School develops solar powered cooking stove

HUYE – Kiduha Primary School, in Gishamvu Sector, has developed a modern solar energy powered stove for cooking. The facility was installed with technical assistance from a France based secondary school; Lycée Professionnel Castres in Toulouse. The stove that is worth over Rwf150 000 was unveiled last Tuesday. It will be used for the preparation of meals for over 500 students currently in the school. The school’s headmaster, Joseph Nshimiyimana, said that before acquiring the solar stove, the school relied on firewood to prepare student’s meals. “It was expensive for us, a cheaper alternative had to be sought for,” he said. “We thought of exploiting solar energy but the first stove we made was not powerful enough. So the French school came in and helped us improve its capacity,” the headmaster noted. He added that students played a key role during the planning and execution of the project. “We always teach students some basics of science and technology. With this project, we shifted from theory to practice; this is the result of our research in the field”, he added. Fernand Marmelo, a teacher at the French-based Lycée Professionnel Castres, noted that the new development means a break away from the use of firewood. “We hope the stove will ease the cooking and help to make student’s food available on time,” Marmelo said. Parents welcomed the achievement which they also consider to be a big move towards environmental protection. “We appreciate the efforts of the school and partners from France, our children will now get food on time and our environment will be protected,” Albert Muragizi one of the parents said. Ends