24-year old graduate makes mosquito repellent

SUNDAY VISION

By Vicky Wandawa

He turns on the bulb and in about thirty seconds, the room is slowly engulfed with a sweet refreshing scent of eucalyptus. There’s more to this scent than smelling good. It repels mosquitoes. He maybe only 24, but Julius Nyanzi, a science graduate, is the brain behind the unique mosquito repelling system.

Last year, Nyanzi graduated from Makerere University with second upper honours in Bachelor of Science, which he confidently says could have been a first class degree wasn’t he splitting his time between lectures, running a poultry farm and working as a research consultant with a tissue culture laboratory.

Starting Prof Bio research

He vowed to himself that after graduation, he would not seek employment. He wanted to delve further into plant research, discover and build a brand name, Prof Bio research.

He shared his vision with his grandfather, who offered him about two acres of land in Masanafu, along Hoima road, where he grew an assortment of plants, including stevia.

Stevia is a plant whose leaves can be crushed to get a sweetener or sugar substitute. He wanted to start by selling green sugar from stevia, but did not have a machine to crush the leaves. But in his mother’s kitchen, he found the solution to his dilemma.

Nyanzi demonstrates how he extracts oil from eucalyptus leaves. Photo/Juliet Kasirye

“I borrowed a mortar and pestle, crushed the leaves, packaged them in 100gm sachets which I sold at sh10,000. He also sold stevia seedlings at sh5000 and between sh1500 to sh3000 to multi purchasers.

The idea of the mosquito repellant

Nyanzi is a news junkie. Last year, one news item caught his attention, the rising statistics of deaths from malaria, especially the children. He knew the solution lay somewhere in a plant!

“I started my research on eteete or citronella plant leaves to get a repellant. In history, our fore fathers used this plant to repel mosquitoes. However, in the process of picking the leaves, I came across this particular species of eucalyptus that had a strong lemon like scent, stronger than citronella,” says Nyanzi. And that is when he changed his mind to try out a mosquito repellant from eucalyptus.

Nyanzi became grew more excited about the project when literature review he embarked on revealed that similar research, about the lemon eucalyptus as a mosquito repellant had been done by the Center for Diseases Control (CDC).

Extracting the eucalyptus oil

Nyanzi had approximately sh3,000,000 in savings from selling green sugar, which he used to purchase a boiler/extractor. He distills (the process of extracting oil) the leaves for about eight hours and then spends an hour separating the oil and water.

The first mosquito repellant system

Nyanzi developed a system whereby a candle hits up a mixture of water and eucalyptus oil, releasing a mosquito repelling scent.

Nyanzi demonstrates how the lighting system works. Photo/Juliet Kasirye

A candle sits on the base of a small hour glass-like shaped vessel, which he refers to as a dispenser. In the upper part of the dispenser is a dish like provision, which holds water. In the water he places about five drops of eucalyptus oil. He then lights the candle, which heats up the water and oil, hence diffusing the air with a sweet eucalyptus scent.

He explains that mosquitoes detest sweet aromas and that is why they are repelled by the lemon eucalyptus scent. “It’s powerful,” he says about the system. “It kills 90% of the mosquitoes,” he excitedly adds.

An enhanced ‘bulb’ version of the system

Nyanzi may as well have been satisfied with the candle system but was challenged to do better by one of his former professors, Prof Fred Afunaduula.

“Prof Afunaduula told me that whatever I innovate, I should strive to make better. Some people find candles unsafe, or are simply uncomfortable with the smoke they produce,” says Nyanzi.

Nyanzi displays his products that are made from natural plants

With the enhanced version of the system, instead of a candle, the dispenser is fitted with a bulb (usual size used in houses) within its base. The vessel also has a wire cable which can be plugged into a socket. Along the wire is a regulator with a knob; hence the heat from the bulb can be regulated.

The ‘capillarity’ version

He also used recycled wine bottles, which he cuts into half. He then provides a base for the conical part of the bottle. Here, he pours water and adds eucalyptus oil. He rests about five porous sticks (the kind used to take malwa) into the bottle and the sticks will absorb the contents by capillarity. After about thirty minutes the sticks are turned upside down leaving the part initially in the water and oil exposed. This gives off a sweet aroma.

Nyanzi extracts his products from eucalyptus trees.

This system however he admits is not as strong as the other system, because there is no heat, which is a catalyzer.
Any health side effects

The aroma has no health side effects. Nyanzi says that aromas that cause allergic attacks, for example those from perfumes, are a result of ethanol.

“Ethanol irritates the mucus membranes. I do not add ethanol to this eucalyptus oil. Actually, eucalyptus is used to treat asthmatic attacks and can also be used as a nasal decongestant. That why it’s used in several cough mixtures,” Nyanzi explains.

The costs

The different mosquito repellant systems go for between sh5000 and sh70,000.

The ‘expatriate market’

Nyanzi displays and sells his products at different exhibitions around the city.
 
“Compared to electronic and print media, exhibitions are cheaper. For example, stalls on average go for sh500,000, and yet the products sell out,” says Nyanzi.

He also exhibits at international schools, free of charge, and many of his clients are expatriates.

“70% of the expatriates in Uganda have seen my products and their purchasing power is really high. They are interested because my products are natural. I even show them the plants. And with my academic background in sciences, they know I am an authority,” Nyanzi explains.

“I have about 10 markets in different places in a week. This makes my products accessible,” says Nyanzi.

Nyanzi got his first client at the American embassy.

“The American embassy has holds a farmer’s market often, where they empower the local people by buying their products,” says Nyanzi. He sells oils to massage and steam bath parlor.

Proceeds

“The money I earn from selling my products as well as seedlings sustains me; I have a team of six. I give them lively hood. They do the processing and collection of raw materials,” says Nyanzi.

Future plans

He hopes to buy a bigger boiler at sh100m.