ENVIRONMENT | SAVING | STOVES 

KAMPALA - Hassan Kabunga, a resident of Kawempe, is not counting losses for spending two days learning during the Harvest Money Expo 2022.

He says among the many things he learnt is how one can save on cooking using volcanic stones and solar cooking stoves.

“I didn’t know that I could save almost 90% of my income using this new and clean technology,” he said as he walked away with a solar stove worth sh750,000.

According to Kabunga, solar energy stoves are to benefit low-income earners.

According to Yusuf Zziwa, an exhibitor at the Expo and the director of Ebenezer Energy Saving Stoves Limited, this type of technology is here to save both the environment and people’s health.

“These stoves are built in a way that they do not cause harm to health as well as not contributing to destruction of the environment in need of charcoal,” he said.

The stove is made out of clay (interior) and a metal body and saves the environment from pollution. (Credit: David Lukiiza)

How it is designed

The stove is made out of clay (interior) and a metal body.

It is also built with a small solar system that is operated on solar to allow adjustments of cooking temperature.

To allow cooking, instead of using charcoal, the stove uses volcanic stones and charcoal dust which emits clean fuel.

Operating the stove 

• Put six volcanic stones on the stove with charcoal dust to allow lighting of the stove.
• Make heat adjustments depending on the food you are preparing using the knob on the inbuilt system to increase heat or put off the heat in the stove.

Price

• A stove ranges from sh750,000 – sh5m depending on the size.
• A 5kg of volcanic stone costs sh300,00 which works for months.

Dos and Don’ts

• Do not use charcoal instead of volcanic stones.
• Avoid using firewood.
• Make sure you are nearby while cooking to avoid burning food as the stove gives blue.
• Do not pour water on the Volcanic stones but instead adjust the knob to switch off the solar fun.