Solar dryer technology proved a boon for tribal women farmers

"When you help a woman attain her full potential, magic happens." Women in tribal India want to demonstrate their ability, but they lack enough guidance and training, Said Shweta Gaikwad, representative of The Bombay Mother & Children Welfare Society. The NGO concentrates primarily on the education, health, and agriculture sectors in tribal areas.

In the tribal communities, she adds, there aren't enough employment possibilities for women. In these areas, post-harvest loss is the main issue. They threw away a large number of fruits and vegetables because of a lack of storage capacity. Many women from tribal communities have told us that storing their products is a challenge to secure their crops. After that, we connected them with advanced solar dryer technology. Rural tribal women can develop their own retail products with the help of the Raheja solar dryer. Because of this, they will earn a decent living and their standard of living will rise.

Providing training to tribal women farmer

Shweta told us that our NGO works primarily in the agricultural sector. Solar dryer technology will prove a boon for tribal women living in remote areas. We have recently installed a 40-kilogram Raheja solar dryer at our farm. We have developed over ten products including Solar Dried Onion, Garlic, and Lychees. Now, we are starting training programs in tribal villages. The production of green vegetables is very high in the rainy season. Women farmers throw away their crops in fields due to not getting fair prices. Now they can sell their product when the price increases. We are going to small villages and providing training to tribal women.

We will empower 200 women

We have prepared a comprehensive plan for the Solar Dryer Technology project. We have included three tribal villages in the initial phase. There, we will provide training for over 200 women. We want to help around 50 women to start their retail businesses and earn more money for their families. We'll also teach them about packaging and marketing their products. The most significant benefit of solar dryer technology is that, besides taste, the product's quality is excellent. Tribal farmers dry their products using open sun-drying methods. In this process, the quality of the vegetables, herbs, and fruits deteriorates and nutritional value decreases. Solar-dried products can be stored without preservatives and chemicals for a year. Our goal is to increase the income of the people in the tribal area. Solar dryer technology will be helpful in achieving this goal.