Idea 273 of 500. Cluster 14: Farm to shelf
Fruit and vegetable drying: mango, pineapple, papaya, jackfruit and okra as premium snacks and soup mixes for Europe and the Gulf
The mechanism, from the book
The smallholder sells raw to a collector at the gate and the collector sells to a packer who puts his own name on it. Denmark's farmers got rich the day they owned the creamery.
Every idea in cluster 14 uses this mechanism.
A first step
Dry a small batch of mango, pineapple and jackfruit in a simple solar or electric dryer, pack them in sealed pouches, and send samples with a price per kilo to three health-food shops or importers in Europe and the Gulf. Ask for a written reaction on taste, texture and packaging, and what volume they would take. One sample order, or specific feedback on what to fix, is the proof.
- Who pays first
- A health-food importer in Europe or the Gulf looking for tropical dried fruit without added sugar, with a clear origin on the pack.
- What leaves today
- Fresh fruit rots in the glut season or sells raw at the gate, when dried and packed it travels and keeps its value.
The idea and the mechanism are from the book. The first step was written for this site as a suggestion; if you know a better one, say so.
The test
Does it keep value that now leaves the island, or build the proof that lets somebody else do so?
The only test any idea on this site has to pass. The four rules that go with it are here.
In the book
- Ch. ElevenThe Mechanisms
Denmark's co-operative dairies and the binding contract that held them
More from cluster 14
- 271A farmers' co-operative dairy in the hill country selling cheese and yoghurt under its own brand
- 272Buffalo-milk mozzarella and ghee for the hotels and for export
- 274Frozen tropical fruit pulp for the smoothie chains of the world
- 275Heritage rice varieties grown under contract and sold at ten times the commodity price
- 276Organic certification services for smallholder groups, shared so the cost is bearable
- 277Mushroom farms supplying the hotels, since most are still imported
Idea 273 of the 500 in the appendix of Why Not Sri Lanka? Every one can be started by one person, one family or one small firm.