Food preservation in Sierra Leone
Overview
Sierra Leone is located along the coast of West Africa. It has a population of 7.81 million, and is growing quickly. Its capital and largest city is named Freetown. About 35% of the people live in urban areas (these areas are few in number, yet densely populated), and unfortunately, nearly 81% live in poverty. It is still recovering from the aftermath of a bloody civil war that lasted from 1991 to 2002. The country is rich in natural resources, including diamond, metal ore, and forest trees, although this is not reflected in the wealth of the general population. Those resources have long been a source of conflict and exploitation. Many of the diamond mines are infamous for being run by war criminals, and often the workers are kept in conditions approaching slavery. Diamonds from this area are often referred to as "blood diamonds", as a reminder of the atrocities that accompany the African diamond trade.
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On top of all this, the country has been suffering from poor food stability for a long time. This is due to a variety of reasons. We aim to ease this issue with our simple food preservation device.
An Intermediate technology
Intermediate technologies are simple, low-cost devices that are designed to aid the global poor with their various dilemmas. They are meant to be more effective than the "traditional way" of dealing with these issues, but much more accessible and culturally acceptable than high-tech solutions such as the Bill Gates Toilet.
Our device falls under this category of intermediate technology. Our goal for the device is to improve the food stability of the many impoverished people living in hot, humid climates (Beginning with Sierra Leone).