Today I will tell you about a wonderful piece of machinery we use at Namikango. It is called a V-Tractor. V stands for “village.” It is called that because it is designed for work in any village. It is very simple to operate and anyone can use it!
In order for Malawians to grow their gardens they have to do hard, back-breaking labor. To ease their work Thom Rich invented the V-Tractor and put it all together in his garage in Lebanon, Indiana. The V-Tractor is a simple tractor that can do tilling, pumping and irrigating, planting, fertilizing, and act as a generator. It can also act as a well drill and its engine can be changed within 30 min. It has been designed with simplicity in mind. The parts are easily accessed and quickly changed. The V-Tractor was first tried out in Malawi in September of 2008.
“The tractor is powered by a Hartz diesel, and utilizes a unique three or four-wheel drive hydrostatic transmission utilizing two independent pumps and wheel motors. The V-Tractor also has an 11 gpm auxiliary hydraulic pump to power attachments. The current M-9 tractor can power a 30 gpm water pump, 10 kW generator set, and cement mixer. A wide variety of attachments are available for development as additional applications for this diverse unit are identified. A simple forward reverse pedal engages the tractor with no gear changes or clutching.”
In 2009 Thom Rich started Agricultural Aid Organization in Indiana. “Now additional trials are ongoing as new attachments are developed and modifications to future unites are carried out.”
Excerpts are from the V-Tractor brochure. If you would like to learn more about the V-Tractor and AAI organization, please go to http://www.v-tractor.com/
In order for Malawians to grow their gardens they have to do hard, back-breaking labor. To ease their work Thom Rich invented the V-Tractor and put it all together in his garage in Lebanon, Indiana. The V-Tractor is a simple tractor that can do tilling, pumping and irrigating, planting, fertilizing, and act as a generator. It can also act as a well drill and its engine can be changed within 30 min. It has been designed with simplicity in mind. The parts are easily accessed and quickly changed. The V-Tractor was first tried out in Malawi in September of 2008.
“The tractor is powered by a Hartz diesel, and utilizes a unique three or four-wheel drive hydrostatic transmission utilizing two independent pumps and wheel motors. The V-Tractor also has an 11 gpm auxiliary hydraulic pump to power attachments. The current M-9 tractor can power a 30 gpm water pump, 10 kW generator set, and cement mixer. A wide variety of attachments are available for development as additional applications for this diverse unit are identified. A simple forward reverse pedal engages the tractor with no gear changes or clutching.”
In 2009 Thom Rich started Agricultural Aid Organization in Indiana. “Now additional trials are ongoing as new attachments are developed and modifications to future unites are carried out.”
Excerpts are from the V-Tractor brochure. If you would like to learn more about the V-Tractor and AAI organization, please go to http://www.v-tractor.com/
I am so glad that your country is getting the type of machinery that can help in growing crops. Hopefully it help ease the food shortages all over Africa.
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