Evaporative Cooling Chambers
Susanta K. Roy and D.S. Khuridiya
ECCs are large storage units made from local materials that keep vegetables and fruits at lower temperatures.
Evaporative cooling chambers (ECCs), also known as “zero energy cool chambers” (ZECCs), are simple and inexpensive systems that keep vegetables fresh without the use of electricity. These chambers can be made from locally available materials including bricks, sand, wood, dry grass, gunny/burlap sack, and twine.
Hot and dry regions worldwide
Open sourced technology, locally manufactured
Depends on the cost of local materials and ECC size
Solar-powered refrigerators, charcoal coolers, Naya Celler Storage, and the smaller, household-sized Zeer Pot
Goal 2: End hunger, achieve food security and improved nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture
Those who could benefit from improved vegetable storage and longer shelf life may include vegetable producers, wholesalers, retailers, and household consumers, particularly off-grid, rural communities dependent on subsistence farming. Produce spoilage causes disease and loss of income for needy farmers and venders who are forced to ‘rush sell’ most agricultural products, even though they are well aware of the negative impact flooding the market has on their profits. Even in towns and cities where erratic power supply is available, most of the urban poor cannot afford refrigerators.
