DEMI FARMS / SOLAR DRYING & VALUE ADDITIONYou worked hard
You worked hard
to grow it.
Plan what comes next.
Give suitable produce a route beyond the fresh market. Start with what you need to dry, your volume and location. Build a clearer plan before choosing a dryer.
Assessment · Design · Fabrication · Installation · Training · Support
PLANNING ILLUSTRATIONFINAL DESIGN IS PROJECT-SPECIFIC
01 / START WITH THE CHALLENGE
What would a better drying setup help you do?
Start with an outcome. A dryer is one part of a process that also includes preparation, hygiene, packaging and a buyer.
Reduce avoidable losses
Evaluate a timely processing route for sound produce before peak harvest.
Explore my next step ↗Build a dried-product business
Work backwards from the product specification and intended customer.
Explore my next step ↗Improve an existing process
Review capacity, protected handling, monitoring and consistent procedures.
Explore my next step ↗02 / WHAT DO YOU WANT TO DRY?
Different products. Different requirements.
Explore application groups, then choose your product. These are opportunities to assess—not a ranking of measured demand or a guarantee that every product suits solar drying.
BSF & insect-feed producers
Prepare stable dried feed ingredients for an agreed buyer specification.
Black Soldier Fly larvae · Insect meal inputs · Other approved insect productsExplore this application ↗Herb, spice & tea businesses
Protect colour, aroma and the quality your buyer expects.
Mint · Rosemary · Thyme · BasilExplore this application ↗Fruit farmers & snack processors
Evaluate a drying route for sound seasonal produce.
Mango · Banana · Pineapple · PawpawExplore this application ↗Vegetable growers & aggregators
Plan a product that buyers can store, use and reorder.
Tomato · Kale / sukuma wiki · African leafy vegetables · OnionExplore this application ↗Mushroom growers & traders
Explore dried mushroom products alongside the fresh market.
Oyster mushrooms · Button mushrooms · Other verified edible mushroomsExplore this application ↗Fish processors & fishing groups
Assess protected drying, handling and quality requirements.
Omena / dagaa · Other approved fish productsExplore this application ↗Grain, pulse & seed businesses
Assess moisture management, throughput and storage needs.
Maize · Beans · Sorghum · MilletExplore this application ↗Root, tuber & flour processors
Plan chip or flour-input processing around a validated process.
Sweet potato · Cassava · Irish potato · ArrowrootExplore this application ↗Coffee, tea & specialty processors
Evaluate process consistency against the buyer’s quality specification.
Coffee parchment · Coffee cherries · Specialty tea ingredients · CocoaExplore this application ↗Feed-ingredient & fodder businesses
Understand the cost and practicality of removing water.
Azolla · Duckweed · Leaf meals · Plant-based feed ingredientsExplore this application ↗Cooperatives & processing centres
Plan peak-season throughput, scheduling and shared operating costs.
Shared seasonal crop batches · Multi-product processing · Community value additionExplore this application ↗Hotels, institutions & food businesses
Explore a site-specific drying and value-addition workflow.
Kitchen herbs · Fruit snacks · Vegetable ingredients · Custom productsExplore this application ↗03 / TURN THE IDEA INTO A WORKABLE PLAN
Understand the numbers before the investment.
Use your own quantities and assumptions. Carry the results into your project request without entering them again.
Capacity & yield
Estimate concurrent fresh loading, active tray area and a theoretical dry-output scenario.
Open this planning tool ↗Batch economics
Explore costs, break-even selling price and the effect of saleable output.
Open this planning tool ↗Site & installation plan
Understand site preparation, logistics, commissioning and the scope to agree.
Open this planning tool ↗04 / FROM YOUR QUESTION TO HANDOVER
A project you can follow.
Keep the scope, issued quotation, acceptance, payment milestones and recorded progress connected in one private project.
Describe the product, site and goal
Receive a project reference and private tracking access.
Review an itemized scope and quotation
Confirm what is included, excluded, due and when.
Accept the quote and pay a released milestone
Secure payment is available only when merchant readiness is verified.
Follow fabrication, installation and handover
The team records actual updates and the next agreed steps.
05 / THE DRYER IS PART OF THE PICTURE
Build the process around the product.
Before drying
Raw quality, sorting, preparation, a clear buyer specification and the right working space.
During drying
Appropriate loading, airflow, monitoring, hygiene and a product-specific validated endpoint.
After drying
Suitable handling, cooling, packaging, storage, traceability and a route to market.
Solar drying does not automatically make contaminated food or feed safe. Performance and storage life depend on the product, process, weather, validated endpoint and packaging. Food and animal-feed operations need appropriate separation and review.
Further reading: FAO: processing methods and packaging considerations ↗