Harvests were growing. Value was disappearing.

Growing up in rural Kenya, we saw how much effort it takes to grow food. Families invested months of labor, money, and hope into each season, often depending on a single harvest to pay for school fees and basic needs. When the fields finally produced well, it felt like things were changing for the better. But after harvest, a different reality set in. Without reliable storage, cooling, or fast access to markets, a large share of fresh produce would spoil before reaching buyers. Fruit that represented months of work would sometimes rot along roadsides or at collection points, especially when transport delays or market gluts occurred. The problem was not production—it was what happened after harvest. We started this work because that loss felt unnecessary. It is not just wasted food; it is lost income for farmers, wasted land and water, and missed opportunities for rural communities. Our focus is postharvest preservation, where small improvements can have large impacts. We are developing science-based technologies that help fresh produce stay stable for longer as it moves through real supply chains, especially in environments where cold storage is limited or unreliable. We are also exploring ways to convert agricultural waste into useful materials that can help protect harvested crops, turning a local problem into part of the solution. Our goal is simple: reduce avoidable food loss and help farmers capture more value from what they already grow.