shivraj multipurpose equipment1 shamrao parhate

Fourth National Technological Innovations & Traditional Knowledge Awards 1

“Mere haathon se hamesha kuch naya honachahiye2 ”, observes Shamrao, with a restless tone.

Shamrao Parhate (76), a fabricator-cum-mechanic,is a multidimensional serial innovator par excellencewho over the years has produced numerous usefulinnovations. Shivraj multipurpose agriculturalequipment is one such implement, which showshis immense talent to fabricate things as per theusers’ needs and requirements.

He is the patriarch of a family of thirteen includinghis wife, sons and their families. Two of his sonsrun a fabrication workshop while the third one worksin a company exporting small rubber items used inmedicinal packing. The agricultural equipmentdeveloped by him, is named after his son, Shivraj.

Due to financial constraints, Shamrao could notstudy beyond fourth standard. He learnt ‘watchrepairing’ from his father at a young age and startedassisting him. Since there was not enough workfor both of them, he started taking training in

photography at the age of 22 and thereafter startedworking as a professional photographer. He had totravel extensively for work. He felt fatigued as thetraveling increased and finally stopped photography,to start a radio workshop along with his watchworkshop.

Over the next few years, he worked in his 10’ by20’ shop engaged in watch and radio repair, wishingto start a workshop of his own. Recognizing hiskeenness, a local businessman, Sardar SatwantSingh helped him by loaning him the equipment.Despite not having any formal training, he developedhis acumen by working on diverse kind of machines.

He worked round the clock in his shop for about 16years. Owing primarily to his efforts, in 1969, thegovernment sanctioned a large plot for an industrialcooperative. Parhate started his workshop there,initially on a smaller portion of this plot.. Now, hehas two workshops under the banner of ParhateEngineering Industries in the same area.. His sonshave joined him in running it.

Shivraj multipurpose equipment1

Farm MachineryNational First, Lifetime Achievement Award

Shamrao ParhatePandhurna, Chinndwara, Madhya Pradesh

In 1974, an American Educational Institutepresented an X-ray machine to the VidharbhaCollege, Amravati in Maharashtra. During transit fromMumbai to Amravati, the water circulation forcepump from the machine was stolen. Nobody knewabout this and when the machine was started inAmravati, the X-ray tube worth approximately Rs.10,000 got destroyed. When they went through theoperating manual they found that a pump wasessential for proper functioning, which was absent.A letter was dispatched to the same company inUS for the pump and the tube. The US Companywas able to provide a new X-ray tube but could notsend the pump. However, they sent the technicaldesign of the pump with special consideration. Thedesign was sent to many companies but nobodycould make it.

Finally, Dr. Poddar, in-charge of Physics departmentin the College and a friend of Parhate, wrote a letterexplaining their requirement and also sent technicaldrawings to him. He studied the drawings and thensubmitted a quotation to manufacture it. Within

1 Case study being pursued by Ms Riya Sinha, Sr Advisor, NIF for her Ph.D. studies at University of Wageningen is gratefully drawn upon in this profile.2 Something new should be done by me.

2 National Innovation Foundation

three months, Parhate readied and tested the pump,took it personally to Amravati and demonstrated itsuccessfully in front of the Professors. This washis first success.

In 1980, while working in his workshop, he met withan accident. He hurt an eye while welding, and hadto undergo medical treatment for a few months.While recuperating he started working on developinga welding spark protector/welding helmet. Aftersome work for a couple of months, he succeededin making an automatic spark protector.

He wanted to patent it but did not know how to goabout doing so. He went to a patent attorney whoasked for a sum of Rs. 2,000 for filing patent, whichhe was unable to pay. He got a book on Patentsand with the help of a friend read the relevantportions and based on the sample patent applicationforms, he submitted an application to the patentoffice in Mumbai in 1985. Due to his inexperiencein drafting and language skills, the processcontinued with numerous correspondence lettersseeking clarifications. Following this chain ofcommunication between him and the patent office,he finally succeeded in patenting his device in April1987.

While exploring the possibilities of commercializingthis innovation, he learnt about a Taiwanesecompany, which manufactured such helmets, buttheir helmet was semi-automatic. Whenapproached by him, the company got interested inbuying the technology for Rs. 5,00,000. The dealdid not get through as he realized that much of themoney coming in would have to be deposited astax to the Government. He finally settled for a lower

amount by transferring thetechnology to a Mumbai basedcompany.

Similarly, in 1988, when a Soyabeanprocessing plant was set up nearPandhurna, a particularcomponent–the rotary connector ofa device ‘Swip Agar’ failed and thecompany’s engineers approachedParate. He made the componentwith such efficiency that it workedbetter than the original ones madein Japan.

After this, Pune based company Thermax, who haveinstalled a plant in Pune along with other countrieslike Bangladesh, Malaysia, Pakistan etc., gave himbulk orders to manufacture this component forinstallation at various sites. He supplied thecomponents to Thermax till 1993.

Parhate has led a life of constant exploration. Hisother innovations include technique to stop wobblingof wheels in four wheelers, modified drip irrigationsystem, energy generation through transportation,seed planter, welding rod holder and the versatile‘Shivraj’ multipurpose device along with customizedfarm implements. In addition, he has developed anidea to generate electricity through unconventionalmeans about which he refuses to divulge more untilhe has a patent for it.

Having a long development experience, he has thisto say: “Research karna hai bhai to himmat rakho.Asambhav ko sambhav banane mein kharcha tohota hi hain. Seed planter ka ek component jo teen

rupaye ka tha, use banana ke liye, die ka kharchasare barah hazaar aaya”3

Genesis

The innovator, living in the soyabean and cotton beltof Madhya Pradesh, observed that sowing,intercultural operation, weeding and harvesting werelabour intensive agricultural operations. Scarcity oflabour and high cost of operations done bymechanical power posed difficulty to small farmers.To address this issue, Parhate developed ‘Shivraj’– the multipurpose agricultural equipment in 2000.Being priced at Rs. 15,000 the machine could notfind any takers.

Based on user feedback and his own insights,Parhate modified the design and came up withanother prototype in about a year’s time. Since thenhe has been constantly modifying design, as andwhen people come to him with specific demands.This effectively led to the evolution of the machine,‘Shivraj’. The present machine is the third version

3 If you have to do research then you must keep faith. It takes resources to convert the impossible to possible. While the component cost of a seed planter was just three rupees, it tooktwelve and half thousand rupees to make the die for it.


resulting from his constant effort for developing asuitable product.

Innovation

The ‘Shivraj’ is a multipurpose tool frame drawn bypaired bullocks. It is lightweight and can performup to six agricultural operations. Differentaccessories can be attached to it for differentoperations like shallow ploughing, interculturing,weeding, sowing, residue collection, groundnutdigging and soyabean harvesting. Withmodifications, it can also be used for spraying.

It consists of a multi-purpose tool frame mountedfreely on the central shaft of ground wheel to whichaccessories can be fitted: for example, the seeddrilling attachment can be replaced by a sittingattachment.

The field capacity of the equipment is 0.27 hectare/hour and the cost of this product with attachmentsfor seeding, ploughing and interculturing is aroundRs. 12,000.

The concept of multipurpose toolbar/frame used forploughing, harrowing, sowing and interculturaloperations for agricultural machineries, is wellknown4 . IARI, New Delhi, has developed an integraltool bar that can do five operations viz. ploughing,harrowing, bund forming, ridge making and sowingand costs Rs. 3,800/-5 .

Similarly, Tropicultor developed by ICRISAT,Hyderabad can be used for ploughing, stubbleremoving, planting and fertilizer application,interculture operation and harvesting of turmeric andgroundnut. It has a mechanical linkage to lowerdown or raise the attachment during turns or

wherever required and costs about Rs, 40,000/-6 . US Patent No. 5267517 (Dec. 7, 1993) describesa multi-function tillage or planting implement, whichcan be used for leveling, planting, compacting andchemical application in single pass.

However, ‘Shivraj’ has many innovative features:☯ It has a provision to vary RPM of the seed-

metering unit and thereby allowing differentseed rates and desired plant-to-plant spac-ing.

☯ A thoughtful provision has been incorporatedto disconnect seed metering drive using lockinglever to avoid seed losses while taking a turnin the field.

☯ Provision has been made for changing the angle

of penetration of soil-working tool duringploughing.

☯ Another feature is a freely mounting frame onthe central axis that allows lifted up of the deviceat turnings.

Specially built tyne type plough are provided. Threeplough bottoms can be attached all at a time, fullweight of machine is put into ploughing processand the angular back support ensures that ploughdoes not bend when in use.

Harrowing is done by steel tynes, which break theupper crust of the soil, uproot weeds, and pulverizethe soil and mix soil and weeds. Residue iscollected by a special attachment operated by a


hand lever at the rear of this equipment. When thevehicle moves forward, it collects uprooted stalks,weeds and crop residue. When the lever is lifted,the collected material is dropped in to a heap to becarried away or burnt.

The seed drilling attachment consists of seed box,drilling unit, seed conveying PVC tubes and furrowopeners. The drilling unit gets the drive from centralshaft of driven wheels through belt and pulleymechanism. It can attach two to five furrow openers,as per need. Plant-to-plant distance can be variedfrom 4 to 20 inches (10 to 50 cms), by varying RPMof the drive and row-to-row distance can also beadjusted similarly.

Because of its high efficacy, cost of seed drillingusing ‘Shivraj’ is less than half that of conventionalbullock drawn seed drills.

Weeding and intercultural operations are done byfixing suitable blades according to the need of cropbeing handled.

For groundnut digging, the groundnut-digging bladeenters four to five inches deep in the soil, cuts theroots allowing the pods to be retained along withthe plant. The working width of groundnut-diggingblade is 8 inches (20 cm) and it covers one row insingle run with facility to adjust angle of penetrationof soil working tool.For soyabean harvesting, anattachment drops the cut crop to one side formanual collection.

