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Suresh P.V., Amarambalam, Malappuram |
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Suresh P.V.
is a school drop-out who works as a driver and a rubber tapping labourer in
Malappuram. But that would be a poor
yardstick to measure his potential or achievement as an innovator. He has invented an arecanut climbing machine
that can ease the traditional, manual and risky method of climbing these slender
stems.
Initially
he designed a machine that runs on electricity, but when erratic power supply
was found to be an issue, he switched over to a petrol engine. The 42cc petrol engine can be operated using remote
or mobile app.
The key
elements of the machine include rubber grip rollers which run up and down the
arecanut trees. It can adjust to the
girth of the trees as well as the dents and projections on the trunk. The
machine can be put in forward, reverse, neutral and cutting mode.
The 28kg
machine can climb a normal tree of 50-60 ft in one minute and can function for
3 hours for each litre of petrol. In case
the machine runs out of petrol while midway on the tree, then there is a rope that
can help the operator to bring it down.
This is not
the first innovation of Suresh. Earler,
in 2004, he had developed a 2kW hydroelectric power plant for his village. Another innovation of his was a ropeway system
for transporting goods.
His tree-climbing
innovation won an award of National Innovation Foundation in 2019.
NIF (text and photo), Mat 19, 2019
