VietNamNet Bridge – Two hundred students of Dak R’Lap Boarding School in the central highland province of Dak Nong were bothered by mosquitoes until a team of students produced a self-made body wash.

Inventors at work: Linh (left) and Hanh work at their lab. Photo tienphong.vn

“The mosquitoes attacked us every night, everywhere,” Voong Thi Hong Hanh, an 11-grade student said.

“We thought of creating something to get rid of them. We knew from local people that sa chanh (lemon grass) can drive away mosquitoes and also treat some skin diseases,” he said.

The idea of Hanh and her friends has been supported by Deputy Headmaster Vo Nhu Son, who has been teaching chemistry for the past 30 years. Teacher Son, Hanh and Dieu Linh spent four months discovering a formula to make a body wash from the aromatic herb.

“This kind of herb is not eatable. It has special fragrance mingling with the smell of lemon,” Son said.

“I just guided them. They have been active in the whole process,” he said.

A 40sq.m land on the school campus has been used to grow the plant. After four months, the plant can offer the best oil and all the extract processes have been done at the school’s laboratory.

After applying hundreds of recipes, Linh and Hanh discovered the way to extract the maximum oil from the plant.

“Our lab is just 4sq.m with simple extract tools,” Son said, adding, “Last year, the chairman of Dak R’Lap donated VND10 million for the team to buy material and chemicals for the experiment.”

Finished product: A bottle of anti-mosquito body wash produced by the team. Photo tintaynguyen.com     Homegrown solution: Linh (right) and Hanh at a lemon grass garden at their school. Photo tuoitre.vn

The first sample of the extracted oil has been brought to the Centre for Initialising and Certifying Quality of Lam Dong Science and Technology Department in Da Lat City to test.

The students had to return to Da Lat the second time to assure safe conditions to turn the oil into a body wash product.

Every student at the school was then given a bottle of the body wash to experiment.

“The body wash makes the skin clean and does not cause an allergy,” Luong Tien Sang, an 11-grade student said.

“The fragrant lasts long on my skin and is very pleasant. I no longer have mosquito bites,” he said.

Pham Minh Khanh, teacher of literature at the school shared the same opinion.

“After a few weeks of having used the body wash, I think it is as good as any other body wash sold in the market,” he said, adding, “It is even better in expelling mosquitoes, and will be very useful in our locality where there are numerous mosquitoes, which spread dengue fever every year.”

Son said the product meets 13 criteria on body wash by the Ministry of Science and Technology. It received the first prize at a science and technology contest for high school students in the province and an encouragement prize at the national level contest.

Tran Van Tang, headmaster of the school, said the students have just produced the product on a small scale of around 200 bottles per week.

“Right now we just distribute it among school students and have not yet been able to sell in the market,” he said.

“If we have a bigger budget to invest in technology, we will not produce body wash but continue with dish washer and floor wash liquid, and other medicines to prevent skin diseases,” Linh said.

Thien Huong

VNS