MIT's Jodie Wu Makes Harvesting In Africa Easier

In Tanzania and other areas of Africa dependent on subsistence agriculture, a successful harvest is the only chance for survival. But plentiful rainfall and high crop yields don't end the struggles for Tanzanian families. Processing maize is labor intensive and therefore requires the support of health care and sustenance, both of which are lacking in the region. Tractors and other machinery would dramatically decrease health risks and time spent harvesting, but unfortunately the necessary technology has been far too expensive-until now.

Jodie Wu, an MIT senior in mechanical engineering, spent the summer traveling from village to village in Tanzania to introduce a new system for processing maize. The invention is a simple attachment for an ordinary bicycle that makes it possible to remove kernels quickly and efficiently using human-generated power from pedaling. Wu observed that the device makes processing up to 30 times faster and can be completed by a single farmer in one day.

Wu's attachment is actually a refined, more practical and cheaper version of a corn-sheller system originally designed by Bernard Kiwia of Global Alliance for Africa that required the bicycle to be dedicated solely to that purpose. The device is now so affordable that microloans are sufficient for purchases.

To read more about Wu's experience, visit her blog here.

[via MIT News]