{"id":8254,"date":"2024-07-04T14:51:06","date_gmt":"2024-07-04T17:51:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/solvefortomorrowlatam.com\/?post_type=pratica&p=8254"},"modified":"2024-08-01T19:59:49","modified_gmt":"2024-08-01T22:59:49","slug":"students-project-guarantees-more-productivity-and-safety-in-coffee-washing","status":"publish","type":"pratica","link":"https:\/\/solvefortomorrowlatam.com\/en\/case\/students-project-guarantees-more-productivity-and-safety-in-coffee-washing\/","title":{"rendered":"Students project guarantees more productivity and safety in coffee washing"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the community of Nuevo Chirimoto, in Peru, the main economic activity is the production and sale of coffee,  manually made mainly by families, with a lot of work and without much technological intervention. To facilitate the process, increase production and guarantee greater safety, a team of local students created a way to mechanize the work, with a machine that removes the pulp of the coffee, shakes it, cleans it deeply with pure water and takes it out, ready for drying. The innovation<\/a> was a finalist in the 10th edition of Solve for Tomorrow in the country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The students were 15 years old and were in their 3rd year, which is the year of admission at this type of school, “Colegios de Alto Rendimiento”- COAR (High-performance Schools). When teacher James Padilla, who is the mediator<\/a> of this project, entered the classes to invite everyone to participate in Solve for Tomorrow, the student Angeli Tatiana decided to form her group with colleagues. \u201cMany have family farmers who work with coffee and the grandfather of two students suffered from osteoarthritis. So, they wanted to find a way to prevent him from getting sick and allow him to continue working, which is what he wants,\u201d recalls the educator.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The granddaughters of this potential \u201cclient\u201d are Tatiana and Katty, who achieved the participation of an important ally: their uncle, also a farmer and an industrial engineer. The family estimates that the grandfather suffers from these pains due to decades of work in the fields, with poor posture and great physical effort. \u201cWe not only saw the need in the family, but in the entire town. We concluded that a machine that mechanized coffee washing could be beneficial for the entire community, since they could share it or even rent it to other farmers who do not have the possibility to buy one of their own,\u201d Padilla sees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the educator, the statistics managed in the project show about 500 producer families in the region, and 30 of them were interviewed, due to time and internet limitations. \u201cWe saw that the elderly stay in the locality, with agriculture, while the younger ones sometimes migrate to larger cities to study or work. When they return to the community, they no longer dedicate themselves to this field. So, our purpose was helping these grandparents,\u201d he declares.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Design thinking helped structure the project<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

James Padilla is a Technology teacher at the school. With a background in Production Systems Engineering, he began teaching in 2017. Today he teaches robotics, mobile applications, graphic design and Arduino, among others. The teacher highlights that at school they already study STEM methodologies and especially in third grade, the five phases of the project trail<\/a> are indicated: Empathy, Definition, Ideation, Prototype and Test. \u201cThey wanted to directly make the machine and I told them that this was only the fourth step. So, we advanced through each stage at its own time,\u201d he recalls. For him, following this path was important to dedicate the necessary time to the search and so that they could focus not only on the result, but also develop critical thinking and other skills while carrying out the investigation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\n Momento Eureka! <\/h5>\n

The initial idea was that farmers could see the inside of the machine while it was working, as they were used to doing it manually. But in the development of the project they made changes to guarantee more safety, efficiency and comfort. \u201cAt first the open machine worked well, but then we saw that when more quantity was placed, the coffee jumped and came out of the equipment,\u201d said the teacher. They decided to close it and it can only be opened when the producer needs to look inside the machine. \u201cIt was a safety measure. A more curious child could put his hand in it and get hurt,\u201d he says.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\n

I think that experience has taught us the importance of the ease of use, beyond following an initial design to the letter. We cannot think about the machine in isolation, but on the day-to-day life of those who are going to use it. use, Padilla believes.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The allied uncle had already made a similar machine before but it was very large, industrial and they changed this too. \u201cWith this reference in mind and the uncle\u2019s help, the students improved the prototype and made a smaller one so that it can be transported in a normal van,\u201d he explains. The ally was also important in informing specifications of the necessary materials for construction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With mechanization, washing is much faster<\/strong><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Farmers can pour coffee into a funnel-shaped part of the prototype<\/a>. With a motor attached, the machine spins the coffee, moving the poles and propellers inside. The movement, together with the impact of the water that comes out in a jet, guarantees effective washing of the fruit. See more details of this operation in the video below:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n