•He says it seeks to promote the use of biodegradable solid waste materials as an alternative to wood fuel and charcoal.
•Odundo says many households still use either charcoal or firewood to cook, hence the rising consumption of wood fuel and charcoal.
Image: FAITH MATETE
A machine fabricator in Alendu, Kisumu, has discovered a new way to conserve the environment through modern solar-powered rice husk cookstoves.
Alex Odundo, the Olex-techno enterprise director, says the invention will be a gamechanger.
The enterprise produces ecosystem friendly cookstoves which rely on unused waste materials as biofuel.
This helps save the environment from encroachment that comes as a result of deforestation.
He says it seeks to promote the use of biodegradable solid waste materials as an alternative to wood fuel and charcoal.
Odundo says many households still use either charcoal or firewood to cook, hence the rising consumption of wood fuel and charcoal.
On most occasions, rice husk which is the outermost layer of the paddy grain usually separated from the rice during milling is wasted or dumped near the mills.
Most farmers after clearing their rice fields, struggle with the waste that ends as heaps some near the mills.
However, people have realised the benefits and can be used in various products such as building materials, fertilisers and fuel.
How it works
When cooking, the cookstove is fixed with a small electric fan which is then connected to a solar panel that gives it the power to propel the fan to regulate oxygen levels.
The fan is there to help the stove burn the rice husk without smoke, so there is a strong fire.
The cookstove can alternatively be connected to a rechargeable battery especially at night to generate the energy needed to drive the mortar hosting the fun, this is when there is no sunlight.
“I am confident this invention if fully embraced by the community, will help in the reduction of environmental threats, ” Odundo said.
The stove is made from either stainless steel or metals and crafted into various types according to sizes.
It comprises domestic size, hotel size and institutional sizes that can be used in schools or any other size depending on the users.
Odundo aims to reach schools, hotels, hospitals and individual households with the project.
Individual’s household cookstoves retail from between Sh2,500 and Sh 5000 depending on the size. They contain a solar panel and a small battery.
“We normally sell the rice husk stoves in Ahero close to the irrigation schemes because we get a lot of waste from there. They can use these stoves in burning those husk they currently see as waste,” he says.
“The already burnt material (husk) which is the biochar, can be used to make fertilisers.”
Odundo says the biochar business also creates employment.
Betha Christine uses the rice husk stove, which she says is the best for her fries business.
She says she has been using the cookstove for more than two months and she is making profits.
Christine says the cookstove is fast, efficient and cheap.
“Using this cookstove is cheaper as compared to charcoal or wood, in a day, she uses a bag of 90kgs to prepare two pales full of potatoes,” she says.
“I purchase a bag of 90kg rice husk at Sh50 unlike when I use to purchase wood worth 300 per day meaning am saving much at the same time keeping the environment clean including my surrounding”.
Christine says the rice cookstove is faster, helps keep the fire burning quite long and one needs to add husk through the funnel and the propeller does its work.
She says it is less toxic to the environment and produces a stronger fire that lasts long during cooking time.
Currently, Kilimo Trust, a nonprofit organization that focuses on agricultural development on regional, trade, nutrition and food is implementing a two-year project.
The project is dubbed Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Rice Initiative for Climate-Smart Agriculture in partnership with IKEA foundation of Netherlands(funders), public and private sector.
The project aims to increase the adoption of sustainable rice production practices for 5,000 smallholder rice farmers and other value chain actors in Kenya and Uganda.
The project has promoted the use of innovative technologies and management practices for sustainable rice farming systems, generated empirical evidence of developed and tested business models in the use of products and by-products of rice farming systems to drive scaling up the models.
Anthony Mugambi, the project team leader, Kenya, says the number of fast-food vendors and farmers using the rice husk utility stoves is 57, within Nyanga'nde in Nyando subcounty 32 and 25 satellites shopping centres.
He said they want the husk to benefit the counties and farmers in areas where rice is grown.
Mugambi while presenting during the R4Icsa project’s learning and reflection in Kisumu said the number of innovations promoted in the project includes husk stove prototype, super burner, bio-effective microbes, biochar gasification, and biochar fortification amongst others.
Some of the targeted beneficiaries include 2,000 farmers in Kenya, prototype fabricators and by-product handlers (carbonators, biochar fortifiers and utilisers, animal feed processors).
“Amongst others, the project sought to promote the adoption of the SRP standards to reduce the environmental footprint associated with rice production and train rice farmers how to use the would-be waste, rice by-products (straws, husks, bran),” he said.
He said the rice production and/or milling process produces many by-products, particularly straws, husks and bran.
However, utilisation is curtailed by limited awareness of the benefits of rice by-products, limited research and dissemination within the EAC on the economic and other benefits of investing in rice by-products and technologies not readily available.
During the project implementation feasibility studies to provide evidence-based data to the private sector, policymakers, researchers and farmers on the economic viability of the rice by-products was done.
This will create awareness and enhance the utilisation of the by-products for economic and environmental benefits within the region.
Edited by Kiilu Damaris