Ploughs
Traditionally rice fields are prepared by tilling with a hoe, a heavy, long-handled stick with a big, shovel-like blade at right angles to the shaft.
Imagine digging over a couple of football pitches with such a hoe and you can imagine what hard work it is. Three weeks work in the very hot sun, with temperatures in the 30s. So, it’s not hard to imagine why many farmers, dream of having a plough to do the work. They are one of the most effective ways of improving the farmers productivity and reducing the vast amount of back breaking heavy work that they do. They are particularly asked for by women farmers, many of whom are running their farms and bringing up their families on their own.
We spoke to one woman, Cecelia, who has 5 children, including 6-year-old twins, who had to pay someone £30 last year to plough her fields. KASFA is now offering ploughs on an instalment basis (like the ox-carts) and we have started a plough fund which is doing very well, and we should be able to offer money to buy another 40 or so this season.
Ploughs costs around £55 and are bought mainly by churches and Fairtrade Groups here in the UK.
