Page 32 - issue 26

32 Technically Speaking

Pope Sylvester II.In later years the Jesuit movement They drove throughout the night to the work location, oblivious
was formed which specialized in teaching and of the elephant and lion territory they were traversing. Their
ministering. In the late 1970’s my colleague at the client / host realizing what they had just done told them
Rural Industries Innovation Centre (RIIC), Kanye, bluntly that the only thing that surpassed their madness was
Irish Priest Father McGarry, worked on Biodigesters their luck. On their way back a month later, they made sure
which generated clean gas from cow-dung. The gas that they would not face the possibility of being the lions’
was used in the kitchens of the Seminar Center at diner.
RIIC. Father McGarry, an Oxford Graduate, was also a
science teacher at Sepapitso Secondary School. They travelled during day light. Unfortunately, their trailer
axle broke. A group of San arrived and offered to help (one of
From STEM let’s now go to STEAM. STEAM stands them spoke Setswana). Our friends could not imagine what
for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and kind of help would be gotten from what they perceived to
Mathematics. The infusion of ART into STEM be stone-age people, but in their situation, they did not have
is in recognition of the fact it is folly to devise, much choice.
create or produce anything without due regard
to the consumer. ART introduces, aspects like the What the ancient culture people did were amazing.They
environment, sustainability, philosophy and ethics. twisted some fibres into ropes and tied up the trailer axle in
complex knots. After were done, my friends were assured that
STEAM means that we must link Technology with the trailer was good enough to reach Gaborone (and it did). My
Society. During my short period at RIIC Kanye, there friends offered them food and money. These San “Engineers”
was a research project on using mechanical means accepted and ate the food, but declined the money. These
to remove the husks or outer skin of sorghum i.e. San Engineers, obviously knew Structural Mechanics, an
“dehulling”. It was funded by the International Engineering subject dreaded my most University Students
Research and Development Centre (IDRC) Canada. but also in not accepting money, they taught us human values
or Botho, also called Ubuntu in Zulu or Unhu in the Shona
My Mechanical Engineering colleague, a Swiss Language of Zimbabwe.
Engineer by the name of Ulrich Oeller, was tasked to
do the design. He however declined saying he could Professor Chikuni is an Energy Expert and Engineering
Technology Research Centre) was born. “
not work on a machine that removed nutrients from Educator based at Botho University. He can be reached at
the produce. As a result, I fresh electrical engineering chikuni@yahoo.com
graduate was “tasked” to do the job. I could not
understand what the Swiss Engineer was fussing
about. I was just too keen to prove that I had enough
mathematical knowledge to design the required
barrel and knew about enough electrical engineering The infusion of ART
to design and install the Electric Motor Drive. But my into STEM is in
Swiss colleague was right, removing the outer skin of
sorghum, made it whiter and softer but was hardly recognition of the
ethical from a nutrition view point.
fact it is folly to
The machine worked and was supplied to the
Botswana Agricultural Marketing Board (BAMB). To devise, create or produce
counter the criticism, it was decided that means be anything without due
found to put the vitamins back. Thus the Botswana
Food Laboratory (now called National Food regard to the consumer. ART

introduces, aspects like the
Now to the Fourth Industrial Revolution. The “Patriot
on Sunday” article we more or less covered all the environment, sustainability,
industrial revolutions. We in Botswana are in the philosophy and ethics.
unique position to witness all these revolutions still
intact at the same time. Some friends of ours, involved
infrastructure security had a work opportunity on a
game reserve compound around Maun.

Issue 26 Feb-Mar 2020 www.engineermagazine.co.bw