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5th National Award |
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Fireflies of Creativity - II |
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Brief synopses of the consolation awardees are presented here. Those readers who are interested in getting more details may contact info@nifindia.org. Idea is not just to share what these crazy people have done but also to invite readers to join the Honey Bee Network. You could share information about many unsung heroes that remain hidden from public eyes and are languishing for want of institutional support. You could also volunteer in any aspect of the Network activities. |
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Consolation Awards
Energy and Environment
Rain Water Syringe: A Novel Approach of Water Conservation
K J Antoji (54, higher secondary), lives in the coastal area of Cochin, where the ground water is saline. He was interested in studying science from a very young age. Even his teachers sometimes sought his help in making scientific exhibits. In order to dilute the underground brackish water in coastal areas, he has developed a rainwater syringe.
Once, while watering his garden the hosepipe fell down and pierced the soil up to 30 cm due to water pressure. This triggered the thought about developing a rain water harvesting technique using the pressure of water. In this system, the rainwater harvested from roof tops is stored in a pressure tank and with the help of PVC pipes it is injected to a depth below sea water level. The injected fresh water recharges and dilutes the groundwater. When required, the water can be pumped out of the recharged well.
Antoji made his own television set and tested it in early 1970s, when there were no TV relay stations in Kerala. He also developed a water distillation unit in 1988, which could also be used to extract volatile components from medicinal plants. Antoji says: “An innovation should and will bring satisfaction to innovators. The innovator should continue in this journey of creativity in spite of all hurdles.”
Biogeyser: Harnessing Heat of Biodigestion
Arun Kumar Kamboj (52, high school) has over three decades of experience as an agriculturist and over time, has become a local expert in organic practices. One evening, while working on his farm, he observed that the heap containing cattle dung was releasing vapour. He realized after touching the heap that the decomposing bio-waste was capable of generating enough heat. It could be harnessed, he thought, for heating water or some other thing.
After numerous trials, he came up with a system for getting warm water by utilizing the exothermal heat generated during decomposition of organic wastes. Water in the pipeline passing through a heap of organic wastes could be heated up to 60-70° C in a day. He dedicated this innovation to his father and called it ‘Chandan-Biogeyser’. His efforts to make his village adopt organic farming prompted the regional government offices to take initiatives in promoting several village development programmes in the village. As a result, in year 2000, the village became a model village or the Jaivik Gram, declared by the government of Uttarakhand.
Power Generation through Sewage/Slow Moving Water
K Balakrishna (45, primary school) is a contractor who has come up in his life the hard way. While working in a local quarry, he observed the mechanism of generating power using rotary motion. When he saw the destruction caused by Tsunami in affected regions of Tamil Nadu, he realized the immense power of water and planned to develop a unique device, which could harness energy out of slow-moving water.
The innovator has developed a system that generates energy from slow-moving sewage or any other source of flowing water when it is passed through a cylindrical drum. The helical blades inside the cylindrical drum provide the spin for rotation in generating power. The capacity of the existing pilot unit is claimed to be 30 KVA.
Balakrishna filed a patent for his design in the year 2008.
Household and General Utility Ceiling Cooler
Gopal Kumar Saluja (46, high school) has tried to solve the problem of the whole range of middle and lower-middle class people who cannot afford air conditioners. He has developed a unique “ceiling cooler” by upgrading the ubiquitous ceiling fan.
The unit has been tested for functional validation and performance at the Electronic Test and Development Center, Haryana State Electronics Development Corporation Ltd. (HARTRON). Another test of the same was done at MNIT whose results show that the ceiling cooler is able to reduce the temperature between 2.5° to 5.25° C. A patent was filed by NIF in his name in 2008.
A Floating Soap
C A Vincent (52, high school) is an innovative soap manufacturer. He assisted his father at his soap factory from a young age. He observed that many people taking bath in rivers and ponds lost grip of their soaps, which often sink in the water. He conducted experiments in his soap-manufacturing unit for about 14 years to develop this unique process of manufacturing soap that floats in water. When his relatives grew impatient with his experiments, he took up a rented house to continue with the experiments. The innovator has filed a patent for his formulation. Vincent says from his experience: “Innovations involve hardships. One needs determination to overcome failures.”
