Climate Smart Cocoa Storage Facility

The UWI’s Cocoa Research Centre along with the Original Trinitario Cocoa Education Foundation (OTC) has piloted a solar-powered container aimed at improving the storage of cocoa beans. Completed via a Grant from Digicel’s Extraordinary Project Impacting Communities (EPIC), the storage facility has the capacity to be used in rural communities. The walls are insulated to avoid extreme temperatures inside, and are powered by an AC unit and dehumidifier. Custom Manager at the OTC, Tobias Frenking, said they hope the mobile facility can be eventually adopted by stakeholders in the cocoa industry to ensure the quality of cocoa remains of high quality. Research Fellow at the Cocoa Research Centre, Dr. Darin Sukha, said this Climate Smart Cocoa Storage Facility could be a game changer for the industry.