08 Aug 2018

The ‘BIUST soap’ as simply called by Palapye natives and those from surrounding areas is proving to be a household name.

The bathing soap is an invention by the Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST) made using tallow or waste oil. Tallow is usually considered a waste in slaughterhouses and butcheries.

Head of Chemicals, Materials and Metallurgical Engineering Department at BIUST Prof. Edison Muzeba, said in an interview that the bathing soap was in the form of a cuboid tablet and consisted of 50 per cent tallow.

He said the soap which comes in different colours was made from other ingredients including coconut, morula, canola, sunflower oil as well as the aroma of perfume.

Prof Muzela said the project was conceived primarily to educate chemical engineering students about soap production and eventually roll out the know-how to rural communities around Palapye.

“Since the university has not come to the stage of selling the ‘BIUST soap, the university has engaged Bureau of Standards as well as South African Bureau of Standards for quality testing,” he said.

Prof Muzeba added that BIUST aimed to donate some of it to the less privileged members of society while at the same time marketing the product for a bigger market.

He said the product was an indication that BIUST was relevant not only in the academic space.

He said BIUST existed to come up with solutions to problems affecting the nation. Ends