Innovation

From long history of providing innovative plastic based building material, in 2017 the company has launched Solar Dryer Dome, together with a collaboration project which using the product aim to tackle the challenges of post-harvest management in underserved communities with their new product application, known as Solar Dryer Dome. The Dome works like a greenhouse, with much lower cost since polycarbonate plastic is used to replace glass. With the versatility of construction design using polycarbonate plastic sheet, the temperature inside the dome can be increased up to 200% compare to the outside temperature, made it possible to shorten the drying process significantly. E.g. bananas can be dried within 3-4 days instead of 7 days with conventional methods. Addition of small fans enable the air circulation and remove moisture from the dryer dome. Also the polycarbonate sheet protect the crop products from UV light to maintain the crop product’s originality: taste, color, and smell.

Inspiration

The collaboration aims to improve the existing post-harvest management by disseminating Solar Dryer Dome to benefit small-holder farmers and agricultural cooperatives in underserved communities. This enables farmer to dry their agricultural products, such as bananas, tomatoes, chili, cocoa, herbs as well as fisheries products under more hygienic circumstances, while at the same time improving the quality and the output. With traditional drying methods, such as road side drying, small-holder farmers often face the challenge of contamination by dust, insects, rain water and UV light. Due to these factors, 30-50% of the products do not reach the market and are not turned into economic value. The company provide a soft loan to these communities along with training on best practice to process crop products in order to add more economic value, rather than sell as raw crop products.

Overall impact

There are 3 expected impact is zero waste (post-harvest), reduce poverty, green energy. The innovation of solar dryer dome is focused on the low-income farmers, which is poor in managing the post-harvest economical value. Most of the situation if the harvest is abundant, the crops price was too low. In some situation, the crops price was not enough to finance the cost of harvesting. While in other situation, most of Indonesia crops are sold in raw, so there’s no added value to the crops. The innovation is expected to bring more income to the farmers through speedy in crops drying and high quality of products (in term of food hygiene, taste, color and no preservatives etc).

Business benefit

PT. Impack Pratama is a building material company which committed in green environment. Since the solar dryer dome launched, the Company work together with NGO, government, as well as put their own effort to help the low-income farmers by constructing the dome. Most of the site was very remote and need huge transport cost and only contribute to small profit. However, the Company believe that their effort to increase the farmer’s wealth must sustain. By doing this initiative, PT. Impack Pratama has received quite some revenue from social enterprise, NGO and government who intend to use Solar Dryer Dome as their CSR activity which proven to have a sustainable great impact to the targeted society due to its long service life.

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Social and environmental benefit

The solar dryer dome has been constructed in few remote areas in Indonesia. One of it was constructed in Kendal. In relation to the solar dryer dome, The Company gave training in processed their best crop, banana that can be processes into traditional snack. The Company also provide soft loan to the SME and other trainings (ie: packaging). The soft loan finally can be paid before the due. The direct impact is the better education level of the farmers’ children.

Interview

Mr Sugiarto Romeli, Head of Polycarbonate Unit

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