Ethiopia trip: background

18-year-old student Tara McGrath devised a fuel efficient pressure stove which was entered into the 2008 BT Young Scientists Exhibition in January 2008. The following is an extract from Self Help's press release (linked below):

The design for a fuel efficient stove which also preserves nutrition while it cooks, has won a Kilkenny teenager a prestigious national award.

Leaving Certificate student Tara McGrath from Presentation Secondary School in Loughboy, Kilkenny, was presented with the Irish Aid sponsored ‘Science for Development Award’, at the BT Young Scientists Exhibition, last weekend.

The 18 year old picked up the award for her ‘Novel Hybrid Pressure Stove’, and also received a 2nd place citation in her Senior Science Category at the annual showcase event at the RDS in Dublin.

The special category ‘Science for Development Award’ is run by Self Help, in conjunction with Irish Aid, and seeks each year to recognise and reward a student project at the Exhibition which seeks to find innovative practical solutions to the problems and challenges faced by communities in the developing world.

As her winning prize Tara McGrath was presented with a perpetual trophy, and a travel bursary from Irish Aid worth €5,000, to enable her to travel with Self Help on a field visit to Africa to research her project idea further.