SUMMARY. In this blog article, Neill Stern reports on his time in Senegal, where he completed a five-month internship and wrote his bachelor’s thesis.
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Within the scope of my studies in environmental engineering, I did a five-month-long internship in Senegal and eventually wrote my bachelor’s thesis about an existing solar dryer. More specifically, I assessed and adapted the solar dryer to the local needs and then set out to develop and trial a drying concept that fits the minimal conditions given. But first, let’s jump back a little and look at the bigger picture:
The reduction of post-harvest losses holds significant potential to support food stability and financial empowerment.
Reduce post-harvest losses
According to a United Nations report from 2024, population growth will continue to rise for the next 50–60 years and reach its peak of 10.3 billion in the mid-2080s. In 2023, 2.33 billion people were affected by moderate to severe food insecurity, and 733 million people suffered from hunger—especially in Africa. On the other hand, data shows that the reduction of post-harvest losses holds significant potential to support food stability and financial empowerment. And this is where we picked it up.
Solar dryer
At the Perma Food Forest site in the Casamance near Kabadio, there was already a solar dryer.
But it wasn’t yet fully functioning. This is where we came in and modified it to meet our needs
More specifically, we ran a couple of tests and then, among other things, decided to incorporate another ventilator to maximize the drying efficiency and control the temperature range.
In the following months, I then set out to develop a replicable, low-cost drying concept for fruits and medicinal plants using only minimal technological equipment. The tricky part was producing valid scientific data while still staying on a small budget. This approach was designed to be easily implemented by small-scale farmers in the Casamance.
Curious about the results? Feel free to browse through the thesis.
