In 2017, a consultant activity funded by ACDI/VOCA, collaborated with two cooperatives in the Quandu Gboni District in Lofa County in Liberia towards the construction of 30 solar dryers. GIZ/EnDev had previously trained community members on how to build the table model dryer and provided the imported greenhouse plastic foil for the dryers.
The activities began in Korlelah, at the headquarters of the Gboni Bengoma Farmers Cooperative Society, where an older ACDI/Voca funded house model solar dryer that had been operational in December 2016 had broken down with the plastic destroyed. Cooperative members had already started to cut the wood after an agreement with GIZ/EnDev to start constructing the solar dryers.
A total of 30 solar dryers was built in the following communities: Korlelah, Tusu, Jarmulor, Moibadu, Kanela, Paris, Lukamai, Jankadu, Sarkonedu, Bolonguidu, Konadu, Marvekonnidu, Gbegbedu and Nyamakamadu. The last six of the communities were in the area of the Quandu Marsinee cooperative had yet to fulfill their part of their Memorandum of Understanding with GIZ/EnDev.
The construction of these dryers made a total of 32 dryers now built within this District. The communities have agreed to build 54 dryers with plastic provided by GIZ/EnDev Liberia. Most dryers are registered for regular monitoring and have a caretaker who knows about maintenance. Four dryers that had not yet been registered because of some 1.5-hour walking distance, will be registered by the cooperative business manager.
Key constraints of the activities were lack of manpower to help the power saw operator during wood cutting/sawing, unavailability of carpenter from the community to build the dryer, failure of the community to transport wood at the construction site on time or not at all. Further projects could consider allocating some cash per dryer to contract a well-trained carpenter for dryer construction, and to include the cooperative management team to visit all activities of the project ensuring wood cutting and construction.
Source: Renewables Liberia.Info
