Strengthening livelihoods of coastal communities in Aceh: Technology intervention for women’s groups

THE PROBLEM

Women in Lhok Kruet Village, a coastal area in Western Aceh, take on additional tasks to support their family income. One of these is small scale production and sales of processed fish such as dried anchovies and shrimp-based products. At the national level, the price of dried anchovies ranges from IDR130,000 to IDR190,000 per kilogram, depending on the type and quality. Women in Lhok Kruet Village currently sell their products to travelers or passersby for approximately IDR75,000-IDR150,000 per kilogram, which is much lower than the national price.

The women’s groups are practicing an inefficient production process. The current drying method for anchovies and shrimp is floor drying, where fish are spread out on a tarp/net sheet on the ground for up to two days (depending on the weather). This method puts the commodities at risk of spoilage due to rain and other contaminants.

THE SOLUTION

We will build a solar dryer that enables efficient drying and protects commodities from rain and other contaminants.

THE EXPECTED IMPACT

By supporting the women’s groups in the fisheries sector with simple technology, we expect them to practice a more sustainable production process to improve the quality of their products.

THE PROJECT RESULT

Kopernik designed and constructed a solar dryer to improve the drying process during rainy days. The solar dryer underwent two stages of experimentation: in-house prototyping and full-scale construction in Aceh. We measured drying properties, product quality, and user feedback.

The solar dryer demonstrated better drying performance compared to floor drying with a higher peak temperature, a gradual increase in temperature, and a decrease in relative humidity, able to retain the desirable drying condition for a longer time.

However, the drying time is a bit longer due to the elimination of fish turning activity, which simplifies the overall drying process and lessens the laborious activities in rainy weather. In addition, solar-dried fish demonstrates enhanced appearance, smell, and texture, reflected in higher scores on the adjusted scale of the Indonesian National Standard for dry salted fish