8th July 2021
With the coming of the winter months from November to February, local tourists flock to Bhillar village in Mahabaleshwar district in western Maharashtra State India, to pick or eat fresh strawberries and ice cream as a quick getaway from Mumbai.
In Bhillar, blessed with lush greenery and pleasant climate, every second house is not without a patch of green, where strawberries are grown and sold in the local markets. The entire district is known for the best strawberries in the country, and is home to 10,00 people supplying 85% of India’s strawberries. That’s around 20,000 tons harvested annually.
The attraction of tourism and growth of strawberries inspired a community initiative in 2017 when Bhillar launched itself as the official book village of India, transforming itself to also showcase Mahrati culture and promote reading books.
However, the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020 /21 brought dramatic lockdown restrictions with traumatic impact on poor small scale Indian farmers, leading to further impoverishment. They lacked efficient and affordable cold storage for the food they grow, without which they faced with losses from restricted tourism, closure of markets, reduced spending, and disrupted distribution channels. Across the District farmers were facing a loss of around USD 2.7 million as they are unable to preserve and sell produce for the domestic market or for export.
At this crucial moment, cutting edge sustainable Green technology came to the rescue. An Indian agritech start-up called Ecozen provided three portable solar powered EcoFrost cold rooms, which allowed these small-scale farmers to save their strawberries to meet the demand in Mumbai and Pune and further afield.
Credit: Ecozen.
Farmers can rent small spaces in the cold room to fit their budget without having to invest in large scale storage. Ecozen works with 100 farmers across the region, also launching an Eco Connect strawberry collection centre in Bhillar. This new lease of life through Solar and digital technology allows Ecozen and their customers to keep strawberries at their optimal condition and delivered fresh.
Ecozen also stepped in to fill the distribution void, since several commercial buyers did not have cold storage transportation options over long distances, ensuring a stabilized price of strawberries at the time of delivery resulting in a fairer income for farmers. Strawberry farmers like Amar Chowdhary no longer have to depend on the fluctuating Mumbai market. Instead of expected massive losses and hardship they gained 20 Rupees per kilo!
Credit: Ecozen.
Ecozen intend to continue working with the Mahablaeshwar’s farmers using technology to help farmers sell in larger cities across India where, like in other countries, the lack of a cold chain is a barrier to rural development. With climate change pushing temperatures higher, this technology will become more critical to producers and growers of all kinds.
Ecozen received a grant of $100,000 in November 2021 from Ashden’s “Fair Cooling Fund”, an initiative from the climate solutions charity who are widening access to affordable, sustainable cooling among communities most at risk from extreme heat. Amongst Ecozen’s aims are to provide affordable financing and connections with buyers and supply chains.
Credit: Ecozen.
Read more about Pune-based Ecozen’s offerings in innovations in Agritech solutions.
https://www.ecozensolutions.com
Find out how Ashden and its partners are finding solutions to pressing climate change challenges.
https://ashden.org/about-us/
