


Michele Ogilvie
Feb 15, 2022
India
Categories:
Food, Empowerment, Women, Agriculture, Sustainability
An estimated one-third of all the food produced globally goes to waste. People are changing agricultural waste into opportunity, providing jobs, addressing climate change, and offering a potential solution for every undernourished person on the planet. This BBC world service podcast, People Fixing the World, on December 7, 2021, provides an interesting example.
Believe it or not, fruits and vegetables receive grades for their looks. Veggies and fruit that do not make the passing grade are left to rot on or thrown away. By one estimate, this food waste could feed every person in India.
Food waste is not just a social concern but also an environmental concern. When we waste food, we waste the energy and water used in its production. When food rots on the plant, it produces methane, a more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide. The source of spoilage for any fresh produce comes from the moisture within it.
Enter the Solar Conduction Dryer by S4S (Science for Society). As its name implies, it uses solar power to dehydrate fruits and vegetables. Unlike run-of-the-mill dehydrators, this technology uses three types of heating - convection, conduction, and radiation. It is a sustainable technology. With this equipment, fresh produce is dehydrated without adding any preservatives or chemicals, maintaining most of its nutrition, and meeting food safety and quality standards. It is not a new technology, but its marketing and use are ingenious.
The 10-12 kilogram capacity dryer costs approximately USD 640 outside of India, and the 100-kilogram capacity dryer retails for about USD 5100. S4S currently markets the solar dryer to individual women and small farm holders in India, Vietnam, Kenya, and Sri Lanka. S4S estimates the dehydrated foods market to be USD 16 billion. The company’s stated goals for developing and selling these dryers are to 1) reduce poverty by creating additional income for its users and 2) achieve food security by reducing food waste. The dryer was specifically designed based on input from female farmers.
S4S goes beyond selling solar dryers. The company helps identify potential women entrepreneurs (groups of 15-20 women), provides them the equipment and helps connect them to small farms. S4S then helps sell and distribute the dehydrated products, such as ginger, garlic, carrot, and beetroot, to institutional clients. The micro-entrepreneurs make a living wage from their earnings. Many were living below the poverty line before they started.
This story is an excellent example of a business model that demonstrates it can achieve a positive triple bottom line - financial, social, and environmental success. For-profit and non-profit organizations would be wise to reconfigure their business models to a triple bottom line, both in strategy and accounting, especially in a highly competitive, global playing field. The triple bottom line model will invariably lead an organization to look at overlooked assets, adjust technologies and become more efficient. Successful triple bottom-line focused companies have strong brand loyalty, in part, because of the goodwill they generate.
You don’t have to wait and hope for a company to fulfill a need you see in your community. This story could inspire you to action. Use it as an example. Almost every community has people who are impoverished and food insecure. Our October 2021 Learn-Engage-Empower story about the community garden movement provides ideas on how to start growing food in your community. Now, take it a step further. Dehydrate the food with a sustainable technology for community consumption. You would likely find a local corporate sponsor to donate the equipment and offset start-up costs. Sell the surplus product, and you are then on your way to creating a sustainable micro-enterprise. Local communities have the institutional and social capacity to get a project like this underway. Think about faith-based organizations, schools, colleges, and local governments. The partnership opportunities and support are available.
Now that is just one example. Use the same creativity to address the needs in your community. Please don’t wait for someone else to do it, because it may never happen. Become a catalyst for change and make a difference where you are.
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