Dried Fruits Expert

TERMS OF REFERENCE Community Development Project (CoDeP) Livelihood improvement through the introduction of a new line of “dried fruits”- January 2016   Background:   In Partnership with Drosos Foundation, the Association for the Protection of Jabal Moussa (APJM) is implementing a project entitled: Community Development Project (CoDeP). The project will contribute to achieving a better, sustainable quality of life for the local communities living in and around Jabal Moussa.   One of the main objectives of CoDeP is to “promote of environmentally sound and economically sustainable income opportunities for local people”. Dried fruits were identified as one major opportunity to focus on, as they can be linked to the existing line of Jabal Moussa food products, thus providing additional sources of income for several target groups -farmers on one hand, and women processors on the other-. More importantly, these new “high-value, low-volume” products will target a promising market, so far unexploited by APJM: the thousands of hikers visiting Jabal Moussa Reserve every year. In this context, a Food Processing / Food Technology expert is requested to support APJM in launching its new line of dried fruits, and implement an intervention plan to encourage the production of dried fruits in the 7 villages surrounding Jabal Moussa. Required tasks and deliverables:   1- Development of new products:a- Select the local fruit species that are most suitable for dehydration (for instance: cherries, pears, figs, walnuts, almonds, apples, peaches, apricots, cherries, plums, berries…)b- Develop new creative products with a good market potential based on the selected fruits, taking into consideration the possible forms (leather, slices, raisins) and mixes of fruitsc- Decide on the products packaging and follow up on the form, content and design of the packaged- Provide APJM with technical information on the developed products, mainly: recipes, production steps, packaging, storage, expiry… 2- Facility establishment:a- Assist APJM in finding the proper location to establish a “Facility for food drying” in Jabal Moussab- Assist APJM in establishing the facility, and in purchasing equipment, material, instruments, tools and uniforms required for the production and packaging of the dried fruits 3- Training program:Develop and implement a training program to the women processors including, the following topics:a- Selecting the right fruits (ripeness)b- Preparing fruits prior to drying: seed and shell removal, rinsing…c- Pre-treatment: blanching -steam/water/syrup-, dipping, and other treatmentsd- Drying process: proper use of dehydrator, time of drying…e- Post-treatment: conditioning, storing and packaging (Polypropylene bags, jars…)   Timing:   The assignment is due to begin in March 2016, and end in October 2016.   Remuneration: Total compensation amount: _________________$ This amount will be paid in installments upon the satisfactory completion by the expert of each of the activities within the set timeframe as described below: Deliverables Timeframe Budget (US $) Development of 6 new lines of products (recipe + packaging) ______________ _________$ Consultancy on choice of equipment for production and packaging ______________ _________$ Training program ______________ _________$   Contacts: Kindly submit an offer and return to the following email addresses: - Joelle Barakat- joelle.barakat@jabalmoussa.org (CoDeP Project Coordinator)- Jean Sakr- jean.sakr@jabalmoussa.org (CoDeP Financial Officer)