Problem: In Kenia, small scale milk producers (1-10 liters) carry in the morning their milk to cooperative-milk-collection stations, and they do so typically by bycicle. As the microbial activity without cooling stays high, the quality of the milk decreases during transportation. To prevent the degration of milk quality and allow further transportation, GIZ, University of Hohenheim and INCARDA developed a 600 watt, solar-powered milk cooling system.

How does it work: The solar-powered energy is stored, transferred to a refrigerator and then used to produce ice. The ice then is put into a special designed milk container without having direct contact with the milk. By that, it cools down the milk through additional isolation to around 20 degrees over a long period.

Outreach: Started as a pilot project in Tunisia, will it be successfull if tranferred to Kenia? The low cost, decentralized nature and rather simple technology seems to enable a successfully implementation.

Therefore, let's hope that the local kenian population soon will be able to enjoy nicely-cooled milk and develop further milk-processing industries through the improved local, small-scale production opportunities granted by this system.