EcoHearth: Come Home to the Earth

Who doesn’t love dried fruits and vegetables? There’s the extra sweetness and concentrated flavor. They can be eaten “as is” or reconstituted with water. They’re lightweight—easy to carry to class, to work or even around the world. And don’t forget their environmental friendliness: they can be stored nearly forever without refrigeration, they don’t need to be cooked to be enjoyed and, unlike so many other foods, they don’t come wrapped in excessive packaging (especially if you make them yourself).

Under the right conditions in the right climate, certain foods dehydrate naturally. But you can build your own food dehydrator to create favorable conditions wherever you are with the free plans below.

Raw vegans have a special appreciation because they believe, and scientific investigation bears out, that produce heated to no higher temperature than the sun would, retains its nutritional integrity and life force.

However, raw-fooders aren't the only people who enjoy using food dehydrators. Backpackers make lightweight soups, homesteaders make winter seasoning blends, naturalists dehydrate healing herbs, and some dads make mean all-fruit roll-ups.

There are many food dehydrators on the market, but by constructing one yourself, you can build it to your size specifications and make it completely off-grid.

If you like a lot of dried food, or like giving it away to friends, you should consider building a roof dehydrator. It’s fun to assemble, easy to use, and is powered directly by the sun and wind (which means no waste of energy and no increase in utility bills!).

A rooftop food dehydrator works by using the color black to draw in the sun's heat through a clear barrier. The heat then warms the air, which rises and is directed through screens with food on them.

If you are a true DIYer and have a set of tools to tinker with, go for the hardcore solar-food dehydrator like the one pictured. For the really hardcore, the rawer than raw, the useful object recyclers: why not use all reused or compostable materials?

My solar dehydrator, for example, is on a rooftop in Hollywood, dehydrating nine months of the year, so the sun is providing a generous power supply. Here are some tips to build your own:

1. Drill holes in 3/8" Window Grade Lexan door to be attached to the box painted black for absorbing heat.



2. Install flashing over raw Lexan edges for skin safety. Notice the shelf mounts inside the box.



3. Using recycled window screens cut to fit new dimensions, it is now time to roll in the new aluminum screen.



4. Here it is fully assembled and positioned (illegally) on a Hollywood rooftop. But really, what landlord would scoff at these environmental and money-saving efforts? Notice the lid props for safe bracing while loading and unloading the dehydrator.



5. An aluminum screen at the top and bottom of the box allows ventilation and prevents birds and insects from entering.



6. The legs on castors allow for easier moving, though the Lexan on this bugger weighs a ton!



7. Earlier in the day on my hand-crank blender (another human-powered kitchen appliance) I blended up: 20 medjool dates, one lemon's juice and one teaspoon of organic cinnamon and spread over one-and-a-half quarts (soaked volume) of buckwheat groats. I am scooping them onto two food-grade silicone baking sheets, though unbleached or recycled parchment paper has proven to be a preferable option due to its ability to allow better airflow.



8. The other shelves are lined with unbleached parchment paper that can be washed and reused instead of being thought of as disposable (what does that word mean, anyway?). Notice the dehydrator's handle is made of wood, which does not absorb the rooftop's heat so I can grab it to open! Other trays hold kale chips and sweet potato chips.



9. Ravenous Do-It-Yourselfers can hardly wait to celebrate their teamwork!


You don’t have to build a solar dehydrator as big as mine. You can find plans below for a small, easy solar dehydrator buildable in a few hours for less than $10. Tailor the plans to fit your specific climate, space and food needs. But do build one.

I mean, how cool would it be to send your child to school with a luscious whole dehydrated banana in her lunch box? How about some date-sweetened buckwheaties with hempseed milk for breakfast cereal? Or you might want a work snack of apple slices spread with sun-warmed coconut butter. It's easy to replace potato chips with a more mineral-packed variety, and if those kale chips were dehydrated in your personally built, solar food dehydrator made from recycled material, what could be greener about your late-nite snacks?

[See a complete list of writing by Tonya Kay on EcoHearth.com or visit her Clean and Green Everyday blog. Also, read about other environmental DIY projects on EcoHearth. - Ed.]

Other resources:
Hardcore Solar Food Dehydrator Plans (pdf)
Simple and Fast Solar Dehydrator Plans
Easy DIY Environmental Projects

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