A series of trials have been conducted on thisequipment, which has evolved over the years todeliver multiple functions seamlessly, and manyunits have been sold in the districts of Chhindwara,Nagpur and Wardha in Maharastra. The innovatorhas filed a patent application for this innovation.

4 http://www.ciae.nic.in, reference available in varioustextbooks and at CFMTTI Budani, IIT Kharagpur, etc.

5 http://www.iari.res.in/krishisewa/specialpublication/urja_daksh_web/page36.htm

6 http://www.mekins.com/tropi1.html, http://w w w . b l o n n e t . c o m / 2 0 0 2 / 0 9 / 2 1 / s t o r i e s /2002092102381700.htm


Background

Satish Deb (28), has devised a technology that hasthe potential to rejuvenate the almost dead andobsolete treadle printing presses and convert theminto screen printing presses.

Satish comes from a modest background. He liveswith his parents, wife and a younger brother whoworks in Mumbai. He was born in Raipur in 1978but moved on to Bhilai along with his family whenhis father got transferred in 1980.

They had a treadle printing press at their home.He and his brother used to work on it sincetheir adolescence. Growing up in this environment,they learnt about various aspects of the printingprocess.

Genesis

The year was 1996 and Satish was in class twelve,preparing for his engineering entrance exams. Anuncertain future closed in on him when due to certainproblems, his father’s company did not pay hissalary for many months. The income from their

small printing press was irregular and meager andthey began to live off their small savings.

A dream died. Satish abandoned his plans ofbecoming an engineer, discontinued his studiesand joined family business of printing. In his sparetime, Satish started thinking about ways torevive their treadle press and increase the family’sincome.

But time had changed with the arrival of computers.There were new printing technologies, which werecomparatively simple to operate and producedoutput of far better quality in colour. The treadlepresses, using letterpress types based upon the‘Platen & Bed’ theory, were slower and producedpoorer quality printing.

His lack of knowledge, training or experience didnot deter him as he went about painstakinglydeveloping the Motek printing press, conceiving andoptimizing all components.

In 1997, it occurred to him how he could converthis treadle press to deliver offset class output. Hespent an entire frustrating year developing his novel

kit, searching in local markets and incessantlytrying out different chemicals and polymer sheetsto deliver the desired quality. He tested the productand also tried out impressions on paper, board andplastic. Finally, he succeeded in 1998 when hestandardized its parts and working.

Having his product ready, he incubated it foranother year (1998-99) for further testing andsimultaneously applied for patent. His first patent(No. 189882) was granted on March 10, 1999 andtill now he has five patents for various versions ofhis machine.

He has always had support of his family while facingvarious troubles in developing this Motek treadlepress, jointly. His father helped him with technicalinputs while his brother helped him with paper workand his mother remained a constant source ofinspiration and a pillar of strength.

The process of development and the filing for patentsproved very costly for him and he invested almostall of his father’s savings. At a later stage he took abank loan also, which the family is trying to repaygradually.

Motek treadle press: rejuvenating old letter printing pressMechanical/ElectronicsNational First

Satish DebDurg, Chhatisgarh


Innovation

Motek India printing technology is a low cost,cutting-edge, upgradation tool for most printingmachines, which use conventional treadle pressand are unable to deliver quality output.

A number of devices and techniques have evolvedsince the invention of printing. US patent No7021213- April 2006 describes a printing methodcomprising the steps of mounting an underlay sheeton a plate cylinder of a printing press, and providing,on the underlay sheet, a printing plate materialcomprising of a plastic sheet support, and providedthereon, a hydrophilic layer, an image formationlayer and a backing layer.

Here in this Motek India printing technology, theinnovation lies in the unique technique of registeringcomputer printed images using an exposure unitonto a screen unit. Printing material is pressed byan inked custom-built polymer sheet holder, fittedinto existing treadle press. It enables printing onvarious media by impact action. Mono or multi-colour half tone output can be generated usingexisting treadle press inks.

The attachment kit is convenient, user-friendly,requires very little maintenance and can be addedto any working treadle-printing machine to getresults comparable to desktop publishing up to therange of 300 to 450 dpi. The cost per print is alsolower than screen-printing and offset processes.

Other important features included are that it canbe operated by pedal or motor, can handle any papersize and can also be used to print on plasticsurfaces such as polybags.

This kit also offers multifunction facility i.e. one can

use both letterpress types as well as MotekIndia printing kit at the same time. Anotherimportant feature is that a single operator canget all the jobs done on the machine.

The Motek treadle printing press uses ‘butterpaper’ as the image-carrying medium againstthe ‘polymaster’ being used in baby-offsetprinters. This is what lowers printing cost i.e.Rs 1.50/- per sheet as against Rs. 15/- persheet for baby offset printing.

The cost of the retrofitted Motek India Treadlepress kit is about Rs 25,000 against Rs 1,25,000, cost for installing offset printingpress. The retrofitting increases output ofconventional treadle press from 12,000sheets/day to 70,000 sheets/day. Baby-offsetprinters can print about 5,000-10,000impressions/day.

The technology of this kit has been approvedand certified by The Northern RegionalInstitute of Printing Technology, Allahabad(U.P.), which is India’s first and premierprinting technology institute.

NIF, through its regional cell, GIAN NE, hasfacilitated a distribution license for the Motek kit inAssam. Since 2005, a large number of unit salesof this kit have been through this dealership, whichforms a substantial part of their small income. Hewas also supported under the MVIF scheme forthe diffusion of his technologies in four printingclusters of India, which elicited a very good responsefrom the market.

Satish was invited by NIF to the Inventors of IndiaWorkshop at IIM, Ahmedabad in October 2006 togive a presentation about his technology to fellow

innovators. An article on his Motek treadle Press,published by Enadu daily, Hyderabad in October2006, was very well received and generated manyproduct inquiries. Lots of market enquiries are stillpouring in from different parts of the country.

Presently, he is developing an automated versionof the machine, filing additional patents andarranging finances for capacity expansion to deliverto the exploding demand for this product.


Background

Born in 1978, Prem Singh, a prolific innovator fromHaryana, has made a phone operated On/Offswitch, which can operate any electrical deviceremotely, thereby enabling optimal use of the de-vice and electricity.

Being a youngster in a family is always a privilege;one can usually get away with mischief. Secondyoungest of six siblings, Prem was no exceptionto this rule. He was a very naughty child. Hismother used to tie a rope to his shirt and secure itso that he did not run away. She was as not wor-ried about him getting into mischief as about get-ting hurt in the process. However, Prem alwaysfound ways to untie the rope and slip away to playwith his friends and then come back and sit downquietly after retying the rope.

The seeds of his multiple innovations were sown ata young age when he skipped school to tinkeraround in his elder brother’s electronic repair shop.

Tinkering with ICs, circuitry and electronic compo-nents, he began to mend small gadgets such as

radios by himself. By class six, he had alreadydevised many equipments including a mini radiostation with a range of up to two kilometers radius.

Setting up his own workshop in 1992, at age 14, hecontinued innovating and independently starteddeveloping circuits and product assemblies. Bythis time, he had dropped out of school as he wasfully immersed in his journey of innovations.

Since he was always busy at work, he did not in-teract much with fellow villagers. They consideredhim crazy. For many years, Prem went around vari-ous colleges, institutions and organizations tryingto explain his innovations and seeking support. Hefaced indifference, ridicule instead of appreciation,but he always put up a brave front, and with or with-out support he never let go of his dream of innovat-ing gadgets. By 1996, when stories of his innova-tions started reaching people through newspapers,they began to acknowledge his skills and talents.There were some in whom the appreciation trans-formed into jealousy.

He spent the following few years in laboriously build-ing a multi functional electronic robot called “BSF

Robot”, which could move independently or be re-mote controlled. It had many features includingability to transmit images using video cameras toTV screens. Emergency search & rescue teamsas well as defence forces could use this robot. Thisinnovation got him the National award from NationalInnovation Foundation in December 2002 and hestepped into the big league.

The list of Prem Singh’s innovations is as interest-ing and impressive as his personality. Some of hisnotable works include a hand operated dynamo forradios to work without batteries, heartbeat ampli-fier to send patient’s heartbeat signals to a remotelylocated doctor, anti-collision device for trains, bombdisposal kit, salt regulation meter, cycle rickshawoperated mobile battery charger, automatic teamaker with alarm, automatic water level indicatorand a wireless cable TV system for broadcastingaudio-visual programmes without linking cablesbetween houses.

He is one innovator who designs what appeals tohim and in his own words, “Main kabhi market keliye product nahi banata. Main wahi innovationskarta hu jis se ki logon ka bhala ho sake. Kuch

Phone operated switchMechanical/ElectronicsNational Second

Prem Singh SainiAmbala, Haryana


innovations market ke liye achche ho sakte hainlekin samaj ke liye sabhi achche hain. Kisi bhicheez ko banana mushkil nahi hai. Chahiye basek jazba kuch alag kar dikhane ka aur ek nazar jokamiyon ko pehchaan sake”1

As early as 2002, when the concept of mobile tele-phony was not widespread in India, he had the vi-sion to deploy it as a means to work as a “remote”to control devices from long distances.

Genesis

Coming from an agricultural area, Prem observedthe difficulty of farmers faced at night being whenthey had to go far from home to faraway fields toswitch on or off the pump used to water the fields.

The farmer also needs to know, sitting at home, ifthe power supply is on at the pumping station sothat he can decide whether to switch it on or cut itoff if it is running.

The mobile phone operated switch he has designed,addresses all these requirements by enabling farm-ers to know the electricity status and remotelyswitch the pump as required, from the comfort ofhis home and that too without spending any money.

Innovation

The mobile phone operated switch is an instrumentwith an attached mobile phone and modified cir-cuit, which can toggle a device between switch-offand switch-on conditions and also be used as aconduit to know the status of a remote operatingdevice.

