Solar-powered cold storage in Gambia
Location
Gambia, Sintet
Project partner
Dr Karl-Heinrich Hasenritter Foundation
Field
Sustainable infrastructure
Securing cold chains for food
In the village of Sintet near Kalagi in The Gambia, a solar-powered cold store for agricultural produce is being built. Locally, women jointly manage the ‘Sintet Women’s Garden’, where onions, fruit and vegetables, amongst other things, are grown.
The project aims to help extend the shelf life of crops and improve local marketing. This creates more stable conditions for production, storage and resale. Diesel generators.
Our objectives
The aim of the project is to enable reliable cooling of agricultural produce directly at the point of production. This should reduce post-harvest losses and create better storage and marketing opportunities.
At the same time, the project demonstrates how decentralised cold chains can be established in rural regions, independent of unstable electricity grids or diesel generators.
Our support
The cold store is designed as an insulated container and is built to withstand tropical conditions. The system is powered entirely by a solar system (8 kWp), with a 12 kWh sodium-ion battery for a reliable supply even without the mains grid.
The container offers a cooling capacity of approx. 32 m³ at 5–10 °C. Thanks to its compact design, it is mobile and quick to install – directly where cooling infrastructure is lacking.
For local people, this means: less food wastage, better storage and new income opportunities through the planned marketing of their products.
