Empowering Women Through Commercial Solar Drying Solutions

Anita Gamoh and her Self Help Group were engaged in drying herbs and vegetables as part of their livelihood activities. Like many rural producer groups, achieving consistent product quality through traditional open sun drying can be challenging due to longer drying time and dependence on weather conditions.

The group required a cleaner, more reliable drying solution that could help improve product quality, support value addition, and enable more efficient processing while reducing dependence on conventional drying practices.

The group adopted a 25 Kg Commercial Solar Drying Solution from Rudra Solar Energy Pvt. Ltd., a company with more than 20 years of experience in commercial solar drying solutions for agriculture and food processing applications.

Over the last five months, the system has been used to dry herbs and vegetables with a batch capacity of 15–20 Kg for approximately 15 days each month.

• Commercial Solar Drying Solution with 25 Kg capacity
• 15–20 Kg batch processing capacity
• Regular usage for 15 days per month
• Suitable for drying herbs and vegetables

The solution enabled cleaner and more efficient solar drying while helping the group improve the overall quality of its dried products.

After adopting the Commercial Solar Drying Solution, the group reported significant improvements in drying performance, product quality, and business outcomes.

• Drying time reduced by more than 75%.
• Product quality became much better compared to open sun drying.
• Income increased by 20% after adopting solar drying.
• Waste was reduced by up to 20%.
• Improved shelf life of dried products.
• Faster drying even during cloudy conditions.
• Supported women's empowerment through clean energy technology.