Most mornings, Ganapathi Bhat comes for work with a homemade contraption consisting of a small engine, a rudimentary seat, and a set of wheels, all expertly arranged to assist the farmer in climbing large trees quickly.
The 50-year-old farmer in Mangaluru, Karnataka, farms areca nuts and must regularly scale 60- to 70-foot-tall trees to harvest his crop. Mr Bhat said he took it upon himself to create a contraption that would make his life simpler because he was too old to climb and couldn’t find cheap labour. Mr. Bhat refers to it as a ‘tree scooter.’
India is the world’s biggest producer of areca nuts. A large portion of this crop is grown along the coasts of Karnataka and Kerala. ‘Villagers asked if I was insane. They questioned whether my concept would work in the rainy season because the trees would be slippery ‘ Mr Bhat told Reuters at his lush 18-acre property.
Mr Bhat said that he spent around 40 lakh in research and development beginning in 2014. He and his engineer partner had a working prototype after four years. Mr Bhat claims to have sold more than 300 ‘tree scooters,’ each of which costs Rs 62,000. ‘I’m glad that with this creation, I was able to help people, at this point, I feel like my life is complete.’ Mr Bhat said.
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