Building Solutions for Date Processing in a Jeopardizing Environment

The project carried out in Dhi Qar Province (Iraq) required to set date palm processing lines inside a clean and hygienic facility in order to prevent the food from contamination and sandstorms. Activities in the field were planned to be carried out during peaceful period. But situation was jeopardizing and because of the uncertainty, location was in the worst social condition to realize a building project. As political decisions changed very fast, it was hard to control work progress. Moreover it was difficult to find carpenters; access to energy supply could not be continuous, etc. Due to the necessity to complete the activities of the project, three different solutions were elaborated to get capacity of working in changing situation. In this paper the criteria of choosing various approaches are described and discussed. a) The first solution is represented by a versatile prefabricated structure composed of a modular box, preventively organized. This structure is simple to mount in a safety area in order to assemble and test all the date processing equipment. In such a way it is possible to train local workers. Furthermore the structure is quick to dismantle and move to the final location. This solution was tested during the project (September-October 2006). b) The second solution can be realized using a solid existent building, previously checked by local partners of the project on the spot. In this case the processing equipment can be installed inside the structure after the restoration. c) As third enduring solution, to realize during a relative peace period, a factory building can be specifically designed for date processing. In the project it is necessary to take the traditional taste of building beauty into consideration, but at the same time to fulfill the international safety requirements for construction. All the studied solutions must be furnished with a 20 ft container modified to become fumigation, dryer chamber and date warehouse, used also for shipping some of the stuff. It is an economic and sustainable way to make easier some critical parts of the date processing. Furthermore solar energy can be used to cover the lack of power supply during the production process. Photovoltaic panels were used in our demonstrative plant not only to power the conditioning system of fumigation and dryer chamber, but also to light the area during the night. Hot water necessary for the process was provided by solar panels.