About Us
The Cool Sun project is a product of two USAID grants and is being led by Dr. Sangeeta Chopra of the Indian Agricultural Research Institute (IARI), New Delhi, India.
Our first grant, obtained in 2015, was through Michigan State University’s USAID funded Global Center for Food Systems Innovation (GCFSI), which permitted development of prototype structures and the evaluation of new building designs for evaporative cooling. In this project, we also integrated solar power into the design to provide additional cooling by powering an air conditioning system modified to reach lower storage temperatures.
The second (and current) grant was obtained from the Partnership for Enhanced Engagement in Research (PEER) program of USAID, which is administered by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. This funding has enabled Cool Sun to improve the design and functionality of the cold storage and construct demonstration units for three farms / farm communities in India in Rajasthan, Haryana, and Delhi.
