A group of Indian graduate students have came up with a solution that helps reduce the problems faced in rural areas in India: food, electricity and income. Vaibhav Tidke, Shital Somani, and Aditya Kulkarni had used different scientific backgrounds to innovate a solar conduction dryer, which helps to dry out fruits and vegetables, enabling farmers to preserve and sell the food at a higher price. This, in result, solves several problems at once as this technology reduces food spoilage, extends food shelf life and allow nutritional retention, helping the agriculture-dependent livelihood earn more.
Their creation, known as the Solar Conduction Dryer (SCD), recently had won the grand prize at the 2013 Dell Social Innovation Challenge (DSIC), an initiative of the RGK Center for Philanthropy and Community Service at the LBJ School of Public Affairs in the University of Texas. The trio had received $60,000 in prize money to help fund and commercialize their project.
