Need something really uplifting? Twin bros try to save Benin's trees with eco-friendly oven

[snagglepuss]

With hard work and a little elbow grease, two brothers are trying to make eco-friendly gestures a part of everyday life in the small West African nation of Benin. They may be on the right path with their latest invention: a multifunction oven that could help slow down the widespread deforestation in the country.

Franck and Francis have made a name for themselves in Cotonou thanks to their work with Zacoza, a pioneering group dedicated to coming up with new inventions to help protect the environment. The group focuses in particular on fighting back against the rampant deforestation that has stripped Benin bare and left only 30% of the land covered with trees.

As well as coming up with new inventions themselves, they travel the length and breadth of Benin showing their fellow compatriots how to consume less. Their flagship product is an eco-friendly multifunction oven that can be used not only at home, but also at work on an industrial scale. They've named the project 'Atingan', a word that means 'the tree is saved' in Fon, a dialect widely spoken in Benin. Instead of relying on wood, the oven relies on an entirely new type of fuel: palm kernel shells.


snip

Our oven can be used to carry out a bunch of tasks. Obviously it can be used to cook, but it can also be hooked up to a home's pipe network to heat up water or to heat up a house in general. Everyone can use our product as they wish: traders have even adapted bigger models to cook poultry using as little energy as possible!




http://observers.france24.com/en/20151109-twin-brothers-benin-trees-oven

[flamingdem]

1. Wonderful positive story

Benin is such a unique country and culture

[2naSalit]

2. I might want one of those!

It would be a nice addition to my survival kit along with my handcrank flashlight and solar powered lantern.

[zalinda]

3. They are doing a wonderful job

but they need money to bring down production costs. Very few can afford the cost of the oven, so only 800 have been sold. Maybe a sponsorship like the give a goat type project or a gofund me type project would help the twins.

Z