The fruit dryer

Panama is the host of countless varieties of fruit, most of which I was unfamiliar with before I arrived. Though the list already seems extensive, I continue to learn about fruits I have yet to see or taste that are approaching season. Not only is there a vast diversity of fruit in Panama but each fruit here seems to be plentiful. With excessive fruit and short seasons, it would be fair to say that a large majority of the fruit here goes to waste. You may remember our blog about the mangoes here, there were so many and they were so delicious but with about 2 weeks left in the season most of them are lying on the ground decomposing. 


Ever since I've noticed this trend, I have been thinking of solutions to conserve fruit. I thought about canning, but the cost and hassle didn't seem sustainable. Then I thought about drying; this seemed simple enough and it just so happens that dried fruit is more nutritious than canned fruit, so win win. I did a bit of research online and looked at some simple, solar-powered designs. I came across a blog post from a man in Eugene (all great things come from Oregon) who has written a book about drying food and has formulated a food dryer design which he calls SunWorks. I adapted his bank-breaker of a design to one that, if successful, could work for the majority of our community. With Bella's generous contribution of the wood and most of the tools, this project cost me less than $5. Now we wait to see if it works... The first batch of bananas and mangoes is currently underway but 3 hours into drying the rain came. I'm just hoping the fruit dried enough to sit overnight...Vamos a ver.  

The sketch

Getting to work

Just the beginnings

Making progress

Final touches

Finished product

The inaugural attempt

If you are interested in building your own solar-powered food dryer, and I encourage you to do so, a simple google search will get you most of the way or if you prefer books over the Internet look into Eben Fodor's, "The Solar Food Dryer" (the book I alluded to above).