LocationsFrom Charcoal to Solar: Malawi Student Builds a Greener Way to Cook and Cool
July 31, 2026
Siliya is developing ThermoChill, a solar-powered device designed to both cook and cool.
At 23, Pemphero Siliya speaks with the certainty of someone who has lived with wires, circuits and possibilities for most of his life.
A fourth-year Electrical and Electronics Engineering student at the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences in Blantyre, Siliya has been drawn to engineering since childhood. His father, an engineering professional who now runs an electrical and electronics services company, became his earliest mentor. In their home, engineering was not just a career path; it was something practical, visible and alive.
“I have been wishing to become an electrical engineer since Sunday school,” he says, recalling a childhood shaped by curiosity and hands-on learning.
Today, that childhood fascination is taking shape as a climate-focused innovation with the potential to change how households cook, preserve food and reduce pressure on Malawi’s forests.
Siliya is developing ThermoChill, a solar-powered device designed to both cook and cool. His idea is simple but ambitious: create a green-energy alternative that can help households move away from charcoal and firewood while also offering cooling capacity for food items and, potentially, medical supplies.
In Malawi, where many households still rely on charcoal and firewood for daily cooking, the environmental cost is visible. Trees are cut, forests disappear, and communities become more exposed to the effects of climate change. For Siliya, the problem is not abstract. It is part of the landscape around him.
“One of the problems I observed earlier was the use of charcoal and fire that leads to deforestation here in Malawi,” he says. “So, I opted to work with my electronic skills into clean energy innovations.”
His answer became ThermoChill: a solar-powered technology that seeks to respond to two everyday needs at once, cooking and cooling, without depending on charcoal, firewood or fossil fuels.
"UniPod provided a good space for my growth as well as for implementing the innovation."Pemphero Siliya
Siliya wants to contribute to a wider shift from charcoal to clean energy.
That is where the University Innovation Pod, known as UniPod Malawi, came in.
Located at the Malawi University of Business and Applied Sciences (MUBAS) in Blantyre, UniPod is part of the United Nations Development Programme’s pan-African timbuktoo initiative, which is helping young innovators across the continent move from raw ideas to viable products. In Malawi, the hub provides access to research, fabrication, prototyping facilities, mentorship and technical expertise — resources that are often out of reach for young inventors.
For Siliya, UniPod became the safe space his innovation needed.
“UniPod provided a good space for my growth as well as for implementing the innovation,” he says.
Inside the hub, Siliya found more than equipment. He found people who could help him think through technical challenges. When he struggled with the heating component of his device, a technician stepped in to advise him. When the casing needed improvement, UniPod’s workshop and materials helped him refine the shape and structure of the prototype.
“At some point, we were having challenges in making it presentable,” he says. “Being one of the members of UniPod, and with the space having a wood workshop, I managed to access the wood materials required for the casing. They helped us in shaping it and coming up with a good shape.”
For a young engineer still in university, that kind of support can be decisive. It can mean the difference between an idea remaining in a notebook and a prototype that can be tested, improved and eventually taken to market.
Siliya believes ThermoChill can serve communities beyond Malawi. Across Africa, many households face similar energy challenges: dependence on biomass, rising costs of clean alternatives, unreliable electricity and growing climate vulnerability. A solar-powered cooking and cooling device could offer a practical response, especially in communities where energy access remains limited.
He also sees potential beyond household use. If refined further, the cooling component could help store medical materials, supporting health facilities or communities where cold-chain systems are weak.
UniPod provided Siliya access to research, fabrication, prototyping facilities, mentorship and technical expertise.
He also sees potential beyond household use. If refined further, the cooling component could help store medical materials, supporting health facilities or communities where cold-chain systems are weak.
In the next two to five years, Siliya wants to see his innovation solving real problems in people’s lives.
“I see it solving the real-world problem that is currently facing many of us here in Malawi, as well as in Africa,” he says. “That is climate change.”
His ambition is not only to build a device, but to contribute to a wider shift from charcoal to clean energy, from deforestation to sustainability, from imported solutions to African-led innovation.
As the firstborn in a family of four, Siliya is also conscious of the example he is setting for his siblings and other young people. His journey reflects a growing movement of young African innovators who are not waiting for solutions to arrive from elsewhere. They are designing them in university labs, workshops and innovation hubs.
His message to other young innovators is direct.
“UniPod is here to help us innovate Malawi, bring our ideas to life and help solve different problems that are here in Malawi and Africa,” he says.
For Siliya, the future is solar-powered, locally built and shaped by young people who understand the problems their communities face because they live with them every day.
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