AGFAX: January 2010
Bicycle-powered maize sheller
Jodie Wu and Philemon Kivuyo: Global Cycle Solutions, Arusha, Tanzania
Summary:
The Global Cycle Solutions organisation finds ways to use bicycles as an alternative source of power. In Tanzania, they have adapted a maize sheller so that it can be powered by bike, which greatly speeds up the process of removing maize grain from the husk. For those wanting a small business opportunity, the maize sheller can be pedalled from village to village. Other devices use bicycle power to grind maize into flour and charge mobile phone batteries.
Suggested introduction:
Shelling maize to remove the grain from the husk is a time-consuming and tedious process. For farmers with twenty sacks of maize cobs or more it can take a week or longer, with children sometimes kept out of school to help with the work.
There are, of course, machines which can shell maize, but these are usually unaffordable for small-scale farmers. But in Tanzania, the Global Cycle Solutions organisation has found another way. Importing small, maize-shelling machines from China, it has found a way to power the machines using an ordinary bicycle.
Lazarus Laiser visits the workshop in Arusha, and meets Jodie Wu and Philemon Kivuyo, who are now promoting the maize shellers in local villages. Jodie shows him how it works.
Tape in:
We have imported the sheller...
Tape out:
...maize flying off in the background.
Closing Announcement:
Jodie Wu and Philemon Kivuyo of Global Cycle Solutions, based in Arusha, Tanzania. And for more information, email info@globalcyclesolutions.com.
Making the most of it:
Are there any other ways that bicycles can be used to power farm equipment? Global Cycle Solutions has already developed a maize grinder and a phone charger, as well as the maize sheller. Do your listeners have any other ideas?
Further information:
Website - globalcyclesolutions.wordpress...
Email - info@globalcyclesolutions.com
YouTube video - www.youtube.com/watch?v=42uHgV...
Transcript
Wu
We have imported the sheller itself from China, but we have developed the interface where it connects to the bicycle. So essentially what it does is, you are pedalling. As you pedal, you can hear the wheel going around, and there is another chain on the opposite side of the wheel to the machine itself. The innovation of this product is really the fact that you can shell it at your house, you can shell fifteen sacks in a day.
Laiser
What is the problem that you wanted to solve?
Wu
This was designed for people who have one to two acres, who have maybe twenty five sacks or less, who could shell their maize in one to two days. So the idea was basically, how can we make this more accessible to more people? And so it was, why don't we take this maize sheller and put it on a bicycle?
Laiser
What gave you the idea for what you have called the Global Cycle Solution?
Wu
Essentially it is the innovation of the things you can do just from a bicycle. So that was the inspiration: bring technologies to people who might lack infrastructure. You know, you are using something that you can find anywhere, which is your own human labour.
Laiser
I can see that you have already put a maize there, ready to just make it now. How does it work? Can you just try to show me?
Wu
Basically there is a rear stand. Imagine you're on the stand, you're on like an exercise machine, you are just pedalling. That's the corn going through.
Laiser
It is very easy. I would also like just to try. How does it work? Do I go? Do I do just like riding a bicycle?
Wu
Exactly like riding a bicycle.
Laiser
OK. Oh, and then it is easy. Wow, very easy and also it's enjoyable riding it. I was really happy just riding.
Kivuyo
It is just riding, and it is exercise sometimes.
Laiser
It is exercise, but you enjoy riding.
Kivuyo
And when you have children around the home, they can come to ride a bicycle like they are playing, but they help you to shell the corn.
Laiser
Why did you decide to operate such kind of technology?
Kivuyo
Many people, let's say many small scale farmers are getting trouble how to shell their corn. Because they use hands, so they are beating and they use hands to shell corn. So instead of shelling let's say two, three or four sacks a day, they can shell more, fifteen sacks a day of corn. So the people with two or three acres, they can do this in two days or three days.
Laiser
Do you think it is affordable to small scale farmers?
Kivuyo
I think it is affordable because not many people, many farmers, have a tractor. And a tractor is very expensive. So it's affordable because this machine is 60,000. One sack now is 50 or 45,000. So it is affordable. It is easy and affordable to them.
Laiser
Can you give me some examples of users, and the difference it makes to their lives?
Wu
The most recent success story was, we were out testing our product. A few days later we had someone from a church call us, and they said, 'We are shelling maize at the church. Could you bring the machine?' So we brought two bicycles. We arrived and there were two men beating the corn with a stick, and there were a dozen women shelling maize by hand. And the guys with the sticks, immediately they dropped their sticks, they hopped on the bicycles, and then the women started bringing the maize to the machine. And they immediately started operating it, and two hours after we arrived we had finished the whole store of sacks. So I think it was almost twenty sacks of corn, and they were saying, 'This would have normally taken us the whole day!' So, I was really happy that the community was still there, even with the technology. You didn't lose the community. Instead it became a more fun operation for everyone, where we were enjoying it and were just hearing the maize flying off in the background. End of track.
