How to make an African energy saving mud stove

These stoves are used in Send Cow training in African countries as they use less wood and take smoke away from the cook. They are also a great idea for a design project for older pupils. You can make them over the period of a few days, depending on the weather, and with a bit of supervision they can be cooking their own food on it within one week. You could also set pupils the task of designing their own versions of the stove using various different materials and comparing how long it takes to boil a litre of water on the stove compared with how long it takes on an open fire.

Useful resource to provide students with an understanding of how mud stoves are used in Africa for cooking. The project of making and using the actual stove must be closely supervised.