SF-ADAPT Meeting Features CoolVeg Innovation for Small Farms

On June 30, 2025, SF-ADAPT (Small Farm Alliance to Develop Appropriate Technology) hosted its second meeting - this time bringing together Central Valley farmers and agricultural professionals for a deep dive into cooling solutions tailored to small-scale operations. The meeting featured Dr. Eric Verploegen of MIT and the CoolVeg project, an initiative focused on developing affordable, forced-air evaporative cooling systems for smallholder farmers. The session offered attendees a chance to learn how the system works, how it has been scaled in global contexts like India and Africa, and what its potential could be for farms here in California.

Farmers were especially engaged during the Q&A, asking practical questions around cost, water use, system design, and construction feasibility. Dr. Verploegen addressed concerns ranging from cooling efficiency and energy needs to safety and theft prevention.

As some farmers shared,

• “It would be useful for a small farmer, but we do what we can because we cannot afford a cooling system.”
  

• “Having a cooler would help me preserve my produce as it has gone bad in the past due to not having adequate storage”

This collaboration marks the first step toward piloting CoolVeg’s evaporative cooling system on small farms in the Central Valley and hosting future field demonstrations. As climate conditions intensify and small farms face continued barriers to post-harvest infrastructure, this project aims to bridge the gap with accessible, low-cost technology.

If you missed the meeting but would like to learn more, you can contact myjohnson@ucanr.edu to request a recording, presentation slides (linked below), and a brief interest survey.

More information about the CoolVeg system is available at cooling-chamber.mit.edu and coolveg.org.

CoolVeg - Forced-air evaporative cooling-UNANR.pdf

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