Feature: Pistachio shells replace heating fuel during winter in Syria's Hama

Source: Xinhua| 2020-02-25 21:21:02|Editor: Lu Hui
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SYRIA-HAMA-NUTSHELL-HEATER

Sulaiman Khaled pours pistachio shells into a heater at his house in Hama province, central Syria, on Feb. 18, 2020. The richness in pistachio in Hama Province in central Syria has inspired people to create a heating device that works on pistachio's shells that save them money and effort to find fuel. (Photo by Ammar Safarjalani/Xinhua)

by Hummam Sheikh Ali

HAMA, Syria, Feb. 25 (Xinhua) -- The richness in pistachio in Hama Province in central Syria has inspired people to create a heating device that works on pistachio's shells that save them money and effort to find fuel.

Syria is currently suffering from a shortage of fuel, which is either hard to get or unaffordable for many. But for people in Hama, dealing with such a shortage is not a big deal as the alternative is already available at a much cheaper price.

In his house in the city of Hama, the 32-year-old Sulaiman Khaled sits with his wife, mother and five children in one big warm room with a heater that works on pistachio shells in the corner.

The heater is nearly the same as the usual one working on fuel, except that instead of the small tanker of fuel, there is a bigger container next to it that is filled with nutshells and this container is linked to the heater via a tube, through which the shells pass to the fire in the heater.

Khaled, who is originally from a town called Morek in Hama countryside, said the heater was invented in Morek almost 13 years ago as the town is rich in pistachio trees.

During the war, most of the people of Morek fled their homes in the town to the provincial capital of Hama and brought with them the heater.

Local people managed to utilize the waste of the pistachio, with small factories separating the shells from the pistachio, sending the nuts to be sold separately either for sweets or other use while sending the shells to be pilled up and sold to the people using it for heating their homes in winter.

"We have replaced the heaters that worked on fuel, gas, or electricity, with this heater that works on pistachio shells as during the war. There has been a shortage in fuel in general and the heater that works on shells and the shells themselves were cheaper and more affordable than other materials," Khaled said.

These heaters are being made in Hama by several manufacturers, who equip it with timers and buttons to control the flow of shells into the heater.

Abdullah Twait is one of these manufacturers, who makes this kind of heaters in his factory in Hama. The man also sells pistachio shells to the customers.

He told Xinhua that the lack of heating fuel makes this shells heater more favorable in Hama.

Twait said people choose to use pistachio shells because it's an economic substance and gives warmth that exceeds that of the fuel heater.

He said that the heater doesn't only work on pistachio shells, but also on nuts soft peels, adding that it's 50 percent more affordable than fuel.

"This is an invention, we managed to invent something to ease up life for us and we are working to develop this kind of heater a year after year," Twait said.

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