Fufu machine

Machine used in making fufu

Fufu is a popular staple food in West and Central Africa made out of cassava, plantains or yams. The fine dough-like paste in its final form is achieved only after meticulous pounding of the ingredients, for at least 30 minutes, done with the use of the traditional pestle and mortar. Most African families seek the help of male family members for the task of continuous pounding. Fine hand and eye coordination is also essential to reduce the risk of having one’s fingers pounded while kneading the dough in the pestle.

In recent years, easier ways of preparing fufu have been sought. An electric pounding machine has also been created that grinds cassava, yam and plantains in 1 minute. In August 2004, a prototype was built, using oxidized aluminum and an electric mortar with the strength of one horse-power; this prototype did not become commercially available until it was enhanced and launched by a group of lecturers at the Mechanical Engineering Department of the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST).

Professor Kwadeo Kesse, Dr Lawrence Ansong and the late R.E Doddoo, all lecturers of the Engineering Department at KNUST, were involved in the project. Recent developments have been made to the innovation: a solar module was introduced by the Kumasi Polytechnic (K-Poly). It was developed by its Electrical Engineering Department in collaboration with the Japan International Cooperation Agreement (JICA) More recent machines have an output of 120kg/hour.

Small businesses have started using such machines to reduce production time.