François Dewaele
Document produced as part of a curriculum for a second year faculty at the Polytechnic ULB, March 2006
Introduction[edit | edit source]
In developing countries, cereals have always taken a dominant place in the diets of the poorest population. In West Africa, the millet, sorghum, rice and maize provide the people most of their caloric ration (up to 80% of the daily needs). Thus, on average, 170 kg of grain per year and per person are consumed.
However, from the harvested grain to a cooked meal, the grain must undergo a series of preparations. It is indeed in the form of meal or flour that the cereals enter in the make-up of the dishes, and are unique to each region. Their transformation too is essential and plays a major economic role in countries in the developing world.
This report, made for ISF-IAI, Ingénieurs Sans Frontières -Ingénieurs Assisitance Internationale, discusses the process of grinding, and in particular, the choice of the mills for developing countries. It is therefore directed especially to NGO's seeking information on equipment, adapted for these countries.
This entire document is divided into three parts:
- The first part provides a word on the cereals and their treatment, on flour, presents the different types of mills, compares and provide the comparative tables that can be used for choosing a mill.
- The second part consists of the appendixes provided at the end of document. These notably include a list of suppliers as complete as possible, information received from suppliers or through the Internet, as well as a list and a comparison of the prices.
- The third part consists of documents grouped in a folder, and containing homemade plans of different types of mills.
This document is therefore an aid in the choice of a mill, especially when it is intended for milling grain.
