Third-year bachelor of engineering technology student John Eteuati, originally from Samoa, received Otago Polytechnic funding for his project, to create a prototype he hoped could be manufactured in Pasifika communities.
Mr Eteuati said he was inspired to design the stove after seeing the amount of waste and harmful emissions which came from cooking food in an umu - known in New Zealand as a hangi.
The new stove used about 15kg of firewood to cook the same amount of food cooked in an umu using 70kg to 80kg of firewood.
''It's a huge saving of resources. Its design will optimise burning efficiency, drastically reducing the amount of wood fuel required, and the emission of harmful gases and smoke produced through traditional methods of open fire cooking,'' he said.
Importantly, the stove could be constructed locally using conventional building materials available in the Pacific Islands.
''It involves minimal capital cost, will be adaptable to various situations and is simple to operate and maintain,'' he said. Mr Eteuati will be gifting his project outcome to his church community, Ekalesia Faapotopotoga Kerisiano Samoa (EFKS) Dunedin at a ceremony today.
During the ceremony, Otago Polytechnic acting chief executive Matt Carter will officially hand over the project to the EFKS community.