In addition, it allows only authorizedusers using the specific mobile numberto operate the system. It can operatethe switch from far off places using GSM/CDMA network. No call/SMS chargesare applicable as the control functionsby the phone ring. The switch can oper-ate devices ranging from 100W to1000KW and from 1.5V to 11,000V AC/DC.

The scope of this mobile remote oper-ated device is immense in areas rang-ing from home appliances (managingdevices at home such as microwaves),security (controlling access to buildings)to transportation (controlling car door locks) to in-dustrial applications (such as remotely monitoringequipment in chemical plants.), etc.

The memory in the mobile attached to the switchensures that the switch will remain in the functionalstate as dictated by the designated mobile unlessit is changed

The device is a retrofittable kit made up of amplifier,electronic counter, switching unit, relay switch,power supply and timer circuits, which give signalto the mobile phone’s inbuilt PCB and completesthe operation. The electronic counter counts thenumber of rings, takes appropriate action accord-ing to device status and sends specific signal tothe user. In addition, the gadget is able to informthe user whether the device has been switched on/off or the electricity is there or not through a feed-back signal.

Infra red and FM operated switches have been avail-able in the market since long and were primarilyused by the military. Telephone operated switchesare also available in the market2 . ONGC (Nazira,Assam) has installed one such system to keep acheck over pumps’ functioning. Recently NirmaLabs (Ahmedabad, Gujarat) students have alsocome up with a SMS operated switch.

A patent search for similar devices yielded the fol-lowing relevant patents. A system and method forcommunicating with a remote location to monitorthe device, the system includes a calling trans-ceiver, a central transceiver, and a satellite de-scribed in US Patent 5,588,038 dated 24 Dec. 1996.A secure entry system, which uses radio trans-missions to communicate with locks, keys, andrelated components throughout the system USPatent: 6,072,402. dated 6 July 2000 and a methodand a device for utilization of mobile radio telephonesfor surveillance and/or control purposes (US Patent:

1 Well, honestly, I have never been inspired by the market. I design only those products that I feel will make the life of thousands of people easier. Some of the products may be market friendlybut all of them are human friendly. It is not difficult to develop anything. What you require is the desire to do things differently and also the eye to detect the faults.


7,031,665. 18th April 2006).

(Managing devices at home such as microwaves),security (controlling access to buildings) to trans-portation (controlling car door locks) to industrialapplications (such as remotely monitoring equip-ment in chemical plants, etc.)

Currently, standardization of the design is underprocess to use standardized components includ-ing suitable mobile phones /circuitry and reducecost to suit rural markets.

Variants of this system are also being developedsuiting multiple applications under urban andlifestyle categories. The provisional patent has beenfiled for this application.

2 Remote Control via Mobil GSM Phone system with LDRapplication and GSM SMS on/off systems exist in art.(www.apogeekits.com/remotecontrolviacellphone.htm).

Remote control by cell phone kit is available atwww.neropoulos.com. One can stop and begin an electri-cally driven irrigatory group from distance with this remotecontrol appliance.

http://www.oskando.ee/eng/products mentions about a

GSM/GPS-based comfort and security devices for vehicles.http://www.vellemanusa.com/us/enu/product/list/?id=342514lists many devices, which facilitate remote operation. A re-mote control system, which does not require authorizationfrom network operators, as there is no connection to thetelephone line, is available at http://store.qkits.com/shopping/basket.cfm?Product_ID=284. This kit makes it possible to turnup to three devices on or off over the telephone.


Background

Mohammad Aminuddin Ahmed (30), an illustriousinnovator and a man of many interests refers himselfas a “Foot path Engineer”. He made an audio-visualsecurity system for industrial establishments, whichhas been well received by commercial corporationssuch as Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).

He is self-employed and lives with his mother andelder brother’s family. All members of his familyare well educated though he has studied up toHigher Secondary level only. His father, lateMohammad Nizamuddin Ahmed, was a JuniorEngineer in Public Works Department (PWD). Allhis brothers are well settled.

As a child, he dreamt of being an astrophysicist.With growing age, he developed a fascination formachineries. These fascinations made him tinkerand develop a lot of innovative devices over time.

At a very young age, he successfully developed a

pounding machine to replace conventional machinecalled “Dheki1 ”. He modified it such that it couldwork with four pestles and also hull paddy moreefficiently. This pounding machine won him firstprize in a state level science competition.

“Ae machine to bonwar khamoyot moi prathambartrigonometric formula byabohar korisilu arubostutuwe mok bohut aakorkhon korisil” 2

recollects Aminuddin.

The zeal to master technologies made him spendtime and effort at his brother’s refrigeration repairshop and very soon, he was repairing electricalgadgets at home. Soon he started troubleshootingand fixing gadgets for everyone in the neighborhood.

Undeterred by the lack of qualifications or training,he persevered and mastered the functionalintricacies of many products. Once he spent twoand a half months just analyzing and then couldfinally repair a black and white television set, all onhis own.

Being from the minority community, his innovationsand intentions were sometimes misunderstood. Heonce faced such an incident where police took himunder custody for two days, as a result of which hesuffered with mental tensions due to publicdenigration. He was let off only after the interventionof NIF, who established his bonafide.

Today things are much calmer and he is now awell-known figure. He is sought equally by peoplefrom other communities also who want him to repaira radio or television. He is in demand especially byONGC officials who need him to troubleshoot largerproblems at their installations.

Genesis

Every innovation starts with a pressing need andthis was no different.

ONGC and its Security service group, CISF, werelooking for a simple security device to communicateeffectively among security guards in their oil drillingsites. During full phase drilling process, the

Dual security alarmMechanical/ElectronicsNational Second

Mohammad Aminuddin AhmedSibsagar, Assam

1 A wooden device for husking paddy2 While making the machine I used the trigonometry formula for the first time and that was very interesting


generator and drilling machines produce a loud anddeafening sound. In such condition, normal voiceor telephone communication between securityguards and control room becomes difficult and evenin emergency security guards often fail tocommunicate quickly with one another.

Aminuddin had occasionally worked for ONGC asa power and electronics repair man in the past.Knowing his expertise, he was asked by theconcerned officers of ONGC to come up with analarm system that would work in such conditions.

Innovation

Initially, he came up with a simple system with aone-way alarming signal system, which connectedthe sub-station to the control room. The systemwas installed at one of the units of ONGC inSibsagar. This model was perceived to have someshortcomings such as, inability to give alarm signalto other sub-stations and not being able toacknowledge the receipt of signal by the controlroom.

It was necessary to develop an improved versionthat could enable all sub-stations to receive thealarm signal simultaneously and get alert. Also, toenable the control room to send a return receiptsignal to reassure the security personals that theirmessage has been received and help is on the way.

Aminuddin finally designed a new type of securityalarm device called ‘Dual Security Alarm’. In thenew system, alarm signal from a sub-station goesnot only to the control room but also to each of thesub-station and to a remote speaker, which can beplaced anywhere in the barrack or the hall.Secondly, once the alarm is set off from a sub-

station only the operator in control room canswitch it off thus indicating receipt of message.Thirdly, control room can also give alarm signalto all sub-stations and to a remote speaker withthe press of a single ‘Alarm to All’ switch.

The new model was designed for one mainstation unit and three sub-station units. Thenumber of sub-stations could be increased ordecreased as per the requirements.

In the main station unit, there are three indicatorbulbs, one for each sub-station units. This indicatorlight is to locate the source of incoming alarm bythe control room. A reset switch is used toacknowledge and stop the incoming alarm.

The sub-station unit consists of one speaker, oneLED indicator lamp and one push-button switch bywhich the security personal can pass the alarmsignal to the main station and to other sub-stations.

The improved model was again installed in one ofthe drilling sites of ONGC. After a performance validationby CISF and ONGS staff, the improved model wasgiven a green signal for its installation in all thedrilling sites and in the DIG’s office as well.

The ability to control “one to one” and “one to many”emergency communication channels with loopsbuilt in for signaling from substation to main stationand vice versa is the novelty of the innovation.

Most of the alternative systems presently useexpensive IR, FM, or GSM technology forsurveillance systems3 . This current product usestransformers and simple electronic devices,which makes it simpler and cheaper as comparedto its market competitors. There is also no chance

of failure of system due to congestion ofnetworks, which evidently is the biggest problemthese days.

One similar innovation, processing apparatus,portable transmitter and remote operation system(US patent No. 20050164728-June, 1987) uses ajudgment unit that judges whether a response signaltransmitted from the processing apparatus inresponse to the instruction signal has been received.Personnel property security device (US patent No.6864789-March, 2005), dual mode panel (US patentNo. 6380850-April, 2002) and dual-mode ski alarmapparatus (US patent No. 5260689-Nov. 1993) useelectronic circuitry and a wireless transmitter/receivers. But none duplicate what he has done.

Till now Aminuddin has installed twenty-one DualAlarm Systems in different drilling sites and officesof ONGC and all of them are working well. Completepatent application has been filed in his name forthe innovation with the help of GIAN cell of NIF atIIT Guwahati. He has also been provided risk capitalsupport from Micro Venture Innovation Fund (MVIF),at NIF to complete his first commercial order eventhough the order was not in his name (due to histechnical limitations). This had posed a dilemmato colleagues at NIF but then they took the risk to


help him and the results have vindicated their faith.

This product can be used in almost any factoryand organizational establishment, which needs thissystem for similar security, work status oremergency communication.

His motto for life is “Jisne thokar na khai nahin jeetuski, jo gir ke sambhal jaya hai jeet usiki” 4 .

