How solar drying unlocks income for women farmers

Plumbee Wholefoods, a Kenyan women-led start-up which manufactures children's food, applied to the SEFFA innovation fund to transfer the first stage of food processing to women smallholder farmers (SHFs). The pre-processing includes chipping and solar drying vegetables and fruits. Plumbee designed and installed an automated solar drier with a capacity of 500kgs recruited 88 SHFs (86 being women), organised them into producer groups and capacitated them with essential skills and knowledge in growing and pre-processing pumpkin for use in fortifying children's foods.