Introduction
To become more independent of donations, we try to find new business fields for the School Garden “New Generation” (NGSG). Selling dried fruits and vegetables is one idea.
Training by a professional
Before we conduct training courses on drying fruits and vegetables ourselves, our team learned the most important steps from an expert in the field, Mr. Zandry Tolojanahary Narivony. This initial training lasted for three consecutive days and continued as needed, depending on the progress and tasks we were working on. The training courses included both theoretical lessons and practical exercises.
Drying with the sun
Following the workshop, we built four drying units out of wood. For this we received support from two agricultural students from Antalaha. The drying racks with a protective roof ensure hygienic processing, the actual drying is carried out only with solar heat, which is stored with stones and a foil. The success of the drying process depends largely on the available resources and weather conditions. During the first month, we had unfavorable weather – especially heavy rains – which negatively impacted the quality of our dried products.
Production and Sales
Until August 2024, we have dried 701 kg fruits and vegetables from the School Garden and the Sambava region, thereof 282 kg peels. The net weight of the dried products is 93 kg.
Our products are currently available for sale at two locations: the NGSG facility and our shop in town. The NGSG team is ready to produce new products and enhance its skills. To improve our operations, we aim to upgrade our equipment, as the current tools are outdated and insufficient. This makes our work more challenging, especially during the rainy season.
Local Social Impact
One of our key objectives is to address food shortages in primary schools and rural areas (Fokontany) by utilizing the products we produce. There are various ways to consume or use these foods, such as in cakes, bread, or with coconut milk, which we have already explored. Another impact is that we can offer jobs in this project.
Conclusion
This drying project is our first venture in this area, and we encountered some difficulties and made mistakes, but the team is motivated to learn and improve the process in the future. For instance, we plan to enhance our procurement process, improve product inspection within the drying units, and better manage our receipts. Despite the challenges, we have succeeded when comparing our budget to the net weight of our products and their selling price.
Thanks to the Stiftung WissenWecken who donated to us the start-up capital for this project.
