THE fuel prices continue to skyrocket and it seems like nothing can be done about it. However, Eirik Trondsen, a Norwegian investor in renewable energy, believes the solution to the problem is currently growing wild, neglected in the fields countrywide.
It is the jatropha carcus, a plant that is coming to be known as the diesel plant.Jatropha (kiloowa in Luganda), which is commonly used in the countryside as a hedge and/or support for vanilla plants, can be used to make fuel for lamps, cooking and running machines like cars and generators.
Trondsen says the idea is actually not new. During the 1970s, people in eastern Uganda used jatropha seeds for domestic lighting."They used to stick them onto a rod that acted as a wick. When you light the end of the rod, it burns just as a wick dipped in paraffin does," Trondsen says.It is estimated that jatropha`s earning potential will increase as fuel prices continue to rise and people seek alternative fuels.
(Lydia Namubiru)
Source: PETROLEUM BAZAAR
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