Innovation: Iganga Secondary School creates simple, effective charcoal cooler
Asio, an S.6 student, explained how it works: “The fridge has charcoal. When warm air blows, the charcoal traps it, leaving the inner space cool.”
One of the innovations at the expo is the zero-energy cooler, a creation by Iganga Secondary School, which cools the school’s vegetables using sustainable methods. (Photos by Herbert Musoke)
________________
Looking for something new this year in farming? Come to the Harvest Money Expo for a bunch of exciting new ways of doing farming in a profitable way.
This 10th expo is taking place now and throughout the weekend at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds, where Vision Group has teamed up with sponsors such as the Kingdom of Netherlands, Engineering Solutions (ENGSOL), Tunga Nutrition, aBi, Pearl Bank, and Uganda Development Corporation. Other sponsors are Heifer International, Roke Telecom, Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries (MAAIF) and Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).
One of the innovations at the expo is the zero-energy cooler, a creation by Iganga Secondary School, which cools the school’s vegetables using sustainable methods. Suzan
Asio, an S.6 student, explained how it works: “The fridge has charcoal. When warm air blows, the charcoal traps it, leaving the inner space cool.”
To ensure that the fridge does not heat up, Asio said they pour water on the charcoal to keep it damp so that it can easily absorb the warm air efficiently.
How it is made
Simple local materials make this fridge an efficient innovation. Martha Apako, an agriculture teacher at Iganga Secondary School, says the charcoal is sealed on all sides of the wooden box, leaving the temperatures cool at 21 degrees lower than the normal temperature. Inside, it is 5 degrees - quite cold.
She added: “All these are projects of our club: Young Future Farmers of Africa. These children go home and do the projects, from which they earn money.”
