A month ago, when Björn Särnerblom, a research engineer at University West, listened to a feature about the war in Ukraine on the radio, he felt that he had to help. Through a Facebook post, he saw that a local company had started manufacturing and sending stoves to Ukraine.
"We have access to the right equipment here, so I started the same project here at University West," he says.
Companies and individuals contribute
Several industrial companies contribute money and materials to the project. Björn Särnerblom also says that there are several private individuals who have donated things for the benefit of Ukrainians.
"It's been like just that, you could say," he says.
How did you come up with making stoves?
"They can be used for a lot. To cook and to warm up, for example," he says.
Stoves are filled with sweets
Making a stove from start to finish takes about half an hour and so far they have manufactured about 60 pieces. The plan is to send 100 stoves. And before the stoves are sent away, they are filled with sweets, food, first dressings and other things that may be needed.
Björn Särnerblom says that the project has been received positively by the public and that everything has gone much smoother than he intended.
"No matter what, I was going to get the stoves off. Then it's been amazing that my response from my colleagues has been so positive," he says.