In recent years, organizations such as Practical Action, Movement e.V., the World Vegetable Center, the Horticulture Innovation Lab, Technoserve, and the Postharvest Education Foundation, among others, have made efforts to demonstrate evaporative cooling technologies in appropriate communities. However, there is a lack of proven approaches for achieving scalable dissemination of these technologies. The approaches that have been used at varying scales can be grouped into two major categories:
- Dissemination of information directly to users for self-construction and use through digital channels (best practices guide, videos, etc.), extension agents, and training workshops.
- Training and support to local entrepreneurs for the construction and sales of evaporative cooling devices to users.
D-Lab's current work disseminating evaporative cooling technologies
MIT D-Lab currently has projects in this area including:
- Clay pot coolers households, farmers, and vendors in Mopti, Mali
- Clay pot coolers and brick evaporative cooling chambers in Soroti, Uganda
- Brick evaporative cooling chambers for farmers in Gujarat, India
- Room-sized evaporative cooling chambers for farming cooperatives in Kenya
What is needed
Systematic evaluation of a range of dissemination approaches in various contexts. Building an evidence base of successful and scalable approaches for disseminating these technologies will provide a template for replication by local organizations operating in similar contexts.
D-Lab's areas of work on evaporative cooling for vegetable preservation
- Design research
- Suitability scoping
- Scalable dissemination strategies
- User behavior and impact research
- Establishing a community of practice
