Growing demand for rocket barns in Malawi

Maeve marketing manager Mbumba Chigalu says there is a huge demand of fuel efficient rocket barns and already there are expressions of interest to replicate the technology throughout southern Africa, Asia and Latin America.

According to Chigalu, Maeve builds fuel-efficient rocket barns for African smallholder farmers, which offer not only value for money but significant social and environmental benefits.

“To date, Maeve has built over 1 000 rocket barns in Central and Northern Malawi with each barn saving nine tonnes of wood per season. There is limited awareness of the technology in Malawi and there is market for up to 10 000 rocket barns in Malawi. These barns are on demand in southern Africa, Asia and even Latin America,” says Chigalu.

She says that the traditional rocket barn uses up to 36 cubic metres of firewood per hectare when curing and takes eight days for the cycle to complete whereas the improved rocket barn uses only eight cubic meters of firewood and takes three days to cure.

“Over the past three years, we have managed to disseminate rocket barns in the districts of Dowa, Ntchisi, Kasungu and Rumphi giving employment to over 50 builders, two carpentry teams, six metal workers around Northern and Central region of Malawi. Current capacity can be increased from 150 to 300 rocket barns per month.

Apart from rocket barns Maeve also produces and promotes the usage of Chitetezo Mbaula in rural and urban areas.

Chitetezo Mbaula is a ceramic stove made from locally sourced clay and it saves one tone of wood per household per year and also has smoke reduction when cooking.

“One can also substitute wood fuels with crop residue, it is safer and faster than three-stone open fire and it is an income generating activity (IGA) for women. Chitetezo stoves have been promoted in all regions of Malawi, but especially in the Central Region.

“From 2011-2013, Maeve has sold more than 5 000 stoves. Our biggest customer so far has been Limbe leaf who disseminated 3 000 stoves to their staff in December 2012. The end-users are trained in kitchen and wood management to ensure proper use of the stove,” says Chigalu.

” This stove, made from locally available materials, is used in institutions that have a number of mouths to feed at a given time and Maeve custom builds the stove to meet the needs of the institution,” said Chigalu.

She says that the fuel-efficient technologies have been developed to improve energy efficiency for institutional and industrial practices. The fixed institutional cook stove can be custom built for the needs of any institution. The pot sizes range from 45 litres to 200 litres depending on feeding needs.

The stove does not require sophisticated parts or tools.Once the cook stove is sheltered from the elements, it can be maintained for many years.