Hosterwell Lapasam is a 68-year-old rice farmer who lives in Sohkymphor village, East Jaintia Hills District. Finding manual winnowing of rice grains the traditional way extremely difficult, he came up with an innovative solution to lessen his workload. The innovator developed, designed and built a rice winnowing machine which has been able to cut down the process of winnowing by a substantial amount of time. The machine can winnow and dry 15 sacks of rice in an hour. The machine which is extremely easy to use does not need a lot of physical strength and can be operated by women and children alike.
Bah Hosterwell came up with the idea sometime in 2005 and by 2006; he was able to sell his first machine. Till date he has sold 600 machines for a price of INR 10500 each. The machine takes 8 days to make and the cost of making the machine is INR 5000 and with labour costs for the 8 days, Bah Hosterwell hardly makes a profit. The innovator while speaking to the Knowledge Resource Management team spoke of his experiences while first making his machine and his journey since then.
KRM: Can you please tell us about your background and your family life?
Bah Hosterwell: I was born and raised here in Sohkymphor village itself and I live with my wife and children. I always had an innate talent to understand things and even though I went to school only up to Class 3, I think if I would have been able to study further, I could have been much more.
KRM: Can you tell us about how you first came up with the idea for the machine?
Bah Hosterwell: Well, I first thought about the idea while using a manual fire blower. I had a thought that maybe the science could also be applied to make a machine that could be used to winnow rice. So in 2005, I developed the concept and with my knowledge from the time I worked as a carpenter, I was able to model and build the machine. I was able to perfect the machine in 2007 and although I have received no formal training, my common sense and understanding of things have helped build the machine.
KRM: Can you describe the machine and its usage?
Bah Hosterwell: The machine is made out of wooden boards and there is a large funnel at the top where we put in the grains, we then turn the handle on the machine in circular motions and the willowed grains are deposited into a container at the bottom. The machine has made life much easier and cuts down not only on manpower but also on time. Another plus point is there is no need for an external power source.
KRM: Who is your target audience?
Bah Hosterwell: The main intention of building the machine is to help rice farmers like myself, hence, it is aimed at farmers.
KRM: Have you taken any loans to fund the building of this machine?
Bah Hosterwell: While building the machine, I did not take any loans. I only used whatever money I had at hand and since the first machine, I have not taken any loans either.
KRM: Has your life changed after you built your innovation? Is the machine patented?
Bah Hosterwell: Willowing has become easier and I earn enough for my everyday expenses. I still farm paddy till date and whenever an order comes, I start building the machine.
No, the machine is not patented. I did not make the machine with the intention of making money. I made it to help farmers like me and if other people want to try and build something similar, I have no issues with that.
KRM: How do people place orders for the machine? Is it available in the market?
Bah Hosterwell: No, the machine is not available in the market. People hear about my machine through word of mouth. There is no advertising involved. So when there is someone interested in the machine, they just ask people around- farmers here and there and they then call me and place an order. Out of the 600 machines I have sold, there have been a few that have gone all the way to the Ri Bhoi District but most of the orders come from the Jaintia Hills region.