Student Ideas
Automatic Bathroom Cleaner
Adarsh and Suresh are students who believe in finding solutions to everyday problems and not living with them. They noticed that the public bathrooms remain perpetually dirty because the users don’t flush water after using the toilet. The arrangement of brushes proposed by them would wipe the surface properly.
Communication Board for the Deaf and the Dumb
Kundan Kumar (17) is an IIT aspirant and dreams to be a scientist. Thinking of new ideas has been his hobby and the testimony to this is the seven notebooks full of 200 ideas, meticulously written. His thoughtful effort enables deaf and dumb people to communicate with others as well as among themselves easily. This board has alphabets, numbers and commonly used words written on it. The user has a torch, which is used to illuminate a specific word, alphabet or number sequentially such that the person or a group viewing the board can understand and correctly interpret the meaning. Kundan wishes that as Braille script reached the blind, this innovation could reach every deaf and dumb.
Mechanical and Electronics
Temperature Regulated Fan Speed Control System, Ajooba Tube Light Frame and others
Narayan Das Jethwani (64, primary school) runs a shop of electrical goods in Siliguri, West Bengal. At the age of 18, Narayan opened a transistor radio manufacturing factory. Later, when he took dealership of Nelco radios, he devoted four hours of time everyday and claims to have designed gadgets like FM wireless mike, FM mike in pen, walky-talkies, high-speed tape copier, transceiver and others. He then thought of the problem of getting up in the middle of the night when it became very cool, to do the irritating job of reducing the fan speed. The innovator has come up with an electronic system that will automatically adjust the rotational speed of the room fan according to the room temperature, enabling a person to sleep peacefully and comfortably. Several other entrepreneurs in Assam, West Bengal and Rajasthan have been licensed this technology on non-exclusive basis.
Effective Sound Speaker System
Pakkiyanathan (58) has a business of renting sound systems. He observed that the existing sound speakers did not have the quality that he wanted. While working in the kitchen, one day, he saw the anjarai peti, which is a container box with small round-shaped boxes inside to store spices and condiments like pepper, turmeric etc. This gave him an idea to have a similar arrangement of the speakers. He started working on the design in 2002. A novice in theories related to speaker systems and designs, he designed a circular speaker assembly in stainless steel to achieve a dramatic sound effect. The speakers are artfully presented in subtle curves with stunning finesse. They give better sound effect and the desired strong bass for extra punch.
The innovator also got Uzaipal Uyartha Manithar (Man of hard work) award from IT minister, GoI in Perambalur in November 2006.
Portable Welding Machine
Sukhram Mistry (66) is an electrician who has developed a robust singe-phase welding machine suited for rural areas with their characteristically poor electric supply. He had an extremely difficult childhood as he had to shoulder family’s responsibility at a tender age of eight, when he lost his father.
Sukhram started giving shape to his idea in 2005, nurturing it with his experience and intuition. It has made welding very easy. NIF facilitated its testing at BIT Mesra, Ranchi. The welding strength of the machine was found to be good. Another testing was facilitated at IIT, Guwahati by NIF. The words of his late guru (father) still echo in his mind: “Adhik paisa kamaoge to imarat bana lena, lekin agar apne ko achcha karigar samajhte ho to kuch kar ke dena.”
(You can make a building by earning money but if you think you are a good worker do something and share with the society)
Multiple Electronic Gadgets
Manoj Kumar Narang (38) is an electronic shop owner who makes innovative gadgets, which make our day-to-day life easier. He won a prize in a school science exhibition in the year 1997 for an automatic light system that he made for his cousin.
Some of his innovative works are GSM based security system for shops, passenger mobile charger, energy saver for air cooler pumps, automatic dipper for automobiles and others. Manoj expresses his dissatisfaction over the society that appreciates only success. He says: “Sometimes the journey is more important than destination.”
