FOCUS: WOMEN AND LIVELIHOODS

Project: Women's Entrepreneurship in the small scale dehydration of fruits and vegetables

Funded by:  Department of Science and Technology, Govt. of India

Project Duration:  1998 - 2000

This two year project initiated by TIDE works in the area of food processing and has tremendous potential for income generation for rural women. The objectives of this project were to understand the demand for dried fruits and vegetables, develop and standardize the drying protocol for all marketable dried products, develop new marketable dried product, set up production units in the premises of rural based women's organizations and to set up marketing channels for the same.

Preliminary investigation showed that sale of dried products in retail outlets was very limited. However there is a great demand for dried products by big food processors and exporters. Based on the feedback from the marketing team, TIDE initially developed the drying protocols for tomato, onion, garlic, ginger, mint, spinach, curry leaf and green chilli. It later developed the procedure for drying potato, banana and jackfruit.

A small drier was installed in the premises of the Grameena Mahila Okkuta a Women's group in Kolar. Three women and a disabled person were trained in dehydration. Trial production of dried products was carried out in this dryer. A 100 kg drier has been installed in the premises of a women's group in Trivandrum, Kizhakkumkara Mahila Samajam. Banana, tapioca, ginger and curry leaf has been dried there. Dharwad, in Karnataka is rich in onion, garlic and green chilli and TIDE is in touch with the India Development Society for the installation of a dryer there.

Promoting women’s entrepreneurship with products conventionally sold in the dried form new dehydrated products is much easier than trying to create enterprises with innovative products like biomass dried tomato.  TIDE has motivated women to make and market these dried products. The marketing team has sent samples to processed food manufacturers and they are happy with the quality of the product. Many more women's groups are now showing interest in adopting this technology. However, they need a stable market linkage and price fixation