Kamis making scythe blades in Nepal

[Steve Tall]

Here's one guy who decided to make a difference by taking 30 scythe blades and related equipment to rural Nepal, to demonstrate their usefulness and enable the local blacksmiths to replicate the blades. "The local production of blades would be an important part of this initiative, rather than relying on continual imports... The skilled blacksmiths are of course also farmers and can be part of the harvesting trials as well..."

http://scytheworks.ca/SPIN.html

The linked page also has a bunch of photos from rural Nepal, like this one:

 

[raghorn]

I'd love to see an update on that story after the harvest next year!

 

[Karda]

I'm surprised noone showed him their, khurmi or hasiya......
The neapalis have been making sickles from a very long time.

 

[Steve Tall]

A scythe supposedly can harvest much more than a sickle during a days work.

 

[Karda]

A scythe supposedly can harvest much more than a sickle during a days work.

My apologies....i was mixing up terms.
Of course i scythe harvests more.....it's a huge sickle.

 

[Steve Tall]

Update with video of his travels in Nepal

One man and his teenage son travelled to Nepal with some scythes:
[video=youtube_share;6kgblvM26DM]http://youtu.be/6kgblvM26DM[/video]

 

[Berkley]

Excellent video, well worth watching. I admire the man's efforts. Given the traditional nature of Nepalese society, with the resistance to change that we sometimes encounter even among the kamis, adoption of a different technology will be a challenge. There are quite a few interesting shots of the traditional Nepalese sickle in use.

 

[Yangdu]

Thank you for sharing

 

[leebrewer]

What a great deed.

 

[bric]

Very cool video. Thanks for the link.

 

[sweetcostarica]

Update with video of his travels in Nepal
One man and his teenage son travelled to Nepal with some scythes:

Big thanks for this treasure trove of scythe information and a good mans efforts to help others. Love the scythe he uses in the video that stacks the tall stalks in a neat row. Looks like the Silesian Scythe (cradle scythe) below.


Like Berkley indicated the sickle is traditionally preferred in Nepal. But it is worth the effort to try and introduce the amazing scythe. Maybe (that's a big maybe) it will catch on.
The photo below is Big W's Himalayan Import's Hasiya Sickle he had in 2009.

He said,

"my wife uses this one for everything outside in the garden".

 

[Steve Tall]

Here's a recent video that gives a good summary of the Scythe Project in Nepal:

[video=youtube_share;6kgblvM26DM]http://youtu.be/6kgblvM26DM[/video]

 

[Steve Tall]

Some short video clips, below, show three different approaches for harvesting wheat in Nepal.

A current method of harvesting wheat:

[video=youtube_share;06edzfeznHM]http://youtu.be/06edzfeznHM[/video]

Demonstration of using a scythe for harvesting wheat in Nepal:

[video=youtube_share;fMxSCDp-f9I]http://youtu.be/fMxSCDp-f9I[/video]

Shown below is what the agriculture agencies are promoting (instead of scythes):

[video=youtube_share;sjasNdqqaBY]http://youtu.be/sjasNdqqaBY[/video]

Motorized harvester:
- fossil fuel dependent, fuel must be imported
- higher cost, shorter life
- weight 8 - 15 kg
- noisy, with exhaust fumes
- all equipment and spare parts must be imported

Scythe:
- fossil fuel independent
- low cost, long life
- weight 2 - 3 kg
- no noise, no exhaust
- all needed equipment can be fabricated locally

 

[Gehazi]

obviously whoever is building the motorized harvester has friends in local government-- otherwise is a no brainer