3 Remote security alarm systems are available viz. video

surveillance systems (www.securityalarmsystems.com),SATELLINE Radio Data Modems (www.satel.com), Alarm/Remote Start System with two-way communication(www.audio-n-more.com), two-way voice monitoring(www.monitronics.com), Central Security system(www.centralsec.com), Security Alarm Systems(www.securityalarmsystems.co.uk). Most of these alarmsystems are primarily based on wireless or CCTV basedsurveillance system and operated with the use of computerterminals and use high order integration.

4 Those who do not face hardship do not win; those whopersevere after stumbling always win…


Background

Bhanumurti (50 years), is an innovative weaver ofhandloom cotton sarees and has made anattachment to the existing handloom systems tosimplify the automatic saree border insertion.

Second eldest among five siblings, Banumurthi didnot have a simple childhood. His parents struggledto make ends meet, both weaving on two loomsthey possessed, and tried to make a living for theirfamily. When he was just thirteen years old, helost his mother because of which, he had todiscontinue his studies and had to start learningweaving to support the family. By the age of sixteen,he was earning bread for his family by weaving.

After his marriage in 1977, he separated from thefamily and started his own work. He got orders fromChennai and made cotton sarees, jacket pieces,chudidar sets etc., using Jacquard box.

Genesis

Traditionally, all the weavers in his village had the

Automatic Saree Border Weft InsertionMechanical/ElectronicsNational Third

P. L. BanumurthiThiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu

knowledge of weaving in sets only and not korvailoom weaving. Korvai or ‘contrast’ weaving involvesintricate weaving where the design and often thecolour of the borders are different from that on themain body of the cloth. Three shuttles are needed:weaver operates two having an assistant on third.

While Banumurthi was happy receiving orders fromChennai and supplying new designs and varietiesin clothes, he still fiddled with ways to improveproductivity by using the loom effectively. He wantedto incorporate automatic koravi border insertion sothat requirement of an assistant can be eliminated.

He worked for a couple of months and in 1985 cameup with his automated version on which only simplekoravi weaving was possible.

His restless mind did not seek peace with thissuccess and he went on to make a fully automatickorvai loom in 1992, after a dedicated work of threemonths. This machine enabled him to do bodyweaving and border weaving uniformly apart fromgiving him the flexibility to weave borders rangingfrom 1” to 15” in width. Besides, as in modified

handloom ‘korvai looms ’, rakes of all types(Thazampu rake, Sheet rake, Pillaiyar- moku) canbe woven on his machine.

Innovation

His automated system is somewhat similar basedto the “Catch Cord Technique drawing device forlooms” (United States Patent 4616680, 1984 )though he was not aware of it. No assistant isneeded and productivity gets increased.

In this technique, “Multi Catch Cords” are used tomake “Temple Borders”. The number of catch cordsis equal to the number of steps required in theTemple borders. Each step in the Temple Border iscontrolled by a separate Catch Cord and isindividually operated by Dobby or Jacquard. In thistechnique, the picks per inch and the weave intemple border and the body of the sari are equal.

This technique does not employ the “Three/two cutshuttle” style and thereby eliminates an additionalmanpower requirement. The steps of temple borderare formed automatically by the operation of catch


cords arranged at different places through Dobbyor Jacquard. This results in uniform height of stepsand reduces physical and mental strain to theweaver.

The border warp threads are controlled by Healds,which give perfect/clear shedding and avoidmistakes in the interlocking. Of course, each pickis in two-ply and requires double time in picking tocomplete, which slows down the rate of production.

On an average, when this innovative technique isused, the production is on higher side whencompared to the traditional three-cut shuttleweaving.

Banumurthi has installed one such device inRamanathpuram village of Madurai district andtrained about fifteen women weavers with the helpof SEVA, Honeybee collaborator from Tamil Nadu.A couple of years ago there were about 300 familiesinvolved in handloom weaving in this village but dueto the inadequate income, about 200 familiesmigrated to nearby Tirupur Banian (vest) Factoryfor labour.

After the installation of this device,response from people has been very goodand they are hopeful that those who leftthe village would be willing to return andtake up again, their traditional occupation.

Indian Institute of Handloom Technologyhas commended this technique andsuggested that it may be well adopted inhandloom clusters, where Temple Bordersare produced. GIAN Cell (Karnataka) isplanning to conduct a training programmefor handloom weavers in Karnataka region

under Technical Education Quality ImprovementProgramme (TEQIP) of SSIT, Tumkur. Banumurthiwas earlier felicitated with the SRISTI samman in2006 for his innovation and contributions to theweaving society.


Background

Shanmugam (26 years) is presently in the third yearof Diploma course in Textile technology specialisingin Weaving at SSM Institute of Textile Technologyin Namakkal, Tamil Nadu. He developed atechnique to convert plain power loomsinto continuous weft feeding looms, withoutchanging the pirns frequently. He got admissiondirectly in second year of this course and that toobecause of his innovations, which started when hewas still in school. There are not many examplesof this kind that have to come to NIF’s notice so farin the country.

Shanmugam belongs to weaver’s community.Around two hundred families living in his village earntheir living by weaving and agriculture, growingcotton, sorghum and millets.

He is the second child of his parents and has anelder sister who is married and a younger brotherwho is studying in second year of Diploma in Textilemarketing management, in the same college asShanmugam.

Conversion of plain power looms into continuous weft feeding loomsMechanical/ElectronicsNational Third

S. ShanmugamSalem, Tamil NaduScout: SEVA

Since childhood, he had active interest in readingbooks rather than playing games and spent mostof his time in the village library. It was here, while inclass 12th, that he read an article on NIF in amagazine and got interested in the campaign andlater submitted his entry.

Genesis

After completion of his studies, his parents coaxedhim to work in his uncle’s power loom centre as adaily wager. There he observed the wastage of timeand requirement of manpower in changing the pirnwindings in power loom systems. He startedthinking of new ideas to over come these problems.

To begin with, he secretly started experimenting athis uncle’s power loom without being noticed.Though he met with failures, he made sure that theproductivity of machine was not compromisedbecause of his experimentation.

As he was interested in learning advancements inthe textile industry, he grabbed on an opportunityto take free classes on yarn dyeing, offered by SSM

Institute of Textile Technology. It was offered forduration of six months under the “CommunityPolytechnic Scheme”.

There he discussed his ideas with the faculty andthe principal, who initially laughed away at hissuggestions. Some how, he convinced the principalto give him a try. Having gained permission, hesuccessfully proved his technique.

The dobby systems in power looms are being usedonly for making border designs but he proved thatdobby systems could be used for weaving of fabricwith multiple colours. This, he displayed by makingslight modifications in shuttles and the dobby.

Acknowledging and appreciating his innovativethinking, college authorities offered him directadmission in the second year of diploma course intextile technology. Pursuing his second yearcourses, he was also allowed to keep his innovationgoing as a curriculum based project work, whichotherwise is allowed for final year students only.

He also had his innovation published in an article


in a bimonthly magazine, published by TamizhamTextiles, Mumbai in October 2005.

Innovation

All shuttle looms can be modified in such a waythat weft can be inserted continuously withoutfrequent pirn change. This method can be used inall types of plain looms attached with dobby andalso with drop box/under pick/pick and pickmechanisms.

In ordinary weaving, one has to change the weftyarn during a weft pirn exhaust. In this new methodtwo weft cones stands are provided at sides of theloom and they are specially arranged so that theyhave the capability of controlling yarn tension andelectronic weft stop motion. The yarn from the pirnis only used to bind the weft taken from the cones.By doing so, expense on pirn winding is reduced.

This method of weaving takes place by two weftthreads so that the fabric is dense and with good

cover. One has to change only cones here unlikerapier looms, where frequent change of pirn isrequired. This can weave up to one thousand metersthereby reducing manpower and time.

Fifty percent of the total warp threads are lifted at atime and the remaining are kept down for the firstpick and for the next pick the system is reversed.To enable this, the heald frames are connected todobby in such a manner that there is no collision inbetween the healds.

The dobby mechanism can be used to select theweft colours as and when required. A special maileye is fitted in the dobby and they are lifted so thatthe required colour weft can be drawn through aparticular mail eye. An additional hole has beenmade in the shuttle to give proper tension of pirnthreads, which interlock the pirn from the cones.

With this system one can weave half of the fabricwith one colour, another half with a different colourby keeping two different colour threads in both sides

of the cones. By providing more number of conesof different colours at the feeding end (selectionof weft colours by dobby) one can weave stripeor check patterns without drop-box mechanism.

The advantages of this system are numerous.For wider width looms this method is very muchsuitable. Small sectors in the country canincrease their fabric production without anyadditional expenses. Using this method one canweave fabrics like cotton, rayon, polyester, silksusing normal plain power looms.

The electronic warp stop motion and electronicweft stop motion on these looms give a fault freefabric. The system is less expensive and easy

to maintain. The productivity improvement in termsof saving of time for weft replenishment is from fifteento twenty percent. Further fabric quality obtainedfrom this innovation is quite good due to very fewstoppages for weft replenishment.

In the preparatory operation, the weft winding, whichincludes a separate machinery and manpower ispractically eliminated. It results in a considerablesaving in terms of manpower, machinery and floorspace.

In praise of Shanmugam’s innovation, the Principalof SSM Institute of Textile Technology says, “thisinnovation will lead to significant improvement inproductivity in the existing low-cost conventionalpower looms. It can be readily applied in almost allthe power loom weaving clusters. Also, it results ina considerable saving in terms of man power,machinery and floor space.”

Coming from a weaving background, Shanmugamwants to develop low-cost technologies for traditionalweaving community so that they can upgrade theirlife style.


Background

Mujib Khan, born in January 1974, is an automobilemechanic from Jaipur. Being handicapped himself,he understood the problems a disabled personfaces, when it comes to mobility and has developeda technique to retrofit any car with attachments,making it disable friendly.