Compressed Air Engine Technologies
Compressed air engines are engines that convert the energy in compressed air to useful work. Various grassroots innovators from different parts of the country have approached the problem of non-renewable energy in their own way. They have independently conceived and worked on the concept of compressing air and used it to run engines. Hari Narayan Prajapati from Rajasthan, a mechanic by profession, has modified a scooter engine to enable it to run on compressed air. He filed a patent (1632/del/2006) for the same in the year 2006. Ashok Kumar Singh (an agriculturist from Uttarakhand), conceived an idea about a machine used to run threshers, cut wood and in cement/sugar mills by operated using only compressed air. He also had an idea of developing a water-lifting pump for hilly regions without using fossil fuel. Rama Vishwakarma (illiterate, mechanic from Uttar Pradesh) has developed a model of a compressed air driven engine. Rashid Parvez Khan also from Uttar Pradesh has modified a Maruti car 800 cc engine enabling it to use compressed air as fuel. While Kanak Gogoi from Assam has developed a two-seater car running on compressed air and Narendra Kumar from Uttar Pradesh has modified a Hero Honda petrol engine into a diesel cum compressed air engine.
Farm Machinery and Food Processing Technologies
Sugarcane Bud Chipper and others
Roshan Lal Vishwakarma (43, higher secondary) repairs farm equipment and develops innovative machinery at his workshop. He was challenged by an engineer to make a machine that can remove buds from the sugarcane for the plantation purpose so as to minimize loss of time, money and seeds. As an answer, Roshanlal came up with this implement in which by pressing the handle, the unit removes the bud from the node of the sugarcane, which is then used for planting.
Roshanlal is a serial innovator and has improvised various devices and implements like sugarcane set cutter, sugarcane harvesting tool, travelling iron, automatic spray pump, timer for three-phase motor and others. A patent has been filed in Roshanlal’s name by NIF.
Reaper Windrower
Bhagwan Singh Dangi (55, higher secondary) is a farmer and repairs agricultural equipment. Some of his early designs are front-mounted blade for the tractors used for land levelling and bunding, a rubber accessory for increasing the discharge of bore-wells and others. The innovator observed that many times, mature soybean pods shatter due to non-availability of labourers for harvesting the crop in time, leading to reduced yield and loss. The reaper windrower has three different units; cutting unit, which consists of cutter bar, reel unit for pushing the standing crop towards the cutter bar and gathering unit to windrow the crop at centre of the machine. Its testing has not been completed, but efforts are underway to help him improve it. Would not it be great if labourers’ cooperative could be enabled to own such machines? Bhagwan Singh says: “Aaj kheti karne ka dhang achcha nahi hai, hamein tarakki karne ke liye kheti karne ka tareeka banana padega”
Paddy planter: A Work in Progress
Photo Singh (59) is a village based medical practitioner. Ever since he opened his clinic, the labourers working in the rice fields used to come with severe backaches. The transplanters available in the market were costly and not affordable to small farmers. After two decades of persistent efforts, he could develop two different models of manual paddy transplanter. Honey Bee Network discovered his innovation during the 18th Shodhyatra from Gangagarh to Daula in western UP (2006-07). With the back and forth movement of the machine, mechanical fingers are actuated, which pick seedlings from the tray and transplant these into the puddled soil bed. It is important to note that almost entire paddy in the farmers’ field in the country is transplanted by women in back-breaking posture. The model developed by him is just a proof of concept.
Dry Arecanut Peeling Machine
Narsimha Bhandari (45, higher secondary), runs his own unit to design agricultural equipments like pepper decorticating machines, hand pumps, agro dryers & others. After several trials, he came up with an electric motor operated areca nut peeling machine with a design suitable for all types of areca nuts. A two hp motor powers the husking disc and a blower of one hp power is provided to blow away the husk. The capacity of the machine is 40 kg per hour and the husking efficiency is estimated to be around 90 percent.
Transport
Battery Operated Tricycle Customized for the Lower Limb Physically Challenged
Asjadbhai Dhukka (35, higher secondary) developed a customized tricycle for his paralytic father. The motor, powered by a 24 voltage battery, gives it a reasonable speed and enough power to move through sandy terrains also. The vehicle has been customized with low-height adjustable push back seats, newspaper and water bottle carrier, fan and a safety lock to prevent backward motion on slopes. Additionally, the side arm support can be lifted up to enable the rider to climb up the seat easily. The tricycle has a reverse brake system, to move forward only. Hence, it can negotiate climb too, without any fear of moving backwards.
