Kenya’s NTV focused on the Coolbot and ZEBC for postharvest handling of mangoes in a recent edition of the program Food Friday.

USAID’s Jane Ambuko, a partner with the World Vegetable Center in promoting the Coolbot and Zero Energy Brick Cooler (ZEBC) postharvest technologies, spoke to NTV’s Zeynad Wardati about the benefits of these technologies to help small-scale mango farmers protect harvested fruit from spoilage.

The Coolbot is a device that is attached to a regular room air-conditioner. When an AC unit with a Coolbot is placed in an insulated room, the temperature of the room can be kept much lower than the usual AC minimum of 18°C, allowing farmers to safely store mangoes for several days without loss of quality.

A ZEBC — a simple box structure made of bricks and sand — can lower temperatures of freshly picked fruit and vegetables by several degrees through evaporation, and help keep the harvested produce in good condition for a longer period of time.

(English; running time 00:04:29).