Beating the Heat to Reduce Post-Harvest Waste

[borderjumpers]

Cross posted from Worldwatch Institute's http://blogs.worldwatch.org/nourishingtheplanet/innovation-of-the-week-beating-the-heat-to-reduce-post-harvest-waste/">Nourishing the Planet.


For a farmer in a hot country like Sudan, a big harvest can end up being just a big waste. A fresh tomato off the vine will only last about 2 days in the stifling heat, while carrots and okra might last only 4 days. Despite being perfectly capable of producing abundant harvests, without any means to store and preserve crops, farmers in Sudan are at risk for hunger and starvation. They are also losing money that could be made by selling surplus produce at markets if they had a way to keep vegetables longer.

The organization, http://practicalaction.org/home">Practical Action—a development non-profit that uses technology to help people gain access to basic services like clean water, and sanitation and to improve food production and incomes— provides a simple solution to this problem in the form of homemade clay refrigerators. Practical Action’s clay refrigerators are called http://practicalaction.org/home/zeerpots">zeer pots and can be made out of mud, clay, water, and sand. To make one a farmer uses molds made out of mud to create two pots of different sizes. Once dry, the small pot is fitted into the larger pot and the space between them is filled with sand. By placing this structure on an iron stand so that air can flow underneath and all around, and by adding water to the sand between the pots daily, a farmer can use evaporation to keep the pots—and whatever is inside—cool.

In a zeer pot, tomatoes and carrots can last up to twenty days while okra will last for seventeen days. And this can make a huge difference for a small scale farmer who is trying to feed her family. One farmer, Hawa Abbas, featured in a Practical Action http://practicalaction.org/home/zeerpots">case study, used to regularly expect to lose half her crop to the inescapable heat. But now, “ keep our vegetables fresh for 3-4 weeks, depending on the type of crop,” she said. “They are very good in a hot climate such as ours where fruit and vegetables get spoiled in one day.”

Practical Action provides trainings and demonstrations to teach small scale farmers how to make and use the pots in developing countries like Sudan and Darfur. And an http://practicalaction.org/home/docs/region_sudan/clay-based-technology-refrigerator.pdf">instruction manual about how to make the pots can be found on its website.

To read more about innovations that reduce crop waste to alleviate hunger and improve livelihoods see: http://blogs.worldwatch.org/nourishingtheplanet/page/innovation-of-the-week-it%E2%80%99s-all-about-the-process/">It’s All About the Process, http://blogs.worldwatch.org/nourishingtheplanet/page/innovation-of-the-week-reducing-food-waste/">Reducing Food Waste, http://blogs.worldwatch.org/nourishingtheplanet/page/innovation-of-the-week-investing-in-better-food-storage-in-africa/">Investing in Better Food Storage, and http://blogs.worldwatch.org/nourishingtheplanet/page/nourishing-the-planet-in-usa-today-in-a-world-of-abundance-food-waste-is-a-crime/">In a World of Abundance, Food Waste is a Crime.

Thank you for reading! As you may already know, Danielle Nierenberg is traveling across sub-Saharan Africa visiting organizations and projects that provide environmentally sustainable solutions to hunger and poverty. She has already traveled to over 18 countries and visited 130 projects highlighting stories of hope and success in the region. She will be in Togo next, so stay tuned for more writing, photos and video from her travels.

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[FedUpWithIt All]

1. Zeer pots work best in hot and dry climates.

Which is what makes this perfect for use in Africa.