Asjadbhai has to his credit other innovations too, like modified pulverization unit for poultry farms and customized minarets for mosques.
Novel Gear Mechanism
Nishant Ray (26, graduate) was drawn towards science since childhood and explored a variety of books ranging from technical ones to science magazines and journals. He was touched by the effort put in by the rickshaw-pullers when they had to pedal uphill with a heavy load, on bumpy roads or on uneven terrains. Nishant came up with a new gear mechanism which enables a person to pedal backwards to move in higher gear, thus reducing the drudgery involved in riding a bicycle/rickshaw uphill. It also prevents the reverse motion of rickshaw on slopes.
A patent was filed in his name by NIF in 2007. NIF supported Nishant for prototype development and facilitated its testing at BIT, Mesra where the performance was found to be satisfactory. Apart from this, his other notable designs include a low cost water filter, an arrangement to wash clothes fitted inside a bucket and a battery operated wrench. Nishant says: “Har manjil ko jaane waale rasten kai honge, magar wo rasta jo yah ahsas dilay ki mazaa manzil me nahin raste ke daramyan hai,chune gaye sabon me wahi sahi hoga. (A number of roads may lead to a destination, but the best road to take is the one, which makes you feel the importance of journey itself more than the destination.)
Bicycle that can be Carried in a Bag
A gritty and hard working graduate, Sandeep Kumar (24, graduate) has made a bicycle, which can be folded easily in a very little time. The portable bicycle can be put in a bag and carried along. This was developed by Sandeep, who is himself physically challenged, when he was still a student. When he was in class 9th, he had to commute to his school and several other places and he faced many problems on the roads. Frequency of buses was less and one had to find one’s way in, which was very difficult for Sandeep. His sister was the only supporter of his idea of developing a foldable bicycle. The cost of the prototype is Rs 3000, but Sandeep estimates that the cost can be reduced up to
Rs. 2000-2200 if it is produced in bulk. He has named his innovation ‘Sandisma’ in the name of his sister and himself. Sandeep walks with a support but needs no sympathy, because he carries his bicycle in his bag; and proudly recalls Dushyant: “Kyun kehte ho asman mein suraakh nahi ho sakta, ik pathhar to tabiyat se uchhalo yaaron.” (Why do you say there cannot be a hole in the sky, try throwing a stone with all your might).
Plant Protection
Community Awards
Conservation of Traditional Variety of Tinda (round gourd) by Keer community
Keer community lives on the outskirts of Med village of Viratnagar tehsil in Jaipur on the bank of the Banaganga river. The community has been cultivating traditional tinda (round gourd) variety for the past 35 years and has conserved it so far for good yield attributes. The women folk of the community play an important role in agriculture. The community inherited this variety from their ancestors. For conserving this variety they selected fruits of big size and dark green colour with hairy skin.
The fruits of this traditional variety of tinda are tender, delicious in taste, flat round in shape and weigh around 100 g to 200 g at the time of harvesting. The variety is superior in terms of yield and quality as compared to other commercially cultivated varieties. Fruits of this variety are famous as ‘Sahapur tinda’ in Jaipur and surrounding areas.
Consolation Awards
Herbal Formulation to Control Maize Stem Borer
Somabhai Kanabhai Gamar (50, illiterate) cultivates maize, wheat, mustard and pulses in his four hectares of calcareous and clayey land, which has little irrigation facility.
Stem borer is the most serious maize pest that damages the crop and reduces the yield considerably. Somabhai has developed a herbal formulation for its control. He uses the leaves of a local plant along with the leaves of neem and onion to prepare the formulation. He had to vary the proportion of the ingredients in the composition many times before finally settling down to the present one, which he found to be the most effective. The formulation was tested against maize stem borer in Sadbhav SRISTI Sanshodhan Laboratory, Ahmedabad. The formulation was effective in controlling the problem up to 55-60 per cent in lab and in farmers' fields as well.
