Event

The Department of Mechanical and Manufacturing Engineering hosts the Regionally Relevant Cocoa Project (RRCEP) Symposium and Exhibition.

The goal of the project is to develop a line of affordable and efficient line of processing equipment which will be used in the harvesting, fermenting, pre-processing, processing and finishing of cocoa and cocoa products. At the Symposium and Exhibition the project machines developed by the project team, as well as the student projects will be on display for the first time.

The symposium takes place on August 15 from 9am to 2pm at the Teaching and Learning Complex (TLC). Admission is free, however due to limited space interested persons are asked to reserve their seat by registering at https://bit.ly/2LPQK0X or by emailing renique.murray@sta.uwi.edu.

For additional queries, please call Dr. Renique Murray at 662-2002 ext. 83173 or email renique.murray@sta.uwi.edu.

About the RRCEP Project

This Project was funded by the European Development Fund (EDF) through the Ministry of Education (MOE) and commenced in 2016. The goal of the project is to develop a line of affordable and efficient line of processing equipment. This line of equipment includes items used in the harvesting, fermenting, pre-processing, processing and finishing of cocoa and cocoa products.

The RRCEP looked at the data collected from the various strata of the cocoa industry, and analysed it using various engineering analytical tools in an effort to discover the source of the issues that are related to the industry’s problems with equipment and how the development of new technologies can help solve them. It also investigated the types of equipment most needed and the key features necessary for closing the equipment gaps that currently exist in the industry, which have been observed through the evaluation of the equipment that is currently on the market in comparison to the needs of the local and regional industry.

With the project nearing its end, the RRCEP team has found great success in their efforts to achieve their goals, having developed twelve prototypes and models of equipment. A new generation of mechanical, industrial and agricultural engineers to develop machinery for the cocoa industry have been inspired, with twenty additional machines being developed by students.