MDI/Montes de Oro Research and
Training Center in Miramar, Costa Rica
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Applied Research
and Development for
Rural Productive Applications
Who We Are and What We Do: The Mesoamerican
Development Institute is a nongovernmental organization with
offices in Massachusetts, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. We work
on removing barriers to moving producer organizations up the
value-added chain in agro-industrial processing, and in
reducing production costs through the use of renewable
energy sources in rural Mesoamerica.
In practical terms, this entails creating the conditions in
which new tools can be adopted by rural enterprises that
allow them to participate in agro-industrial processing and
the export of agricultural products. Such examples
include:
The
introduction of industrial solar coffee dryers that allow
producers to reduce processing costs and improve quality
while protecting the environment.
The introduction of
processing equipment for the extraction of essential oils
of forest products that functions off grid using bio-fuels
to power the industrial process.
The introduction of
hermetic storage systems that allow cooperatives to create
storage businesses for storing grains and commodities.
These tools preserve quality and eliminate the need for
pesticides and fumigants.
What are Barriers to the
Adoption of these Tools? The following barriers must be addressed for the successful
introduction of new technologies and environmentally
friendly processes:
Institutional
Barriers: In most of Central America, there are few examples
for the transformation of the campesino, or small producer,
to agro-industrialist. The ability to process either coffee
or essential oils requires capital investment, technical and
managerial capacity, and entrepreneurial spirit.
Technical Barriers: Lack
of technical capacity to design, configure and install
renewable energy technology and related equipment that
match local conditions.
Informational Barriers:
Lack of access to and experience with international
markets and limited access to methodology and working
models to promote the new concept of renewable energy for
rural productive applications.
Financial Barriers: Lack
of available credit for producer organizations to purchase
equipment or finance the harvest is a long-standing
barrier.
MDI's programs include
the following:
Training in coffee processing and quality
control using industrial solar drying equipment at the
ISO14001 certified cooperative Montes de Oro in Costa Rica.
Development of new financing instruments to assist
producers in transitioning to renewable energy
technology---including the trading of emission reductions
in the developing market for carbon trading created under
the Kyoto Protocol.
Marketing support for the promotion of Café
Solar®, coffee dried using renewable energy technology.
Design and configuration of industrial
solar coffee drying facilities.
Technical support for
communities diversifying from coffee production to other
high-value added agro-industrial activities, such as the
extraction of essential oils in the buffer zone of the
BOSAWAS Biosphere Reserve in Nicaragua.
Promotion of hermetic
storage/treatment systems that promote quality
preservation and long-term storage without the use of
pesticides or fumigants for commodities and staple grains.
Support for MDI's initiatives is provided by the World Bank and
Global Environment Facility, the AVINA Foundation, the
Inter-American Foundation, the International Foundation, and
others.
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