Zambian Invented Cooker Interests AU Chief

By Paul Shalala in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

A recent invention of a Zambian energy efficient cooker has attracted the attention of African Union Commission Deputy Chairman Erastus Mwencha who has praised it for its potential to help the poor.

A Lusaka based company Viatalite Zambia has invented a cooker which can boil beans and other food stuffs without necessarily being placed on fire or on a stove.

The cooker which is called ECOSAC, is made of Chitenge materials made in Zambia which are sown together and can boil beans until its ride.

Mr Mwencha was introduced to the product this morning when he toured exhibition stands where energy efficient products made by African and European companies are being showcased.

The AU chief said he was impressed by the invention saying such efforts should be able to help Africans move out of poverty.

This was on the sidelines of the Second High Level Summit of the Africa-EU Energy Partnership which is taking place at the AfricanUnion Headquarters in the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa.

And the inventor of the product John Fay says he hopes to make more of the product and help rural Zambians who have no access to electricity so that they can use the ECOSAC to cook food.

He says the first consignment of the products will hit the Zambian market at the cost of 80 kwacha in a month's time.

Mr FAY says the product has also been piloted in Senegal where it has been heavily embressed.

Vitalite Zambia is registered with the Patents and Companies Registration Agency (PACRA) whose energy efficient products have since been approved by the Ministry of Lands, Environment and Natural Resources.