Sundargarh: In a bid to provide better storage facilities to the farmers so that they can sell their price at better price, the Sundargarh district administration has launched innovative ‘Sabjee Cooler’ for the farmers.
The cooler helps farmers in preserving the vegetables before selling it in the market. The indigenously built Sabji Cooler runs without electricity or solar power.
The cooler having a capacity to store 100 kg of vegetables keeps them fresh for a week. The financial assistance for this initiative is being provided from Periphery Development Fund.
In the first phase, more than 50 coolers have been built by farmers at Balishankara, Kuarmunda and Tangarpali blocks of the district while 50 more shall be built.
Mumbai’s Rukart Technologies is providing equipment & technical support.
An MoU has also been signed between Sundargarh district administration, Local NGO and Rukart for this purpose .
The Subjee Cooler works on the principle of evaporative cooling and does not require any utilities. However, it needs watering at least once a day. This on-farm structure, built to work as a mud pot, does not require any additional investment in power utility. Based on the farmer’s requirement, Subjee Cooler comes in various sizes.