Subjee-Cooler, Organic cooling for flowers, fruits and vegetables
Urmila Londhe, from Gour village in Latur, Maharashtra constructed a ‘subjee-cooler’ on her farm. This climate-smart technology keeps vegetables fresh and reduces spoilage without needing any inputs other than water. Urmila tai and her husband sold vegetables grown on their farm as their only income. After associating with SSP in 2021, Urmila tai learnt about the benefits of organic farming and began cultivating vegetables using organic methods. Seeing the improved quality of harvest, she gained confidence and agreed to adapt subjee-cooler technology. Before the subjee-cooler, Urmila tai used to lose at least 20% of her produce daily, due to heat and spoilage. The subjee-cooler, which reduces the temperature by at least 10 degrees, uses nitrogen balls to maintain a cool temperature, and only requires an input of 20 liters of water daily.
While Urmila tai faced many negative reactions from her community and even her husband, she remained convinced of the cooler’s benefits. Today, she has increased her income from Rs. 200 to Rs. 500 per day, as losses from spoiling vegetables are minimal. She has gained confidence in herself, and respect of her family. Seeing her success, other women have also registered to get subjee-coolers.
The subjee-cooler project, carried out in partnership with RuKart and NABARD, is being implemented by SSP in Latur, Osmanabad and Solapur districts of Maharashtra. So far 44 subjee-coolers have been successfully constructed, with RuKart providing technical support and NABARD providing training and capacity building to women farmers. The subjee-cooler can store up to 100 kgs of fruits and vegetables, and addresses the issue of spoilage of vegetables, in a sustainable manner.
Swayam Shikshan Prayog
28th February, 2022