Community-Collaborative Solar Dryer Prototype: Development, Deployment, and Testing for Sustainable Food Preservation

In the Philippines, the prevalent method for drying agricultural and aquatic products like rice, corn, and fish relies on the traditional sun-drying technique where the produce is laid out under the sun, in an open area, and exposed to environmental factors like dust, dirt, and insects. This practice persists primarily because no other alternatives can guarantee a cost-effective yield when drying agricultural products. To address this, a multilevel solar dryer with solar-powered monitoring for households was developed as a sustainable option. Inputs from farming and fisherfolk communities were gathered through interviews and consultations, which served as the basis in designing the solar dryer. A prototype was built and then deployed in a fisherfolk household in Bani, Zambales. In this paper, three species of fish, locally known as bisugo, mataan, and danggit, were dried using the solar dryer. In parallel, traditional sun drying was conducted to compare the drying time of the two methods. Data showed that the multilevel solar dryer was effective in trapping the heat inside its drying chamber. Moreover, the water activity of the dried products was obtained to determine their susceptibility to spoilage. The measured values were below the maximum threshold set by the Philippine national standard for dried fish, which indicates that the dried products can be sold commercially. Lastly, the minimum viable product of the solar dryer developed in this study costs Php 20,000.00 (USD 350.00), making this an affordable alternative.