By Uchenna Eletuo
Caritas skills acquisition trainees, on Friday displayed an energy saving Birkett stove, produced by the team to conserve energy and to preserve the environment.
The stove manufacturers were among the 208 the Caritas Nigeria trained and empowered in Ikorodu, Lagos State, under the Building Sustainable Livelihoods for Vibrant Communities (B-SLiC) programme.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that, the health and environment friendly stoves, were among the products B-SLIC beneficiaries exhibited during the empowerment and certificate award event held at Igbaga community Hall, Ikorodu.
The caritas Nigeria, is the brainchild of the Catholic Bishops Conference of Nigeria, through which the Church reachout to the communities for a better living. The humanitarian project, targets the poor and vulnerable in the underserved communities.
Trainees were trained on soap making, bead making, carpentry, aluminium fabrication and Birkett making.
Other items were bag and shoe making, hair dressing, catering, vehicle repair, phone repair and others.
The skills acquisition was tailored to trainees passion for a particular vocation to sustain the drive and make to make the business stable after the training and empowerment.
Speaking at the event, a master trainer for the programme, Mr Success Ojo, said that, twenty trainees undergo training in the energy saving stove, fabricated with aluminium, powered with birkett.
Ojo said that, the baked brikett, made of coconut shell, palm kernel shell and charcoal serves as fuel for the stove and boils foods quicker than kerosene, gas and firewood without smoke emission and do not darken pot.
According to him the idea behind the new invention is it is economical in comparison with kerosene and gas. One birkett that doesn’t cost up a thousand naira can last a family two weeks.
“Each of the trainees were assisted to produce six stoves and some brikett to begin business with. The brikett are made of local materials which they have acquired the knowledge to bake.
“This invention is going to change our cooking tradition soon when the people get to know more of it, its advantages over other means of energy and its eco friendly too.
“With good patronage trainees will be able in nearest future produce in commercial quantity. This will prevent tree logging, protect our ecosystem and make the society smarter,” he said.
The General Secretary, Catholic Secretariat of Nigeria, Rev. Fr. Michael Banjo, tasked the beneficiaries to make the best use of the start-up kits offered them to make a better living.
Banjo, described alm begging as an act that debases the human dignity, saying the aim of the Conrad Hilton Foundation U.S. sponsors of the project is to prevent people from alm begging rather to be self reliant.
The Catholic secretariat boss, charged the beneficiaries not to sale the items but to establish themselves with it and sustain the business and train others just as they have received the training .
