| Details of Innovation |
Background:
India is an agricultural country, where more than fifty percent of the population directly engage in and earn their livelihood from farming. Tractors have become a necessity for farmers; it is seen as a sign of modernization in agriculture.
The innovator in question comes from a family of farmers and is one of four brothers. When they had separated, it became difficult to share only one tractor among all four of them, so Bhanjibhai purchased a pair of bullocks for farming, but his village was near the forest and the terrain was hilly so the bullocks would tire and were less efficient; he was in need of a substitute for these bullocks. So he went looking for an old tractor. As the new tractors were heavy, large and costly, he needed a small tractor which could meet his needs and could also be met by his budget.
He began looking out for an old tractor. As all the tractors available in the market were very costly and large, he thought of making his own tractor, but was not sure that he could make it. As he had a keen interest in science and mechanics but had no formal knowledge in the mechanical line ie. making a chasis, welding etc., it was very difficult starting out.
Then in 1990, he thought of making a new tractor of his own, which would have three wheels- inspired by a three-wheeled taxi called Chakkdo that was common in the region of Saurastra.
Struggle
The idea for making a three-wheeled tractor was final but the start was not smooth, as he had no workshop, no machine to carry out manufacturing and worst of all, no experience and support for making it. Anyhow, he started to work on this idea with the support of his son and three nephews. Then, they went to a nearby town known as Visavadar with his partners to consult some lathe machine workers but without success. At last they were successful in hiring a worker for a very high pay of Rs. 4000/- per month. After making their first tractor from an old junkyard jeep, the tractor began to move on gears; however it went in reverse in the first two gears but forward in the third gear but even then at a very slow speed. So they once again changed the gear-arrangements for proper movement. After the first tractor was quite ready, they went for a test-run on the road, but to their bad-luck the RTO officer fined them a heavy amount and also sealed their tractor as it was not registered with the RTO. |
Honey Bee Network Knowledge & Innovation Database (HBNKIND)