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30.07.2011 General News

Arrival of Kof-Po Fufu Pounder

By A. Kofoya-Tetteh - Daily Graphic
Mr John Abban 3rd left, head of Engineering Department of the Koforidua Polytechnic, who assembled the machine, explaining a point on how the pounder operates to Prof. Reynolds Okai 2nd right, Rector of the polytechnic.Mr John Abban (3rd left), head of Engineering Department of the Koforidua Polytechnic, who assembled the machine, explaining a point on how the pounder operates to Prof. Reynolds Okai (2nd right), Rector of the polytechnic.
30.07.2011 LISTEN

The assembling of a mortar, a pestle and a pail of water for turning the mixture of cassava, plantain, yam or cocoyam into fufu in many homes brings about mixed feelings.

For those who will not pound but will eat, this process brings happiness, but for those who pound, it is gloom.

As soon as mothers start to pour the water off the cooked foodstuffs ready for pounding, some children begin to take cover, as it is not an easy job pounding fufu. But it is a great delight to eat with any soup of choice.

Even the deliberate refusal to eat fufu does not provide exemption from pounding, much to the chagrin of many such “pounders”.

In ‘chop’ bars, fufu pounding has provided employment for many young men.

They throw towels over their shoulders and pound according to rhythm as they wipe off the beads of sweat all over their bodies.

The pounding of fufu on a regular basis has led to the hardening of many palms, but fufu remains a major staple in many Ghanaian homes.

Not even the knowledge of the possibility of sweat in the paste can stop the eating of this delicacy.

In an effort to end the drudgery of preparing the dish by pounding with the pestle and mortar, the Koforidua Polytechnic has assembled a new machine.

The machine is capable of preparing fufu within five minutes with the texture being like that pounded with the mortar and pestle. It has been christened Kof-Po Fufu Pounder.

A machine of its type meant to prepare fufu in a more hygienic and less laborious way was invented at the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) about six years ago. It is, however, not available on the market.

Other attempts at eliminating pounding with the mortar and pestle have resulted in the production of fufu powder which is prepared over fire in just the same way that banku is prepared.

These attempts have, however, not been able to render the traditional mortar and pestle redundant.

For most Ghanaians, what is not pounded with the mortar and pestle cannot be fufu! For them, the slogan is: “Long live the mortar and pestle”.

The Kof–Po Fufu Pounder is said to be one of the technological breakthroughs of the polytechnic since its establishment about 15 years ago.

The machine is the result of a four-year research by a 45-year-old lecturer of the Department of Mechanical Engineering of the polytechnic, Mr John Abban.

It looks like an oven with a compartment where boiled cassava, yam or plantain is deposited. The machine, powered by electricity, then does the job.

It gives the user the option of pounding the cassava, yam or plantain separately, as is done traditionally, and then put together to obtain the desired blend.

After about three minutes of “pounding”, water is sprinkled on the paste to soften it to taste.

Mr Abban said he undertook the research with the aim of making the preparation of fufu easier and shorter.

“Fufu preparation, from time immemorial, has been with pounding with mortar and pestle using the natural strength which takes a lot of time. So I decided to produce the machine to make fufu preparation less burdensome,” he said.

The Rector of the polytechnic, Professor Reynolds Okai, commended Mr Abban for his ingenuity and said the polytechnic was also researching into producing a fufu pounding machine to be operated by hand.

He said with the fufu pounding machine , people would no longer depend on the pestle and mortar, which are obtained from wood, and that would go a long way to preserve the country’s forests.

He appealed to both local and foreign entrepreneurs to contact the polytechnic to see how best to carry out the mass production of the machine.

With regard to funding research work at the polytechnic, he said although it had many lecturers capable of inventing machines that would improve the lot of Ghanaians, the main problem was insufficient funding for research.

He explained that although the government had been funding the polytechnic’s research programmes, it had not been enough and appealed to entrepreneurs for support.

Prof Okai asked students to enrol in the Department of Engineering, which he said was well positioned to cater for more students.

The Kof-Po Fufu Pounder may be the relief that many fufu pounders are looking forward to.

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