VitaGoat

Although the VitaCow can be an important development system in many situations, there are some drawbacks with it:

It requires electricity. In many instances in developing countries, electricity is either expensive, unreliable or unavailable.

It is relatively expensive: with a delivered cost of approx. US$5,500, the VitaCow is expensive for many local NGOs or small businesses.

It should be used for feeding or selling to at least 500 people per day. Some communities or institutions only have access to smaller groups.

For these reasons, Malnutrition Matters is developing a non-electric, versatile food production system that we have named the "VitaGoat". The system will be comprised of: a cooking vessel, a bicycle-powered grinding system, an energy-efficient steam generator and a mechanical press.

The total projected selling price is under US$2,000. Fabrication, training and parts for the systems will be provided locally since each component will be relatively simple to fabricate in basic machine shops.

The foods produced with the system are anticipated to be the same as those with the VitaCow, but an added benefit will be the ability to grind dry cereals and grains to produce flour. It may also be possible to process nuts into pastes or "butter" such as peanut butter.
We believe that the VitaGoat has the potential to help sustain thousands of communities, groups and entrepreneurs throughout the world.