Presently, he lives with his wife, and four children.He had an attack of polio at the age of two years.Since no one could diagnose it then, proper attentioncould not be given, the condition deteriorated, andafter a bout of fever, his lower limbs becamedysfunctional. Then he was taken to a doctor, whodiagnosed it as polio. After starting medication,which continued for years, his physical conditionimproved slightly. Presently, his left leg is functionaland the right one works above the knee, while hishands work normally.

Due to his disability, he had great difficulties in goingto school; first, he tried studying at home, thenlater when he was in class fifth, he took the help ofhis brother who carried him to school on his back.

Afterwards as he grew a bit older and strongerhe started going to school on crutches andlater, both the brothers started using a moped fortraveling.

Though physically limited by his condition, he wasnot a man to sit at home and rue his fate.

In the 1990s, he started his business of makingbedsheets on order and selling them to exporters.As the export market became dull, and objectionsrose over use of certain dyes in the material, hehad to change his line of work. With his keen interestin mechanical things, he then started a scooterand motorcycle-repairing workshop at Jagatpuracrossing in the city, few kilometers away from hisvillage. In this small 5’ by 5’ workspace, he did alltypes of work on two-wheelers including repairing,tinkering and painting.

In spite of his handicap, after a lot of trial and error,he developed the hand-operated car and showedthe way to be independent. This made Mujib a heroof sorts and a role model for the youngsters in hisarea. All the people in the locality, especially the

kids, take pride in the fact that he lives there. Thoughpeople made fun of him earlier, now they see himfor what he is-the beacon of innovation who changedhis life and that of others.

On the road, people and traffic police officers getinto a state of disbelief to see Mujib stop and getout of his car on crutches. Difficult for them toimagine a man with impaired limbs, drive on themain highway!

Mujib has this take on life, “Viklang aadmi bhi kisise kam nahi hai wo bhi sab kuch kar sakta hai” 1 .

He feels through his work, he wanted to prove thisto everyone and show the way to others like himso that they can believe in themselves and startliving with self-respect. This, he feels will make themless dependent on others, give them confidenceand help gain social respect.

Genesis

Though they had a Maruti van at home, which wasused by his father and brother, Mujib regretted the

Retrofitted car for physically challengedTransportNational Second

Mujib KhanJaipur, Rajasthan

1 A handicapped is in no way inferior to any other normal man and even he can do everything himself.


fact that due to his disability he could not drivearound.

Hiding from the family, he started his work on thecar. After initial experimentation, he attached a rodto be able to operate brake and accelerator anddrove the car in the absence of his parents andonce even got caught by his maternal grandfather.After listening to his story and acknowledging hiszeal to be independent, his entire family appreciatedhis efforts.

Once he had completed his initial modification, heslowly started to learn to drive the vehicle. In abouta couple of month’s time, he had perfected hisdriving. No body helped him at any stage and helearnt all by himself. Then he took his van to hisworkshop to incorporate a system wherein bothnormal and modified mode of driving can be fitted.

He worked on it for six months, sti l l themodifications in the car were looking like juttingintrusions and not blending with the vehicledashboard, facia and controls. However, slowlypeople started acknowledging his efforts, theprocess of evolution continued, and he started

making the attachment commercially.After modifying dozens of car, he at lastbecame successful in developing sucha retrofit, which perfectly blended withthe car interiors.

He modified the existing Maruti 800,Mahindra Scorpio, etc . to make itsuitable for people with lower limbimpairments. The modifications weremade in brakes, clutch and accelerator.All these controls were modified in sucha way that hands can operate these.

For the person with one leg, the clutch remains atits original position while the other controls aremodified to be operated by hands.

These modifications were made in such a way thata normal person could also use the cars in theconventional fashion.

Innovation

The innovation lies in the modification to accelerator,brake and clutch arrangement for operation by hand.Comfort, simplicity and ease of operation are otherfeatures embedded in the controls.

There are references in literature for modificationsin cars to suit handicaps2 . Most of them have thetelescopic mechanical members for actuating brakeand accelerator pedals. Mujib has used parallelsystem for hand-operated controls, which enhancessafety.

The principle consists of modifying thedriving actions so that the controls are transferredto hand by use of leverage, wires and linkagemechanism.

Brake pedal is activated either by mechanicalarrangement made of linkages or by using anadditional hydraulic cylinder arrangement.

Using the push-pull type switch, installed on thedashboard, the accelerator gets activated througha wire connecting it to the engine.

The clutch wire is connected to a semi-circular handsteering element, which is connected through thesteering assembly to the clutch plate to operatethe clutch.

Currently, the design is adapted for Scorpio andMaruti, and has to be standardized for any othervehicle. The innovator wants to modify the kit tomeet the needs of physically challenged users withone hand and one leg and reduce the cost.

This kit is especially important, as many carcompanies have discontinued the expensivecustom solutions that they had earlier introducedfor physically challenged people.


Mujib works on a single car at a time and it takeshim around 3-4 days to work on it. The price ofattachment varies from model to model. The kit fora Maruti 800 costs around Rs. 10,000 while a similarone for a Honda City could cost anywhere betweenRs. 15000-20000.

His first commercial kit was made for Mr. ChandraPal Singh, SMS Hospital, Jaipur in the year 1995,who was really satisfied with his work and helpedhim get orders to modify another 15-20 cars. Nowafter modifying around 70-80 cars, his kit hasblended ubiquitously with the existing car interiorslike an ‘invisible presence’ in the cars that helpphysically challenged people with non-functionallower limbs.

______________1 A handicapped is in no way inferior to any other normal manand even he can do everything himself.

2Automatic/manual transmission for hand operated bake,accelerator and clutch (http://www.handicappedpeople.com/faq.htm#one), manual hand operated brake, clutch andaccelerator controls in the car for handicapped (RajeshSharma, Biju Varghese, Vaghaji bhai, Vinod bhai Panchal,Ninny-NIF Database), fully hand-operated manual

transmission fitted with a vacuum-clutch (developed by Mr.Ferdie, Mumbai. www.indiacar.net). Brake and acceleratorcontrols for handicapped (US Patent No. 5,103,946 - Apr.14,1992), dash mounted throttle and brake control (US PatentNo. 4,436,191 - Mar.13, 1984), engine throttle and brake controlmechanism having a hand operated input lever (US Patentno. 4,627,522 - Dec.9, 1986), a hand controlled apparatusfor the controlling of a brake pedal and accelerator pedal (USPatent No. 4,998,983 – March 12, 1991), device for manuallyoperating the brake and accelerator pedals for a vehicle (USPatent No. 4,946,013 - Aug. 7, 1990), hand operation ofthrottle & brake pedals (US Patent No. 4,788,879 – Dec. 6,1988).


Background

The story of Biju Varghese is one of inspireddetermination, courage and battle for self-relianceand compassion for others. By making the retrofitkit for cars rendering those disabled friendly, hehas become an example for society that obstaclesfor physically challenged people are not merelychallenges but stepping-stones for success.

Biju’s family consists of his father, mother, youngerbrother and five sisters. All the sisters are marriedand settled. Thirty years back his family migratedto present place of Mukkuttuthara.

Being a hands-on person since childhood, with littleinterest in studies, he could only manage up to10th standard in the local school and then joinedhis brother in law, an electrician engaged in repairingelectrical and electronic goods, in his work.

Excelling in this profession, he prospered and hada busy life from morning to late evening till the fate-ful Friday.

Genesis

On that fateful day, life took a decisive turn, whichsent him into a tailspin. He still remembers the‘unfortunate’ incident that taught him bigger les-sons in his life. On that black Friday in 1997, thehappy 20 year old, sitting on the backside of hisfriend’s bike was returning from Kottayam.

Hit by a speeding bus, thrown in the air and fallinga few meters away in the main road, he ended upwith a damaged spinal cord. He spent three daysin coma and one frustrating year in the hospitalwith both legs totally paralysed. Fervent worshipdid not alter his condition and he came out in awheelchair and became an object of sympathy foreveryone. All this added to the frustration of a onceenergetic efficient technician.

Not to stay idle, he remained in the bed by spendingtime watching T.V. and radio. One day on NationalGeographic channel, he saw the huge sophisticatedUS President’s plane being navigated by the pilotjust by using his hand.

He observed that mere fingers controlled all themajor operations.

An idea sprouted in his mind.Why can’t I use a similar mechanism in the car bywhich all operations can be controlled by hands?

He concluded that if he were to do so, he couldmove anywhere he pleased without any body’s help.

Interacting with car mechanics and encounteringmuch skepticism, he built a series of prototypeswhile improving on his basic idea, finally getting itright. It was quite a journey chasing utility andcomfort using one hand to drive a car.

The initial attempt was not a great success. Clutch,brake, accelerator and gear were close and it wasvery difficult to move clutch with mere fingers. Next,he made changes in the clutch and more leveragewas given to it. The application was transferred toupper thumb and fore hand.

He was filled with joy that it was working. Still itneeded more improvement. He felt pain in the left

Retrofitted car for physically challengedTransportNational Third

Biju VargheseMukkuttuthara, Kerala


hand by using this system.

He then made five prototypes and spent more thanfifty thousand rupees. Finally he succeeded. Hetraveled in his retrofitted car for the first time alonefrom Erumely to Mundakayam. This boosted hisconfidence.

Those who looked at him sympathetically thenstarted to admire him.

He then brought a new ‘Wagon –R’ car andincorporated this system in the new carsuccessfully. He mentions that this system canbe installed in any car, which is using power brake.

Innovation

The innovation is a modification kit that can be fittedto cars for lower limb physically challenged. Withthe retrofitting brake, accelerator and clutch controlscan be actuated with a single hand. This fitmentcan be retrofitted in any vehicle with a power brake.Specific illustrations are already there in art.1

Physically challenged people who do not have oneor both legs can use this car efficiency. Themodifications made are in brakes, clutch, gear andaccelerator. All these controls are modified in sucha way that hands can operate them. Controls aretransferred to hands by use of leverage and linkagemechanism while using the power transmission ofexisting system.

