Innovation Description
Profile
Innovator Mr D. N. Venkat hails from
Coimbatore district of Tamil Nadu. He had studied up to 8th standard. He was
working in khadi spinning unit as daily wage labour. He became jobless and
return to agriculture. He understands the difficulties of tree
climbing. The tree climbers are in rarity these days. There is a
reluctance among workers to enter this field of work as it is a very risky work
and very laborious to climb a tree and pluck coconuts. Due to
scarcity of labour, the farmers harvest the coconuts only once in three to four
months, against the general norm of harvesting cycle of 45 -60 days. So to make
the process of climbing trees and so that it can be easily climbed by an
unskilled person he developed a tool.
Purpose
Mr Venkat has modified a tool for palmyrah and coconut tree climber which is
seating type.
Technical details
The modified tree climber has a provision for seating and it made in two
parts/frames. The upper frame is operated by hand the lower one is
operated by the leg. Rollers are provided on both the frame. The user sits comfortably on the seat and by the up and down
movement of the upper and lower frame, can easily climb the tree. A locking system
has been provided, which enables the climber to work without feat at any
height. To avoid the possibility of a fall, a four lock pin will be fixed
at any height and a safety belt is also provided.
Working
When the climber is placed with the
tree on its bottom portion, the operator makes a step gradually by first
placing the top frame in the upper region and then he takes the bottom frame towards the upper direction. The same process is repeated until he reaches the top portion of
the tree. Upward and downward movement of the climbing device is completely manual
.
Benefits
One can climb on an average of about 25 coconut
trees. One of the major advantages of this tool is useful for the tree of
varied girth/diameter. This climber is provided with an additional safety harness
for additional safety. The seating arrangement is provided for the rest during
operation. No skilled person is required to operate the developed tool.
Suggested Reading(s):Agravat, V. V., Mohnot, P., Desai, R. H., Balas, P. R., & Yadav, R. (2018). Development of Sitting Type Coconut Palm Climbing Device.
International Journal of Current Microbiology and Applied Sciences, 7(10), 3591-3602.
Jahan, N., Hossain, M. I., & Sheikh, M. S. I. Development of a low-cost coconut tree climber for small farmers in Bangladesh.
International Journal of Engineering and Technical Research, 7(03), 242-248.
Indiamart, (2021). Coconut/ Palm tree climber (Lightweight Sitting Safe) advanced. Retrieved on April 15, 2021, from
https://www.indiamart.com/proddetail/coconut-palm-tree-climber-lightweight-sitting-safe-advanced-191...YouTube, (2014). Coconut tree climber. Retrieved on April 15, 2021, from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLXJGPXdzSI
