The New Dryer Prototype

I have now been able to put together the flat packed dryer and test its performance, obtaining temperature profiles when heated by the biomass stove. It seems like it has taken a long time to get to this stage, however every small problem normally requires a journey into the town to buy another component and this takes time.

The costs of the project have been about twice as high as expected, but switching certain components for cheaper ones and bulk producing it will significantly reduce the costs. Previous SELCO dryer designs have caused food to spoil by allowing smoke to enter the drying compartment this design does not. Dryers are certainly required in this area of very high rainfall. It has taken from Monday evening to today to get my clothes laundered – it takes a long time to dry clothes!

The project is well on track, and in a couple weeks the dryer will be ready to be tested by local community groups.

SELCO, Ujire (oojeray), and Solar Dryers

I have spent the last few day settling into Ujire and catching up with the progress of the Solar Dryer project from the other interns in the SELCO lab. Most of my time has been spent reading the reports from other interns and the experiments they have completed. As well as this I have been reading about different dryer designs and efficient ways to dry food.

Previous interns have already managed to get the solar collector working reasonably well. What is not working so well is the biomass part of the dryer. A stove heats the drying compartment, taking moisture from the food with it, however the stove only burns for a short period of time. One of my tasks is to retain the heat in the dryer for longer, so the biomass burner does not have to be lit as often.

Yesterday was particularly exciting as I travelled to a local aluminium workshop in the next town with another SELCO intern to collect a heat exchanger (yes – a HEAT EXCHANGER) for the dryer. Getting this complex shape was not an easy task for the craftsmen in the workshop.

Over the next few days, I'm going to be coming up with some new ideas & designs for the dryer and hopefully conduct a few experiments to test it.

The food has been fantastic (even if I would occasionally like something non-spicy for breakfast) and so far I have not become ill!

The SELCO Interns

Arrival & First Impressions

I am not quite sure what time it is as I am writing this. I took my flight from Terminal 5 yesterday. After a 9 hour flight in which I did very little except sleep, I landed. Apart from the enormous queue, passport control was quick and easy. I spent half an hour waiting for my bag, wondering if it would ever come.

I decided to take the public bus from the airport to my hotel. After battling through the taxi drivers all wanting to give me a lift, I found the right bus. It cost 180 rupees for the 55 minute bus ride, about £2.50. The one thing which has hit me on arrival is the behaviour of the traffic. The bus seemed to weave it's way along the road, dodging motorcycles, trucks piled high with stuff and blaring the horn at any moment another vehicle obscured its path. How I found the hotel I am not really sure, however the bus seemed to drop me off within 100 metres of it. I even found the SELCO head office before the hotel. All it took was a little help from the conductor, who waved his hand in the right direction.

The poverty is visible: The houses, the women washing clothes and cooking on smoky fires open fires, the cows on the street, the large number of stray dogs and the rubbish. But strangely, this is a place I will get used to and I have been prepared for the culture shock. When I arrived the roads were mainly clear however as its got later the traffic has got heavier, and I have had to re-learn the way to cross a road safely, without being run over by a rickshaw, motorcycle or moped (there are no pavements)

I am being shown around the SELCO head office later today, and am taking an overnight bus on Sunday night to Ujire, where my placement is based. I am hoping to spend some of the day tomorrow exploring Bangalore city centre.