The modified brake is operated by the middle aswell as adjoining finger by pushing the brake leverdownwards, which is connected to the brake pedalof a car by the two-wheeler brake wire, as a con-

necting mechanism.

The clutch is operated with the palm.When clutch lever is pusheddownwards, the clutch pedal ispushed and disengagement ofclutch takes place. To engage theclutch, lever has to be releasedgradually. This action is alsotransferred by use of two-wheelersbrake wire cable.

The accelerator is operated withforefinger by pressing the acceleratorlever downward similar to handoperated brake level.

The system can be fitted into any model of car andthe incorporation cost ranges between Rs 4000-4500/-. The repair kit for the system is quite easyand ergonomically also the system is comfortable.

Having perfected the unit satisfactorily and installedin his Wagon-R and driven over 50,000 kilometersusing his left hand, he has become a role model insociety and been transformed from an object ofsympathy to an object of admiration.

Now he feels peaceful that he confidently “standingon his own legs”. He is running his own shop sellingand servicing electronic goods with lot of satisfiedcustomers. He also repairs and assemblesstabilizers, invertors and mobile phones. He is alsowell versed in plumbing. He himself acquired all hisskills, without any formal training.

Social impact

He feels that depression is the major obstacle forhandicapped people who cannot lead a normal life.To instill hope and self-confidence in them, he hasmade it his mission, to take out his car, drivinghimself and visiting them and showing them hisachievements to convince them that many thingsare possible for handicapped persons and advisingthem to ‘wake up’. He has already developed a bignetwork of handicapped persons.

In many ways, he feels that accident has givenhim the power to expand and discover his ownabilities.

He also acknowledges that the presence of closefriends is his strength. He feels he owes his suc-cesses to the timely support of his friends. Hisfriends help him to get into car and also for gettingout every day. At the initial stages of developmentof this technology, his friends were the main sup-porters both morally and physically.


He also feels some slight improvement in sensa-tion in his paralyzed legs and feels this may bedue to his increased confidence affecting bodyhealing.

He considers the appreciation he received duringthe Shodh Yatra in December 2005, one of the mostmemorable recognitions he got. After this recogni-tion, the broadcast media has given wide coveragefor this innovation.

The local handicapped association in 2006 alsohonored him with the ‘Vikalanga Sangam’ Awardwith the award given away by the state ministerCF Thomas.

There have been a lot of queries for his innovation

from all over Kerala and most of them were fromdisabled people.

These phone calls convinced him the widespreadneed of this device.

He is interested in licensing the technology to anyentrepreneur or industry. He feels that he shouldlicense the technology, as with his physical condi-tion, he will not be able to run an industry himself.

His advice to fellow innovators is not to looseconfidence and to remember ‘where there is a will,there will be a way’.

________________1Automatic/manual transmission for hand operated bake,

accelerator and clutch (http://www.handicappedpeople.com/faq.htm#one), manual hand operated brake, clutch andaccelerator controls in the car for handicapped (RajeshSharma, Mujib Khan, Vaghaji bhai, Vinod bhai Panchal, Ninny- NIF Database), fully hand-operated manual transmissionfitted with a vacuum-clutch (developed by Mr. Ferdie, Mumbai.www.indiacar.net). Brake and accelerator controls forhandicapped (US Patent No. 5,103,946 - Apr.14, 1992), dashmounted throttle and brake control (US Patent No. 4,436,191- Mar.13, 1984), engine throttle and brake control mechanismhaving a hand operated input lever (US Patent no. 4,627,522- Dec.9, 1986), a hand controlled apparatus for the controllingof a brake pedal and accelerator pedal (US Patent No.4,998,983 – March 12, 1991), device for manually operatingthe brake and accelerator pedals for a vehicle (US Patent No.4,946,013 - Aug. 7, 1990), hand operation of throttle & brakepedals (US Patent No. 4,788,879 – Dec. 6, 1988).


Background

Owner of an agricultural repairs shop,Ganesamurthy (47), has come up with these threeuseful implements to help farmers in theiragricultural work.

In his native village, agriculture is the main sourceof livelihood for most of the people, with sugarcanebeing the major agricultural crop of this area. Initially,he engaged himself in agriculture but later joinedhis father in his repair shop and learnt some of thebasic techniques in cart making from his father.Being inquisitive, he explored and mastered detailsabout the working of tractors and farm implementsand went on to establish a tractor repair shop.

In his family, Ganesamurthy has a wife and twosons. His sons have completed their studies uptothe secondary standard and they are now managinghis father’s workshop. Ganesamurthy on the otherhand studied only upto sixth standard and had todiscontinue his studies in order to assist in hisfather’s bullock cart repair shop.

Power tiller operated stubble shaver, Sugarcane trash grinder, Tractor operatedstubble shaverFarm MachineryNational Second

Ganesamurthy AsariCuddalore, Karnataka

Genesis

His village was surrounded by sugarcane fields, andgrowing in this environment, he could relate to theproblems associated with sugarcane harvesting andthe effect of shortage of labor to do all the requiredtasks in time.

Therefore, in his workshop, he started designingand building customized implements such asstubble shavers, the tractor operated off baringplough, which can be fitted on to tractors and tillers.The agriculturists in his locality accepted theseoptions, since they were practical, effective and wereable to solve their local problems.

The story of the development of the sugarcane trashgrinder, one of his innovations, is quite interesting.It started with his belief that chemical fertilizersaffect the agricultural land adversely and in order tomaintain the fertility of the soil, something naturalshould be used instead of the chemicals.

Since sugarcane leaves were aplenty, so he thoughtof using them as an alternative source of organic

manure for agricultural crops. However, he laterrealized that the usage of sugarcane leaves wouldbe practically difficult in the field.

Hence, he developed the sugarcane trash grinderto create compost and cattle feed and progressivelyrefined the product and sold it locally. Similarly, forthe other two products, he felt that the existingoptions did not give enough help to the farmers so


he came up with his own solutions.

Innovation

Power tiller operated stubble shaver

Sugarcane stubble shaving has to be doneimmediately after harvesting, before it becomes dry.The manual methods employed are tedious andimpractical and affected by labour shortage.

This machine is a power tiller operated sugarcanestubble shaver and helps in good ratoonmanagement. The cutting mechanism is rotary ona horizontal plane and unique as compared toswinging blades available in most of thealternatives1 . This enables fine and closer depth ofstubble cutting.

It can also be used as a vertical axis rotary tiller forweeding and intercultural separation in sugar canecultivation. This attachment can be fitted to all kindsof power tillers.

The disc blade is used for stubble mulching andintercultural operation for row crops. The fuel (diesel)

consumption is around 3.7 liters/hectare and thefield capacity is 0.4 hectare/hour.

Tractor operated stubble shaver

Similar to the power tiller operated stubble shavermentioned above, this device is a tractor PTOoperated rotary horizontal disc type stubble shaver,provided with a depth wheel to control the depth ofoperation. The unit can be fitted with a 35-40 hptractor through a three-point linkage mounting.

It can work in a single row for stubble shaving andachieve better crop management in sugarcanecultivation. The unique innovative rotary cuttingmechanism is able to give fine and closer depth ofstubble cutting as compared to swinging action ofconventional cutters2 (rotary slasher/mower, shrub-master, stable shaver, etc).

The fuel (diesel) consumption is estimated to beabout 8.6 litres/hectare, with a field capacity at 0.8hectare/hour.

Sugarcane Trash Grinder 3

The innovator lives in the sugarcane belt where thecomposting process took many months becauseof the large size of the organic feed. To bring downthis time, it was felt necessary to reduce thesugarcane trash feed to smaller sizes by using thismachine to crush it to sizes ranging from 2-20 mm.

The sugar cane trash grinder, which can handleboth dry and fresh sugarcane trash, has a safefeeding chute with rollers that take in the input andthen it moves on to a heavy duty grinding drumpowered by an 3HP electric motor and the sizereduction up to two mm is done by the crushing

action.

The machine can grind dry sugarcane trash up to350 kg per hour and is useful for compostpreparation and to prepare cattle feed as well. Thewhole unit is mounted over a trolley with wheels sothat it can be easily shifted anywhere.

Apart from selling them locally, he has also soldhis machines to EID Parry, a large engineeringconglomerate. The company has appreciated hisinnovative efforts in developing these machines. Hewants to patent his innovations so that his sonscan enjoy the commercial benefits. Patent for thesame has been filed by NIF on his behalf.

___________________1 Power tiller operated implements for weeding and landpreparation is known in the art. Light weight power tiller(http://agricoop.nic.in, www.icar.org.in), Power tiller operatedrotary tiller (www.indiamart.com, www.indianindustry.com,www.sasmotors.net, www.kubota.com,www.vstti l lers.com, text books on etc),Mini power tiller for weeding (www.indiaagronet.com),Garden Tillers & Soil Cultivators (http://www.hoffcocomet.com) etc. The tractor operated implementswhich are being employed for stubble shaving are rotaryslasher/mower (www.jaikisan.org, www.shanasheel.com),


shrub-master (http://agricoop.nic.in), stubble shaver (http://agricoop.nic.in), etc. The shrub master, rotary mower andthe stubble shavers has the swinging blades for cuttingstubble/shrubs/grass. Weeding can also be practiced usingthese implements.

