One good flint obtained through outdoor recreation outlets can be used to start fires for many years. The tinder is any very light, easily inflamed material such as loose cotton or lint from a clothes drier. Pull apart a small fluff of tinder and place it on a nonflammable surface. Brace the bottom of the flint against the surface at the edge of the tinder and firmly scratch the flint downward several times. Cotton from a single plant will serve for a very long time.
Some loose cotton is available in cotton balls, some is used to package medicines.
Store tinder in a closed container after drying well in a solar oven. Use an old cloth, sack or paper bag to wrap each pot before placing it in the retained heat cooker. In addition, have a designated area, either covered with newspapers or with a surface easily cleaned, for setting pots down after food has finished cooking. Before starting to wash sooty pots, rub each pot bottom with ashes and newspaper, or sand and weeds, etc. Or place a pot bottom under a very small dribble of water and scrub.