Herbal Formulation for the Control of White Fly
Janaki Devi (57, fourth standard), is an expert in herbal medicines. A keen observer and an avid learner since childhood, she used to accompany her father to their agricultural field everyday and helped him in minor chores.
Many years ago, Janaki Devi had cultivated some vegetables that got affected by insect pests resulting into reduced production. Being aware of the toxic nature of a local fruit and properties of another local herb, she decided to try the combination of both the plants to control the same. After succeeding in the experiment, she standardized the formulation and has been using it for last five years on lady’s finger, brinjal, bitter gourd, pumpkin, lentil, chilli and other vegetable crops. Her initial attempts yielded good results, which prompted her to use the medication for the control of whitefly also in her crop field. Laboratory trials, conducted by Sadbhav-SRISTI Sanshodhan Laboratory, Ahmedabad, have demonstrated that the formulation induced significant mortality within a short time application in the nymphs. In addition, it appears to be particularly effective against late instars and at the pupa stage. It could also significantly reduce pest infestations over an extended period of time. Some other farmers, who were told about this formulation by Janaki Devi, also confirm its efficacy in controlling the white flies.
Herbal Formulation to Control Pests
Kanubharti (53, primary school), used to assist his father in agriculture as a child to grow groundnut, gram, cotton, wheat and rice in 15 hectares of land. When he started practicing agriculture, he observed other farmers getting better yields using pesticides and other chemicals. He focused on cotton, though he also grew wheat, gram, isabgol, brinjal, chili, rice bean, etc. seasonally.
After experimenting for almost four months, he developed a herbal formulation to control pests in various crops. Trials by Sadbhav-SRISTI Sanshodhan Laboratory, showed 70% protection. The practice was also validated at the Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur, Himachal Pradesh. The formulation was found to be effective against the larvae of Helicoverpa armigera and Spodoptera litura. Two of the ingredients of this formulation were also found to provide stability to active components of neem, which otherwise disintegrate very quickly. Kanubharti says: “Chemical fertilizer karta jaivik khaatar nakhvu, ej rasto saaro che je khetar nay pan bachavey che” (Soil gives more output in its natural state, so instead of adding chemicals it will be wise to find solutions through nature itself).
Herbal Preparation for Coccidiosis and Increasing Immunity in Poultry
By pooling the knowledge,Sudhakarbhai (45, fifth standard) and Jeevalbhai (62, second standard), and Jamunaben (50, Illiterate), herbal healers from the Dang area of Gujarat, SRISTI and NIF, have developed herbal formulations using local herbs to address the problem of Coccidiosis. The formulation was evaluated by Matrix Biosciences Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad. The results were highly promising and the technology was licensed as “Coccicure” to Matrix Biosciences. They also use another local herb to reduce stress and boost immunity in poultry which was again tested by Matrix Biosciences Pvt. Ltd., Hyderabad for evaluating the efficacy of crude herbal drug as a growth promoter and in the prevention and relief of stress in poultry. However, they haven't commercialised it as yet.
Sudhakarbhai gives herbal medicines for poultry ailments, bloat in animals and diabetes in humans. He was appreciated during NIF’s Fourth National Grassroots Innovation Awards at New Delhi in 2007. Jamunaben is considered an expert in treating herbal poultry products. She imbibed this interest from her family members who had been traditionally treating various poultry ailments.
Appreciation Awards
Herbal Formulation to Control Vegetable Crop Pests
Mahendrabhai Lallubhai Patel (56, eleventh standard), a farmer, owns 1.75 hectare sandy land in Bilodra village where he grows jowar, bajra and maize. Since childhood, he was enterprising in nature; he made small toys of bamboo for himself and his friends. In the year 2002, he faced serious problem of black caterpillars in his crop of radish and spinach. While experi-menting with herbal formulations for many years, he observed that in a particular local plant, there was no attack of the caterpillar. Experi-menting different dosages over time, he standardized the formulation and obtained 70-80 per cent pest control.
SRISTI, Ahmedabad found that the formulation gave 60 per cent protection.
