High school students adopt traditional use of cow dung fuel to make briquettes

Cow dung briquettes showcased by Kilembwa high school students in Mwala, Machakos County during the science extravaganza. [Courtesy]

Cow dung is used as a source of energy in many communities. Traditionally, children and women were tasked with collecting cow dung from fields.

It would be thrown into the fire to boost the firewood because, if used on its own, would produce a lot of smoke.

This idea is now coming back through an innovative idea by some high school students from Kilembwa in Mwala Sub-County in Machakos County who used cow dung to make cooking briquettes. They observed that the briquettes produce less smoke and Carbon IV Oxide, a poisonous gas.

The students showcased this during a science extravaganza organised by Kenya Connect, a local organisation in the area under the theme, "Be a Climate Change Champion".

The students said the innovation is their way of contributing to the fight against the devastating impact of climate change by looking at solutions that are practical and sustainable.

The students who had several briquettes with them explained that they mixed cow dung with water to make a thick paste and then rolled it into small briquettes using sawdust or dry grass to increase air pores for ease of combustion.

The briquettes are then dried under the sun for at least two or three days and are then used for cooking using an open cooker, explaining that if the normal charcoal cooker is used, then there would be less oxygen in circulation making the briquettes produce a considerable amount of Carbon IV Oxide.

According to them, many people have been cutting down trees for firewood and charcoal as fuel causing massive destruction to the environment.

"The process of burning the charcoal also releases a lot of smoke and Carbon IV Oxide that damages the environment, and that is why we have come up with this idea to save our trees because we want to be a part of the solution but not the pollution," Truphosa Mutua, their teacher at Kilembwa Secondary School explained.

She said the briquettes produce a considerably lower amount of Carbon IV Oxide than charcoal hence the need for researchers to come up with a cooker that can easily sieve out this dangerous gas that if exposed to the atmosphere can damage the Ozone layer.

James Musyoka, the Director and Co-founder of Kenya Connect said that the extravaganza, which was started last year, is meant to nurture students' interest in science subjects whereby this year they decided to involve them in the talk about climate change.

"We want our students to appreciate and love science because every day we live science and now that we are talking about climate change, the young people have decided to take part by showcasing their innovations with the understanding that the impact of climate change can be felt by all," he said.

He believes that the student's ideas ought to be scaled up, adding that Kenya Connect did not only provide the necessary materials to come up with the projects but will also partner with them in scaling up their products as well as educating them on the need to patent their ideas.

"These students' projects are very innovative in addressing environmental and climatic issues so I call upon the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Trade and Industrialization and the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs to support and develop the student's projects which can be used to mitigate climate change and also support the local industry for income generation," Mr Musyoka said.

"Having such projects by students brings about a holistic approach to address concerns such as involving everyone in climate change talk," says Kenneth Monjero, the Founder of Fun and Education Global Network (FEGNe). "The majority of our population in Kenya are young and this is one way of engaging them not only to talk to them or have
they think about climate change but also partner with them in coming up with innovations that address climate change issues."

According to him, the Global South has the resources and the minds to handle the issues that concern the communities, adding that the young innovators are capable of coming up with equally quality prototypes as the learners elsewhere across the globe.

He urged the Ministry of Education, the county governments and researchers to go to the grassroots and engage the students from primary schools, nurture them and scale up such prototypes.

"Involving students in climate change is the best approach to address climate change because they live in the communities and understand best what is ailing the community and can come up with the best solutions for the community," Mr Musyoka said.