Photo courtesy Compradre
Solar roaster helps farmers
The Compadre team works with a solar roaster.
PERU
Compadre, a coffee startup based in Lima, Peru, recently received top honors from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for its Solar Hybrid Coffee Roaster.
The machine catches and stores the sun’s energy using solar panels and it also directly roasts beans using a series of angled mirrors that heat a rotating steel drum.
The solar roaster, which got its start with company c.e.o. Juan Pablo Perez’s university thesis and evolved with an interdisciplinary research team was tested with native communities in the Peruvian jungle. Through this work, researchers “saw how deep unfair prices affected small farmers,” company spokesperson Adriana Lombardi said. “So, they took it upon themselves to do something about it.”
Compadre installs solar roasters to local farmers’ communities, teaches farmers how to use the technology and then buys their beans at a price higher than what the local market offers, Lombardi said.
“The farmer roasts its own coffee with Compadre’s machines and receives an extra payment for each kilogram that is selected and roasted,” she said. “We sell the coffee and take care of the coffee distribution to our clients, creating a transparent and fair chain with all the people involved and with our environment.
“This allows them to give added value to their product and have higher incomes,” Lombardi said. “Economic recognition for their hard work and organic practices encourages them to keep these practices and continue to work and live in the countryside.”
ASME awarded Compadre USD $10,000 and 20 hours of engineering design consultation. The prize will be used to enhance the solar roaster and develop a larger-capacity production roaster.
“We’ve reached a point where our coffee production has reached its limit and our demand keeps increasing, so the development of this new roaster is a priority for us,” Lombardi said.
For more information, visit http://compadre.pe/home-eng