2 Sugar cane stubble shaving (causes better ratooning) iswell known practice. The implements/machines which arebeing employed for this job are rotary slasher/mower(www.jaikisan.org, www.shanasheel.com), shrub-master(http://agricoop.nic.in), stubble shaver (http://agricoop.nic.in),etc. The shrub master, rotary mower and the stubble shavershas the swinging blades for cutting stubble/shrubs/grass.3 The chaff cutters, forage chopper and grinders have beenavailable for many years (text books,www. ind ian indust ry .com/agr icu l tu ra lmach inery ,www.indiamart.com/damil-engg, www.kisancom.com,www.icar.org.in, www.agricoop.nic.in, www.indiamart.com/bansalironfoundary, www.aureka.com). US patent No.5,199,653 (Nov. 1991) described a shredder/chipperdischarge assembly for varying size of the shreddedmaterials. US patent No. 5,605,291 (April 1994) described adisc type chipper/mulcher having multi-blade flails; a screenfor governing the size of the processed materials. Some ofthese are motorized and the others are manually operated.They are used for chopping green grass, forage or plantleaves and the shredded particle sizes in the range of 5-20mm.


Background

Late Dilip Sinh Rana thoughtfully developed thepaddy thresher, where the stalk of the paddy doesnot get broken during the threshing process.

Dilip Sinh’s family originally belongs to Unchediavillage of Bharuch but he had to shift to his father inlaw’s place after his marriage in 1974, as his fatherin law did not have anybody to help him in his work.He completed his education till class tenth and thenstarted his diploma in mechanical engineering butunfortunately had to drop out in the first year itself.Since then he had been involved in farming until hisuntimely demise in March 2006.

He is survived by his wife, three daughters and ason. His son, who is 20 years old, has taken careof the farm after the death of his father. The familyowns around twelve acres of agricultural land andproduce paddy, sugarcane and other vegetables.

Since his childhood, he possessed leadershipqualities and his friends and others used to cometo him to get help and seek advice. While in his

teens, he made a projector all by himself on whichhe used to show movies to the children in his area.

He was always ready to help others. Instead ofwaiting for things to happen he believed in workingand making things happen. Without having anytechnical knowledge he was able to mend electricityconnections, machines, automobiles, etc. He neversaid no to any one who approached him for helpand tried to help in whatever way he possibly could.Since he was a farmer, he always thought of waysto make life easier for them, without thinking ofgetting any financial support or recognition in return.

Genesis

Traditionally paddy is threshed by beating followedby winnowing and cleaning by the fan. Paddy stalksare the main source of fodder for the animals in theregion and in addition they are the raw materials forpaper industries. There was shortage of labour andhence the labour charges were quite high too.

These constraints were the basic ones when heplanned to make such a machine. To overcome

this labour intensive paddy threshing and toconserve the paddy strains, Dilip Sinh developedpaddy thresher where the paddy grains and stalksare obtained separately at the end of the threshingprocess.

He conceived the idea to develop this machinesometime in 2003, after which he made elaboratediagrams on paper. The same were presentedbefore GIAN- NIF during his visit in early 2005, afterwhich some financial support was provided to himto develop the machine. The development of thepresent machine took seven to eight months.

Innovation

The proposed innovation is a hybrid product of twowell known concepts i.e. threshing by beating andretaining the whole stalk and is a pollution free andenvironment friendly technology.

The concept of rubbing the crop in betweenthreshing drum and concave and obtaining the wholestalk of the paddy while threshing is in use1 . USpatent nos. 4185642, 3963032, 4174718, 4821744

Whole stalk paddy thresherFarm MachineryNational Third

Late Shri Dilip Sinh RanaSurat, Gujarat


and 4489735 describe the threshing mechanismfor paddy, wheat and similar crops. In all thesemechanisms, threshing of the crop is achieved byrubbing of the ear-heads in between the threshingdrum and the concave. No whole stalk of the paddyis retained in these threshers and is blown out inthe form of chopped material called bhusa (husk).

However, the proposed innovation is different fromthe threshing concept, here threshing is achievedby beating action, which is mechanized by usingtractor power through PTO.

It consists of self-made frame, feeding mechanism,threshing mechanism, and cleaning mechanism.A pair of pneumatic wheels is provided fortransportation purpose. In feeding mechanism traytype hoppers are provided to keep the paddybunches. Paddy bunches are moved forwardthrough conveyer belts on either sides of thethresher.

The upper and lower conveyer belts are made ofthick cotton threads and rotate in opposite direction.The conveyer belts pass the paddy bunch for 1.5m length during which only ear head portion gets

threshed. In this thresher, the paddy is threshed bybeating. Four beaters are provided on the centralshaft.

To remove the light foreign material and straw fromthe grain, two fans (self-made) are provided. Theheavy foreign material and stalks of the paddy, whichfall with the grains, are thrown out with the help ofvibrating elevator, which runs beneath the fans.These fans and the elevator get the drive from PTOof the tractor.

To collect the clean grain, two grain outlets on eitherside are provided. Three labours are required tooperate this thresher apart from the tractor power(it can run even by 2 HP motor).

Since this thresher does not produce husk, it isenvironment friendly and region specific technology.The cost of the thresher is estimated to be aroundRs. 55,000.

Using this machine, wholepaddy stalk is obtainedinstead of chopped pieces,which are the main sourceof fodder for animals in thearea. In whole stalk thenutritional value isconserved, it is easy tohandle and very good rawmaterial for paper industryalso. The stalks of thepaddy yield the income ofabout Rs. 4000/- per ha.

His son is now makingefforts made to double thecapacity per unit time as

compared to the conventional threshers.

__________________1 Threshing concept of rubbing the crop in between threshingdrum and concave is known in art (http://w w w . m a n e k l a l e x p o r t s . c o m / E n g l i s h / A g r i E q u i p /RiceThresher.htm). Moreover, the concept of obtaining thewhole stalk of the paddy while threshing is in practice (http://nerdatabank.nic.in/csirfarming.htm, http://www.ficciagroindia.com/technology-options/paddy-thresher.htm, http://www.bossmachines.in/fourbrothers/Agricutural.html) but the threshing concept is shredding bythe rotating drum.


Background

K.J. Baby has developed a white flowered varietyof cardamom, which has higher yield, oil contentand recovery ratio than the locally popular varieties.

Presently residing at Puliyanmala, Baby is thenative of Ettumanoor. It was here where he wasborn in a farming family along with three brothersand two sisters. As a child, he was alwaysinterested in sports and had a special liking forfootball. Later when he was sixteen years old, hisinterest switched over to stitching, as he wanted todevelop this skill. He continued this till gettingmarried at the age of 24 years and then he took upagriculture as a profession.

Baby, who studied up to class eighth, is 66 yearsnow. His family consists of his wife, three sonsand a daughter. Two younger sons (36 and 34 years)assist him in agriculture while the elder son (39years) is a cardamom state manager elsewhere;daughter (41 years) is married.

Puliyanmala is a small town, having around 60 per

White flowered cardamom varietyPlant VarietyNational First

K. J. BabyPuliyanmala, Idukki, Kerala

cent Tamil and 40 per cent Malyalee populationchiefly comprising of agricultural labourers. Theagricultural crops cultivated by the farmers in theregion are cardamom, pepper, coconut and on avery limited area, arecanut, banana and lemon arecultivated.

In 1965, when their land in Ettumanoor was boughtby the government for establishing industrial estate,Baby’s family shifted to Puliyanmala and bought acardamom estate of around 5 acres. At that time,the climate at Puliyanmala was colder and hostileso cultivation of pepper in this region was notfeasible and so the family opted for the cultivationof a local variety of cardamom. It was in late 1970’sthat the climate began to change to be a bit warmerso along with cardamom they started coffee andpepper cultivation.

In 1982, he added 2.5 acres of land to his totalholding through purchase and started growingcardamom. Somewhere around same time theprices of cardamom started to rise hence tomaximize his profits, he also started makingselection of cardamom so as to develop selections/

varieties that would yield higher. Their family is ajoint family and the total land holding now is closeto 20 acres. All of their land is under cardamomcultivation, white flower variety covers eight acres,while remaining area is under high yielding Njallani,which covers six acres while another new variety,which he claims to have developed recently coversremaining six acres.

Genesis

In 1996, for the first time, he observed a white flowerplant in his cardamom garden, which he had never


heard or seen, and so he isolated it and multipliedit by vegetative propagation. At that time itself a lotpeople showed interest in it, but he did not want todistribute it, as he wanted to observe the resultsover a period. By 2001, he had raised around 800plants, which were similar to the mother plant andbore white flowers. Same year, when experts fromIndian Institute of Spice Research were visiting hisarea to inspect pepper, he invited them to his farmto have a look at his variety. They appreciated himfor his efforts to develop this variety. Thereafterexposure in media started and subsequently hestarted selling his seeds 2003 onwards.

Being financially sound Baby did not face any majorproblems and always had the support of family,

friends and relatives. His wife and daughter-in-lawstook personal care of the plants, from irrigation,manuring to performing associated farm practices.His wife specially likes this particular variety becauseof the enhanced taste and flavour. His three sonshave been much interested in evolving a variety outof the white flowered mother plant and theirinvolvement, interest and hard work has beeninstrumental in the evolution, multiplication anddissemination of this variety over the years.

Innovation

The cardamom variety developed by Baby, belongsto Vazhuka type cardamom cultivars bearing purelywhite flowers, has high productivity than othercardamom plants and can be grown in waterloggedareas as well. The variety has wider adaptability todifferent shade conditions apart from having highproduction with good quality that is even higher thanother Mysore and Vazhukka cultivars viz., Njallani,Green-bold, Palakkudi and Veeraputhara varieties,which are locally popular. It has sturdy plants, robusttillers and deeper root system, which makes itresistant to various biotic and abiotic stresses.

The prominent features of the variety developed byBaby are (a) single tiller planted in the nursery givingrise to 30 tillers, (b) variety having seed last ratio ofaround 23-26, (c) recovery ratio of one kg drycardamom from four and half kilograms of greencardamom (d) single plant yielding nearly 4 - 5 kgdry cardamom with size varying from 6 mm to 8mm and (e) the oil percentage being 8.9 percent asagainst 6-7 percent in common varieties.

