Report 1 of 4: Cashew Processing in Gampaha - Sri Lanka

Introduction

In Sri Lanka, cashew processing is one of the main agricultural enterprises in rural areas. It is usually carried out by small-scale processors. Gampaha, a rural area in Sri Lanka close to Colombo, is famous for its cashew nuts. Most of the families living there are involved in cashew nut processing, and for women it is the main source of income. Women play a very important role in the whole process, from cashew collection to the labour intensive preparation of the cashews. Processing cashew is an extremely skilled task that includes shelling, drying and removing the inner red shell.

	©ITDG/Zul: ITDG's tray dryer in Sri Lanka

In the past, one of the problems faced by the women cashew processors was that cashews are a seasonal crop and the women could not afford to buy huge stocks that could be processed throughout the year. This meant that the women remained dependent on middlemen who sold them cashew nuts which they would then buy back after the processing had been completed. By controlling the market, the middlemen were able to make a much larger profit than the skilled cashew processors.

Before the intervention of the development agency, ITDG (Intermediate Technology Development Group), the small-scale cashew processors had no access to government support programmes or services. However, ITDG started working with the rural women to develop ways of working which produce high quality cashew nuts, they have been able to prove their credit worthiness and crack the export market.

Tray Dryer

The women wanted a dryer that would help them to dry the cashew nuts and improve the quality of their product so that they could sell them direct to the wholesalers and cut out the middlemen.

	©ITDG/Zul

The dryer has a wooden cabinet which holds six trays made of aluminium/steel with wire meshed bottoms. The stove is fuelled using paddy husk or sawdust. It is placed outside the cabinet and provides the necessary heat for drying. The heat generated by the stove is channelled through a set of tubes situated at the bottom of the cabinet that act as heat exchangers. The air around the tubes is heated and the hot air rises and moves through the trays full of cashew, taking the moisture with it. The excess heat is directed through a pipe that is built outside the cabinet and expelled through a chimney.

Cashews are loaded into all the trays and the heat is gradually increased. The cashews in the tray nearest the bottom of the cabinet dry first and the tray is then removed. The other trays are lowered and a new tray is introduced into the top of the dryer. This means that the cashews are gradually heated and are slowly moved down the dryer to higher temperatures. The temperature of the dryer is usually kept between 70-75ºC and is controlled by altering the amount of fuel on the stove.

These conditions lead to evenly dried ivory coloured cashew nuts that have a good demand in the export markets.

Advantages of the Tray Dryer

• The energy source of the dryer is paddy husk or saw dust which are freely available in rural cashew growing areas. This means that the dryer can be operated in places without electricity.

• The dryer is semi-continuous which means a tray can be removed when the material is dry and a new tray with fresh cashew can be loaded. This improves the output, quality and fuel efficiency.

• The problem of burning the cashews has been overcome by controlling the heat flow and rotating the trays.

• The dryer can be made at small workshops. It provides a low cost operation and the maintenance is easy.

• It should burn cheap fuel, such as waste materials.

• It should be made from parts available locally.

• It should be easy to operate.

• It should generate an even heat.

• The trays should rotate.

The women formed a small group for the purpose of conducting cashew processing as a collective activity. They selected a site belonging to one of its members to install the tray dryer and obtained a written lease for two years. Together, the group built a processing unit at the selected site and collectively bore the cost of the building. The processing unit is small and temporary but addresses all the basic requirements.

Intermediate Technology advised in the planning and guidance for building according to the requirements of hygiene. The development group provided the dryer for the women who agreed to pay for it within one year by monthly instalments. They were trained in the operation of the dryer once it had been installed.

The Cashew Corporation Factory

The Cashew Corporation factory is situated about 500 yards from the women’s site and small-scale processors had been prohibited entry unless they were working as hired labourers. However, following the success of the tray dryer, the Cashew Corporation requested the women to train their workers on quality standards and quality control aspects of cashew processing.

The women were able to register under the Cashew Corporation’s sponsored credit programme and sell their processed cashews to the corporation which previously only the big business men were able to do. The prices given by the corporation were higher than the women had previously received but the payments were delayed for a long time so the processors decided to sell to the exporters directly. They recognise the quality of the cashew processed by women small scale producers and pay them the maximum prevailing price in cash immediately.

Access to Credit

The reason for being part of the group is mainly for accessing credit but the collective activity has also increased the saving potential of the women as well. Collective cashew processing is commercially viable, with the group being able to pay back the main capital cost of the dryer. The processors are more conscious of the quality of cashews and maintain the required criteria of the exporters. They have gained recognition and respect within the village as a group who could successfully run a profitable business and the middlemen have recognised their potential.

Banks are willing to provide credit as the socio-economic conditions of the area are relatively good. The women have managed to convince commercial credit organisations to increase the loan amount up to Rs.100,000/= per person with the people in the group guaranteeing each other’s loans. The previous loan limit on a group guarantee scheme was Rs.35,000/=.

The cashew processors have been able to cut out the middlemen and have proved to the commercial banks that their product is profitable. This has enabled the women to get a loan so that they can buy cashews all year round.

When one member of the group in Kaluwalgoda was not able to obtain loan facilities, all the other members of the group contributed to collect money for her purpose.
 

For further information, please contact:
 

This document is an output from a project funded by the UK Department for International Development (DFID) for the benefit of developing countries. The views expressed are not necessarily those of the DFID.
 

Further reading available from ITDG Development Bookshop

J.G. Ohler
Cashew
£17.95 KIT Press PB 1988 ISBN: 9068320742
 

TVE/ Practical Action gratefully acknowledge support for the HANDS ON programmes from the UK's Department for International Development (DFID), the European Commission (EC), the UN Foundation and UNDP/The Equator Initiative in collaboration with the Government of Canada, IDRC, IUCN, BrasilConnects and the Nature Conservancy.