Fruit Processing in the Ecuadorian Coast

EducaFuturo is a program currently being implemented by Partners of the Americas in Ecuador and Panama. Funded by the US Department of Labor (USDOL), EducaFuturo seeks to combat child labor in both countries by providing educational programs, vocational training, and livelihood services. The Farmer-to-Farmer (F2F) program has partnered with EducaFuturo on numerous occasions over the past five years, sending 7 volunteers to support their efforts in improving the educational outcomes of youth involved in child labor, while also increasing the income opportunities of households to reduce their reliance on child labor. Volunteers have provided training on a range of topics, including sustainable production practices, processing, business management, and marketing.

Most recently, University of Oklahoma Extension food specialist, Dr. Barbara Brown, traveled to the city of Otavalo, Ecuador to provide training to EducaFuturo participants on fruit processing and value-added products from their uvilla and strawberries. During her two-week trip, she visited the communities of San Rafael and Pijal to tour their strawberry and uvilla fields. Strawberries and uvilla are the two most abundant crops grown in the communities. Growers sell their fruit in nearby markets, including to the fast food chain KFC. However, in order to reduce their losses, they are seeking to develop new products to add value to their fruit. As part of this effort, Dr. Brown conducted workshops on the production of fruit pulp, preserves, and jams (with and without added pectin). In addition, she discussed the feasibility of developing preserves and jams from tree tomatoes, blackberries, apples, and apricots. In order to better tailor the training sessions to the needs of the communities, Dr. Brown conducted workshops on the preparation of each value-added products using home-sized quantities, equipment, and resources. The goal is to allow the groups to first become familiar with home-scale production of these goods and then build their way up to commercial scale. 

Dr. Brown feels confident that, with the right resources and continued support from the EducaFuturo program and Otavalo community, the two groups in Pijal and San Rafael will be able to follow through with the production of these products. As part of her recommendations, she noted that investing in heavy-grade plastic bags with a heat sealed closure will be extremely beneficial in increasing the shelf-life of their products.