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Improved Outcomes:

With average sunshine conditions the solar-drier shown here has proven that it can increase output capacity by 4-8 times compared with the fire-drying method.

Bulk solar-drying lends itself well to a family-operated, contractor-type approach. 

High grade output means better prices, higher rural incomes.

The experimental designs from this project are made freely available to allow others to build upon what was started here.

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An efficient Solar Cocoa-Drier

Describing the building of a small, solar-drier for village-level commercial use.  Based on actual project experience within the Solomon Islands, the resulting drawings could be adapted to other tropical areas, perhaps up to 25° latitude. cocoa in drier tray
There are two similar designs offered; one featuring a lean-to model best suited to gently sloping terrain (the actual prototype) with suggestions for another, larger model more suited to level ground.

Purpose. The quality of fire-dried cocoa and copra has always been, and is increasingly more so, an issue with end-buyers.  The normal method of drying the fresh harvest at the village level is over slow-burning fires contained in steel oil-drums. This may result in smoke-tainting, lower prices and even rejection.

Fire-drying is labour intensive and wasteful. It requires lots of firewood and regular tending. One sack of output requires inputs about every 4-6 hours, normally for 3 days. This is the universally employed method for cocoa production in the Solomon Islands.

Village Production. Solar-drying of cocoa is a viable option to fire drying (‘hot-air'). Most Solomon families do not own a ‘hot-air drier'.  Either they use their relatives' or just sell their harvest (wet bean) direct to a neighbour who processes and on-sells it to a contractor.

Political Background. During the nationwide disruption from ethnic clashes in Guadalcanal 1998 – 2000 the internal economy collapsed, as did commodity export production.  This coincided with a sharp slump in copra prices, and a modest rise in cocoa prices.  Since then privatisation of the commodity exporting industry and a steady rise in cocoa prices has seen many farmers put their cocoa plantations back into production and a strong growth in cocoa plantings. 

Conclusion. The project outlined here is considered a very successful demonstration of the practicality of solar-drying cocoa as a commercially-viable proposition for village-level enterprise.

Improvements to the prototype's design have been suggested here in order to reduce construction costs and skills required.
By experimenting with the design further improvements to the de-moisturing efficiencies, maintenance levels and produce handling are likely.