication.
Why It Works: Collaboration, Skills and Shared Values
With 22 years of experience in the industry and offices in Rome and Milan, at TeamBuilding.it we know that the most effective activities are those that put people in a position to do, not just to listen. The Solar Oven is built on exactly this principle.
During the design and assembly phases, real group dynamics come to the surface: who knows how to coordinate, who brings creative insights, who can translate an abstract idea into concrete action. All of this takes place in a relaxed, non-competitive environment where the team’s success depends entirely on the quality of their cooperation.
The format is particularly well-suited for professionals with an interest in environmental issues — engineers, sustainability teams, HSE functions — but it adapts perfectly to any corporate group looking to strengthen their sense of belonging through an authentic green experience.
How to Organise Your Solar Oven Event
The activity has a standard duration of 2 hours and can be set up in indoor spaces (with artificial light for the design phase) or outdoor spaces, where the solar component takes centre stage. It works for groups of various sizes and integrates easily into broader training days or multi-activity corporate events.
Our expert facilitators manage every phase: from the initial briefing to the final debrief, including technical support throughout the build. The goal isn’t just the finished product — it’s the experience the group lives while creating it.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do participants need any technical experience to take part in the Solar Oven activity? No, the activity is designed to be accessible to everyone. Facilitators guide teams through the design and assembly phases without requiring any background in engineering or physics.
Where are the solar ovens donated after the event? The finished ovens can be donated to schools, non-profit organisations, or local communities, in agreement with the organising company. The recipient can be chosen by the company itself, helping to strengthen ties with the local area.
Can the format be run both indoors and outdoors? Yes. The Solar Oven works in open-air spaces — where participants can test their oven using real sunlight — as well as indoors, where the building phase remains fully engaging and meaningful.
How long does the activity last? The standard duration is approximately 2 hours, but the format can be integrated into broader team building programmes or full-day corporate training events.
Ready to bring the Solar Oven to your company? Get in touch to find out how we can organise this and any of the other 130+ experiences in our catalogue. We build teams that work.
To protect participants’ privacy, the images were recreated with AI based on real events.
