Turning heat to cooling, Kenyan inventor cuts food waste - and adds jobs and income

Dysmus Kisilu, a Kenyan entrepreneur with a degree in renewable energy and agricultural technology from University of California, Davis, is finding ways to reduce food waste and help farmers in rural Kenya increase their income. A fellow of the 2019 MIT D-Lab Scale-Ups programme, Dysmus started Solar Freeze in 2016, which offers a cooling technology designed for off-grid areas with limited electricity access that allows farmers to store crops thus eliminating post-harvest losses and pre-sell waste. In 2020, he developed a smaller fridge used by clinics to store vaccines and medicines in remote areas. Part of Solar Freeze's mission is educational and training. The 'Each One Teach One' initiative educates young people, especially women, in renewable energy skills to help them find jobs in the renewable sector. In 2021, his technology received an Ashden Award for its humanitarian impact in providing a climate change solution.