Save80: Economic stove technology that thinks of Nigerian rural women

By Prince Osuagwu

Save80 Stove

Majority of Nigerian rural dwellers make use of kerosene or charcoal stove for cooking. Many others, also make outright use of firewood for the purpose, but this has a negative impact on the environment as forests have to be constantly cut down to meet the demand.
The cooking stove, is not even better. What with the problem of either high cost or scarcity of kerosene in many rural areas. However, in the rapidly changing world of technology, anything is just possible.
Now, technology has enabled the invention of a cooking stove, Save80, that uses just five pieces of wood but cooks the quantity of food that would have ordinarily required more than 80 times of that quantity of wood.
Over 3,000 of the stoves are said to have been sold in Nigeria so far, meaning that over 3, 000 Nigerian women have been saved of the high cost of kerosene or time and energy associated with cooking on kerosene or charcoal stoves.
The stove has inbuilt metallic element which burns with the 5 pieces of woods and a set of wigs. The  magic of the new invention is that after the woods have burnt out, the metallic element doubles and retains the generated heat which could be used to cook large quantity of food.

A Northern Nigerian rural woman testing the stove

The stove was originated by a locally based German company called Climate Management Limited and  commissioned by the United Nations for use in refugee camps. But today, it is used by over 40,000 people in Africa, including Nigerians.
The new invention boils about 8 litres of water in 15 minutes. Free Talk Africa can  reveal that the stove uses 80 per cent less of the wood or charcoal used to run an ordinary stove and produces 80 percent higher the quantity of energy by a kerosene stove.
The Stove produces no fumes and can allow in-room cooking without the air pollution and emissions of gaseous substances. It does not induce the headache that usually associate with cooking on charcoal or kerosene stove.