Project Detail

Renewable energy technologies for spice drying (RETs for spice drying) by Alliance for Appropriate Technology Exchange

Promote awareness on solar spice drying technologies, expand the pilot-scale demonstration models and new market mechanisms, transfer the manufacturing technology to rural workshops and produce a handbook and to further develop the solar drying technology. The project attempts to promote spice drying based on renewable energy- solar energy with bio mass energy as auxiliary supply. Solar spice drying technology will improve the income of rural spice producers by enabling them to dry spices in the farm during the rainy harvesting seasons; by eliminating losses from soilage that ususally occur during traditional sun drying; and by obtianing value added prices for dried spices of greatly improved quality. Renewable energy based drying technologies will eliminate the need for off farm spice drying and reprocessing of sun dried spices both of which consume fossil fuels. The future potential of fossil fuel savings are greater in the face of increasing demands on our spices by interantional spice market for quality improvements

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Project Snapshot

Grantee:

Alliance for Appropriate Technology Exchange

Country:

Sri lanka

Area Of Work:

Climate Change Mitigation

Operational Phase:

Phase 2

Grant Amount:

US$ 13,638.50

Co-Financing Cash:

US$ 5,427.00

Co-Financing in-Kind:

US$ 2,130.00

Project Number:

SRL/04/01

Start Date:

2/2004

End Date:

2/2005

Status:

Satisfactorily Completed

Project Characteristics and Results

Replication of project activities

Creating awareness among prospective spice farmers, policy makers, spice buyers, rural development-oriented organizations and programs, and other stakeholders is very important in replication. This has been achieved in different ways. A solar spice drying technology demonstration center has been established at Koswana-kaikawala which is situated close to the Export Agriculture Department Training Center in Matale. The facility consists of a model spice processing shed, a SAVIRU spice drying system, and instruments for quality checking. A large number of prospective farmers, officers of the epartment of Export Agriculture, and other stakeholders have visited this center over the last year. The center doubles as a business demonstration of a rural farmer enterprise since a visitor is able to learn of the farmer experience alone with the technology. Other activities include printing a leaflet on the technology and farmer enterprise approach; presentations in a number of training workshops for Department of Export Agriculture officers; a presentation in the workshop on ?Renewable Energy Solutions for Rural Development? attended by a number of policy making bodies; and an interview on the national television channel Rupavahini on spice drying technologies. SAVIRU Spice Forum provides an institutional mechanism to provide for experience sharing and information dissemination, other than networking among farmer enterprises for market access. The forum has capacity to act as a vehicle in promoting the technology and farmer enterprise approach, and to support prospective farmers form new enterprises.

Capacity - Building Component

Linking with direct exporters and food processors opens new marketing channels for solar dried high quality spices and allows them to play the market to their advantage 9unlike in traditional open market). Community acquires solar dryers and skills to operate and maintain it. In addition they are trained on proper post harvest practices- harvesting, handling, drying and storage/ packaging. Local fiberglass fabricators are trained on the maunfacture of fiberglass solar dryers

Significant Participation of Indigenous Peoples

N/A

Project sustainability

Our approach ensured that farmer enterprises operated in a practical business environment in a financially sustainable manner. All farmers invested their own funds in the technology and some of them obtained credit from existing micro-credit providers on the market terms. However, they were supported with grants ranging from 30% ? 65% of the installed cost depending on the source of finance. These farmers were linked to existing markets for high quality pepper and they have been able to sell most of their production to these markets. The income generated from the investment in solar dryers varies depending on how long the dryer has been used. The vailability of a good seasonal spice crop to dry, also severely affects the financial returns from the investment. Half of the farmers, who have used the dryers, have already recovered more than 75% of their investment. Solar dryers require very little maintenance and any replacements of parts such as polythene cover and small air fans can be bought in the local markets. The sustainability of the farmer enterprises depends critically on availability of buyers for high quality spice. However, it appears very unlikely that a small farmer enterprise, acting individually, will be able to access the existing markets for high quality spices that demands assured delivery of quality and quantity. A forum of stakeholders, known as SAVIRU Spice Forum has been initiated in order to fill this need for market access and also support replication of similar enterprises. The forum includes members from smallholder spice farmers, buyers, Department of Export Agriculture, enterprise development services providers, regional development programs, and dryer manufacturers. The forum has a major role to play in securing more markets for high quality spices and negotiating terms with buyers since a collective body will be more acceptable to such buyers than individual farmers or small enterprises of a number of farmers. This forum also has capacity to provide a mechanism for bridging the gap between the demand for guaranteed delivery of high quality spices on a pre-planned schedule to match buyer?s requirements on one hand, and the seasonal production of highly variable spice crops on the other. The forum must arrange a buffer stock to take care of supply / demand variations. The forum is well on its way to accomplish this important task.

Promoting Public Awareness of Global Environment

Production of high quality solar dried spices eleminates the need for down-stream cleaning and processing which requires fossil fuel. This fact is emphasized in public awareness campaigns. Introductio of "modern" technologies for utilizing solar and bio mass akso leads to high regard for these benign forms of energy among people

Notable Community Participation

Spice producer communities are direct beneficiaries of this project. Their Participation in technology transfer, production of solar dried spices and marketing is essential. They also make a significant contribution in cash and kind in acquiring the technology aswell as in the operation and maintenance of solar dryers

Gender Focus

Traditional sun drying of spices is done mostly by women and children in rural areas. Sun drying needs constant attention and it can be drudgery espeacially in the rainy seasons. Solar dryers elminate this drudgery and lessen the burden on women and children in particular. Participation of women and elder children is always high in training programs

Emphasis on Sustainable Livelihoods

Traditionally, spices are dried in the sun. The project enhances the utilization of solar energy and biomass energy (in very small scale) in spice drying using new technology. This will improve on the existing sustainable livelihood of the rural spice producer who are mostly organic farmers.

Project Results

The project has demonstrated that the introduction of solar drying technology to
organized farmer enterprises improves their income.

The project grouped 20 farmers in three districts in to small rural enterprises, linked them
to buyers, supported them access grant and credit finance, and introduced the solar drying
technology. Two buyers with different capabilities were linked to the farmers. The first
company, PODIE, is an exporter of value-added spice products to European markets. It
stocks spices from farmer suppliers during harvesting seasons, process them further, and
deliver to export markets. The farmers are paid higher prices for quality they produce that
are going up to almost 100% more than the local market prices. The second buyer is a
network of rural producers that supply different products under a common brand to local
markets and exporters. Selling of quality-stamped products from different rural producers
under a common brand has won the confidence of the different buyers. This network,
known as REN, has already offered their membership to some spice farmers and is
willing to take others under their umbrella. The network has done a market survey for
spices and has already identified few exporters and local supermarkets as potential
buyers. A mechanism to maintain adequate stocks of high quality spices from the farmers
is needed now in order to enter into supply contracts with the buyers.

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