This ‘Eco Stove’ Does More Than Cook Your Dinner

Friday, January 30, 2015

In Uganda, more than 28 million people in the country are without electricity. To put that into perspective, the entire population of the beautiful landlocked east-central African nation is less than 38 million people.

To tackle energy poverty, many entrepreneurs are increasingly devising innovative solutions to explore feasible alternative power options. One of them is Rose Twine. Having grown up in both urban and rural areas of Uganda, Twine knew first hand the challenges faced by many homes when it came to cooking a simple meal. A passionate environmentalist, she decided to do something about it.

In 2009, she teamed up with her brother to found their Kampala-based company with their flagship product: the “eco stove.” The siblings’ green oven uses a type of volcanic rock combined with solar power to act as the fuel for the kitchen appliance.

Cook food, charge your phone

“The whole point was to … reduce deforestation, as well as the chores involved in finding firewood for the local person who can’t access electricity or gas,” explains Twine.

The stove has an internal air system that helps heat up the volcanic rocks, which are ready to cook when they turn bright red in color. When the device is switched off, the rocks cool and return to their natural state until the next use. Meanwhile, solar panels on the appliance charge up and help provide additional heat to the stove.

Alternatively, Twine explains, the appliance can also be used to provide an additional light source, charge cell phones, play a radio or even iron clothes through steaming.

Source: CNN (link opens in a new window)

Categories
Energy
Tags
renewable energy, solar