The distribution of this variety started in 2003 whenseeds were provided to 200 to 300 farmers fromIdukki and surrounding districts of Kerala and border

districts of Karnataka covering about 1000 acres ofland. As a result, it has now diffused in Idduki,Wayanad (Kerala) and Chikmangalur (Karnataka)and some parts of Tamil Nadu.

This variety has aroused the interest among theresearchers, as it was believed that the peculiarcolor of cardamom flower attracts the insects forpollination, but now presence of white colored flowerof Baby’s variety negates the whole concept.

Awards and Appreciations

Baby received a ‘Certificate of Merit’ for being the“Best Cardamom Cultivator” in the public functionconducted in Kattappana Fest 2004 by KattappanGram Panchayat. He has also received a certifi-cate of Appreciation from Asst. Director of Agricul-ture, Kattapanna for the new high yielding varietydeveloped by him. Spices Board, Government ofIndia has given him a certification mentioning thepresence of white flowered characteristics is uniqueto farmer-bred variety.

Baby, who has rich experience in plantation crops,desires to share his knowledge with the community.He mentions that ‘as far as agriculture is concernedthe selection of best quality seeds and technicalinputs from research and development institutionsare sufficient to prevent losses for the farmers ’.The innovator’s ambition is to identify superiorcharacteristics in cardamom plants and evolvenewer varieties, which can be popularized to benefitthe larger interests of the cardamom growercommunity.


Background

Surulivel (70), a progressive farmer, has developedand propagated a variety of cardamom having thequalities of high productivity, large sized capsulesand high growth rate.

His family comprises his wife, son and two daugh-ters. He has been cultivating cardamom and coco-nut on the 30 acres of land he has in Kerala for thepast 40 years.

With plans to start cultivation, he bought a piece ofdry rocky land in 1969. The land was mostly cov-ered by weeds like Pterolobium hexapetalum andLantana camara and was not suitable for cultiva-tion.

Toiling hard, he moved the big rocks and used themfor building rock bunds, which were incorporatedwith native soil, cow dung and dried leaves. Thisprevented soil erosion and improved its fertility. Ashe found the land suitable for cardamom cultiva-tion, he planted many varieties in it.

Since cardamom plants require more shade, he

planted Artocarpus heterophyllus (Jackfruit1 ) treesbetween the cardamom saplings.

Genesis

In late sixties, SuruIivel started cultivating carda-mom (Mysore type) on his farm. Then in 1986, hecame across some other varieties, which grew wellin both drought and water logged conditions.

His wife who has been quite observant pointed outtwo plants that outperformed others in the field. Henoted the quantitative and qualitative traits of theseplants such as growth, yield, and resistance topests, diseases and abiotic stress viz. drought tol-erance, water logging, aroma, oil content, etc. overthe next five years.

A senior scientist of Indian Cardamom ResearchInstitute, visited his field, appreciated his efforts andencouraged him to mass-multiply these two plantsby adopting propagation techniques. The words ofappreciation from an expert egged him and hestarted preparing clones of the plants to use themas planting material in his own estate.

PNS VAIGAI (Vazhukka) - A New Cardamom Variety Plant VarietyNaional Third

P. N. SurulivelTheni, Tamil Nadu Scout: SEVA


He isolated and planted this variety in one acre ofland in 1991. He multiplied the selected lines byvegetative propagation. The planting 3 x 3 x 2 feetpits were filled with lime powder, compost and top-soil. The split suckers were planted in pits and pro-tected from wind by supporting the plants withstakes. Dried leaves were used for mulching to pre-vent soil erosion and to conserve soil moisture. Thenorganic manure was applied at three months inter-val.

Five years later in 1996, the plants started yield-ing. He named the variety as ‘PNS- Vaigai’, PNSstanding for his name (P.N.Surulivelu) and Vaigai,which is the name of the river flowing nearby in theCumbum valley.

Innovation

The PNS- Vaigai seed size is large compared tothe local variety Njallani. The yield is higher andconsistent: 900-1400 kg/acre from 1996 till date.The number of internodes (average 40-45) is higherthan in the locally popular varieties. The rhizomesare bigger, bolder bearing 3-4 inflorescences each,which in turn bear around 25-32 racemes each. Therind (skin of capsule) is thin and hence the recov-ery percentage is higher than Njallani. In addition,there is no difficulty in post harvesting. In fact, thedriage recovery has been higher than in the localvariety.

The market response for it has also been very en-couraging and it has been commanding prices, atleast 15-20 percent higher than other local variet-ies. Since 60-70 percent of the produce is 7 mmand above, the income from per unit of land is alsohigher than other local varieties.

So far he has sold 2,50,000 sapling tomany farmers of the region. Now mostof the cardamom growers in his areahave started growing PNS-Vaigai and avast area under cardamom cultivationis covered by this variety alone.

Apart from receiving public recognitionat local level many times, Surulivel alsowon ICAR Spices Board’s (Kerala) firstprize for achieving the highest produc-tivity in cardamom (3250 kg of dried cap-sules/ha) during the year 2002-2003.High yielding planting material, main-tenance of soil fertility through judiciousapplication of organic manures and sys-tematic soil and moisture conversation practiceshelped him in reaching the top position among car-damom growers.

Given his vast experience and expertise in agricul-ture, he was invited to NIF’s informal ResearchAdvisory Committee meeting in May 2006 to meetfellow innovators and also participate in the tradi-tional food festival, Saatvik, organised by SRISTI-NIF in November 2006, where the response to hiscardamom variety was overwhelming.

______________1 Jackfruit is an evergreen tree, having smaller root zone andprovides more leaf litter as compost for the cardamom variety.


Background

Papachchan who had to leave Chakatabara villagein Kayanna, Khozihode to settle in Payavoor whenfoot rot disease destroyed his pepper crop hascome up with a very innovative method that pro-motes sustainable production of organic black pep-per and has become a model towards control ofthe dreaded foot rot disease.

Chakatabara is a densely populated village whererubber, coconut, arecanut and pepper cultivation isthe main occupation. From here thirteen years ago,Papachchan (51) and his wife (46) shifted toPayavoor after his crop at his native place was de-stroyed by the root wilt. His son aged 18 years, isstudying at his native place.

Pappachan has studied up to class four and hiswife has had some basic education. He is a culti-vator and owns three acres of land in all, one acrein his native Chakatabara where he grows pepperand two acres at Cheruvavil, where he grows pep-per in 1.3 acres and rubber in the remaining. As achild, he was fond of reading newspapers, maga-zines and storybooks. At twelve years age, he

started working in his father’s farm.

Genesis

When he started cultivation independently 1980onwards, he started closely observing his plants’health; some plants died early while some had alonger life span. He started weighing the situationto figure out how to protect the weak plants.

He believed that heavy rains had something to dowith the wilting of roots. To some extent, root wiltwas controlled by pesticides and by having properdrainage. This prompted him to develop a naturalmethod of controlling this root wilt.

It took him three problem-filled years and numer-ous trials before he could refine a process of pep-per protection. Since he had limited amount of land,which he had to use both for earning his livelihoodas well as for his experiments, he had to be carefulas he was much constrained.

Due to frequent changes, the cultivation he incurredfinancial losses upsetting his family members in-cluding his wife, who (fearing the failure of the crop)

ridiculed him as he experimented with what wasthe only means of income. But he was confidentthat he would come up with something useful forothers and that was his driving force.

Innovation

In Papachchan’s agronomic practices adequatenatural drainage is considered the best for peppercultivation. He prescribes a two feet deep and one-foot wide trench along the border for isolating thepepper garden from other trees. No pits were takenup for planting.

Pepper is grown as a pure crop in order to avoidintercropping losses. Planting material is preparedby cutting runners just below the nodes to restrictthe plant to a single root. Jackfruit is consideredas the best of the standards due to its timber valueand manorial value of leaves.

Saplings are planted close to standards so thatthe collar region is about three inches above theground and is exposed to environmental conditionsfrom the tender age so that the plants develop in-

Papachchan style of pepper cultivation Farm PracticeNational Third

Francis PA Payavoor, Kanuur, Kerala Scout: K. Georgekutty Mathew


nate resistance. Mulching is used to reduce theerosion effects of raindrops and to conserve thesoil. Mother vines are selected very carefully basedon the past performance so as to obtain regulargood yields, better growth and pest free cultivars.

The saplings are planted after the start of south-west monsoon rains. Mucuna bracteata is raisedas a cover crop, to improve soil fertility and to main-tain suitable soil environment for the growth of rootsystem. No tillage is done.

Irrigation is not required under normal circum-stances, but if a monsoon break extends beyond15 days, the field has to be irrigated. The yield po-tential is double in this method (0.7-1.2 tonnes ofdry pepper/acre) compared to conventional farm-ing methods (0.3-0.5 tonnes). In addition, there isno need of weeding, as no weed grows due to thestandards and the resistance to foot rot disease ismore.

Indian Institute of Spices Research has the follow-ing to say about his practice, ‘The system devel-oped is unique and no parallel has been reportedfrom elsewhere and the contribution of the farmeris unique and outstanding’.

Now, his family has become indif-ferent and they have left him to dowhatever he wants and do not pes-ter him with questions. Some fam-ily members including his brotherand some friends have also adoptedhis technique of cultivation. At a timewhen everyone else around hasshifted to more profitable rubber plan-tations, Papachchan is adamantlydetermined to continue his peppercultivation his own unique way.“Arogyamulla krishiyidam, athuvazhi arogyamulla manushiyasamoohavum sadhyamanu.Ulpathanum mechapeduthuvanrandu margangul mathramanu ullathu, vitthukalludeshariyaya theranjudukalum, anuyojeyamayasthalavum”1 , says Papachchan.

____________ 1 It is possible to cultivate healthy plants and thus makeevery human being healthy. There are only two ways to abetter yield- proper selection of seeds and the proper selec-tion of the area based on the altitude

shivraj multipurpose equipment1 shamrao parhate

Documents