Allan Kirwa and Doris Mutua from Kapsabet Secondary School for the Deaf were on Wednesday feted for the most innovative project in Energy.
They presented their project, smokeless house heater, and fuel briquettes, under the biological and ecological category.
They also received a cash prize of Sh5,000 each, a pair of headphones each while their teacher, Alice Okeyo received a cash prize of Sh5,000.
“It was a really fun and exciting experience for the students and we are happy,” Okeyo said.
The students made the items from waste paper.
Kirwa said they collected waste paper and placed them in a container filled with water for about three to four days.
The papers in turn became soft, which they later pounded to make the extract fine.
“We later squeezed out the water and sundried it,” Kirwa said.
He said that after the extract has dried, they broke them up into small pieces before drying and adding wax.
Mutua said they usually squeeze the pieces into a desired shape.
“We look for either candle, or bee wax, which we heat to melt to liquid form. We place the broken pieces inside the wax immediately and then it is ready. It does not have any smoke,” Kirwa said.
He said trashed and scattered waste papers around the school motivated them to come up with the idea as they posed a health hazard.
Kirwa also said their teacher has been supportive and motivated them.
He said their teacher facilitated the wax they used to make their eco-friendly idea.
Allan and Doris said that their whole idea only took them one week to come up with the briquettes.
The two presented their briquettes in different colours.
Allan said that colouring them made their project look very attractive.
Doris also said that the briquettes can burn for a longer period and can be used not only for heating but also for cooking.
“It is refined and treated therefore it can last for longer periods of time,” she said.
Kirwa and Mutua said once the briquettes have been cooled off, they can be re-lit and used again and again.
“Once all the briquettes are fully burnt, they turn to ash which is used in the farm,” Kirwa said.
The fifth annual YSK National Science and Technology exhibition had 450 students from across the country showcasing 198 innovations both physically and online.
Eighty of the projects were physically exhibited by 164 students at the Sarit Expo Centre in Nairobi.
The innovators presented projects in four main areas.
These are social and behavioural sciences, chemical, physical and mathematics sciences, biological and ecological sciences and the technology category.
Special awards were also given to students who had innovative solutions to different societal problems.
Apart from students, science, technology and innovation enablers also exhibited their different ideas that are already in the market.
