Grade 7 pupil, Maluta Gcabashe from HP Ngwenya Primary School located in Chesterville has invented dust-free chalk which is environment-friendly. She noticed that her teachers were often covered in chalk dust thus this sparked the idea of creating dust-free chalk. “Most teachers get their hands dirty when they write on the board. Chalkdust is also not healthy to breathe in,” said Gcabashe.
Gcabashe decided to do extensive research about chalk production, read scientific articles and watched videos she found online. “I learned the techniques online with my mentor but then applied my own additions to the concept,” she said.
The first chalk she made was Maizena-based and was moulded in a toilet paper inner that she had made narrower. The second chalk was made with eggshells, Maizena and water. “I took the eggs’ inner membrane and then grounded it. I grounded it until it was a fine powder, before mixing it with Maizena,” she said. Both mixtures were left to set for 24 hours.
She needed teachers to test drive the new chalks so she introduced the invention to teachers at a neighbouring high school. “I took my chalk to teachers at Bonela Secondary School and asked them to try it out and they wrote recommendations saying they would use the chalk,” Gcabashe explained.
What started off as a primary school science experiment has earned the pupil some recognition at the Eskom Expo International Science Fair, where she was awarded the Best Development Project prize. Ggabashe hopes that the chalk will be produced locally using recycled and natural material.
