Burn Design Lab

Work on the improved shea roaster project is in full swing. The BDL team is incredibly excited to announce that we will be bringing a new and improved field prototype to Tamale, Ghana in June to conduct field testing and gather input from the women that this roaster is designed to benefit. We eagerly look forward to listening to their feedback. The most important measure of our success is user adoption and the importance of the technology to the person using it. New intern Eric is busy testing the existing field prototype, while new mechanical engineering fellow Elaine is modifying the prototype design in SolidWorks to further improve the usability, efficiency and, emissions output of the improved roaster. Ergonomic improvements to the design that Elaine is working on include the addition of a door to make the loading and unloading heavy barrels of shea nuts much easier. -Anna Iisa, Cookstove Laboratory Fellow