Herbal Formulation for Control of Grain Smut Disease in Sorghum
Bachubhai Lakshmanbhai Rathod (79, illiterate), an agriculturist, owns 11 hectare of unirrigated clay-loam type of land, cultivates cotton, sesame and bajra. Having lost his parents at a very young age, he had a difficult childhood and started working as a farm labourer at the age of 15 to support his siblings. He has come up with a unique practice of combating smut disease in Sorghum spp. using leaves and flowers of two local herbs. He treats the seeds with this formulation before sowing. Bachubhai learnt this practice from his father and suggests that every time, fresh formulation should be used. Villagers who learnt the formulation from him have obtained 60-70 per cent disease control.
It has been validated in Sadbhav-SRISTI Sansodhan Laboratory, Ahmedabad also.
Herbal Formulation against Leaf Curl, Pest Control and Flowering Enhancement in Brinjal and Chilli
Nagbhai Bachubhai Rathod (47, fifth standard) started helping his father in farming since childhood due to financial constraints. Nagbhai learnt the practice of spraying a local fruit extract in the field to control leaf curl, insects, pests and to enhance the flowering. He experimented with different quantities of fruit extract for ten years to standardize the herbal formulation for his 1.6 hectare land. This formulation helps the brinjal and chilli crops to fight leaf curl and enhances flowering in them. He has been using this practice for many years and has also disseminated it amongst other farmers. Many of them have used it for last two years and have found positive results.
Sadbhav-SRISTI Sanshodhan Laboratory, in trials on brinjal and other vegetables, found that more than 50 per cent control was obtained in leaf curl in brinjal using this practice. Also, the pest incidence was reported to be very low. Patent process is also underway for this herbal practice.
Plant Variety
Quick Wilt Resistant Varieties of Pepper
A Balakrishnan (59, high school), has developed two quick wilt resistant varieties of pepper namely Aswathi and Suvarna through crossing the local varieties Uthrankotta and Karimunda as female parent and Cheruvally as the male parent. Both these varieties give higher dry pepper yield, are vigorous in growth and resistant to quick wilt. Balakrishnan’s father had insisted upon him to look for some permanent job in non-farm sector, but since agriculture was his passion, he did not leave farming.
In Kerala, around 2001-02, most of the pepper plantations were destroyed by quick wilt disease and several good farms were wiped off completely. However, the varieties developed by him were not affected much. The news of resistance of his varieties against wilt slowly spread far and wide and as a result of which many experts and scientists visited his field and appreciated his work. Balakrishnan also distributed some cuttings to a few interested farmers. In May 2000, Balakrishnan was recognized as a progressive innovative farmer by the Regional Agricultural Research Station, Ambalavayal (Kerala Agricultural University). In August 2005, he was awarded by INFAM for the work on pepper hybridization. He says: “Don’t bother about what others say, concentrate on your work; the quest for knowledge should not be affected by others comments.”
Diffusion Awards
‘Jay Shri Ram’ Paddy Variety
Shriram Govinda Lanjewar (65, fourth standard) once observed in his farm that some tillers of HMT variety (developed by Dadaji Khobragade in 1998) were bushier than the other tillers. So, he harvested them separately for growing the next year. He sowed the separately harvested seeds and observed that some of these plants were different in height, health, had more number of spikelets per panicle and matured early. He repeated the selections till 2002 and by then had enough seeds to be cultivated on his five acre land. He cultivated his newly developed variety and named it ‘Jai Shri Ram’.
The taste and aroma of this variety is very good, generating a higher price in the market. Flowering period is 100 days and seed maturity period is 135-140 days, according to the innovator. The variety has a good plant height of 150 cm, higher yield (45-55 quintals per ha) and short and thin grains. Since 2003, Shriram Govinda Lanjewar has been giving the seeds of this variety to farmers in his region and neighbouring districts. Recently, he has also developed another variety ‘Sharda’, which according to him is of a higher quality compared to ‘Jai Shri Ram’ variety. But, he wishes to develop it further to confirm the claim.
‘DRK’ Paddy Variety
Dadaji Ramaji Khobragade (70, illiterate) hails from a small forest village Nanded in Naghbid taluka. Khobragade selected and bred the DRK rice variety from ‘Deepak Ratna’ variety, which was developed by him. He initially recognised the special characters in 1998 and after six years of purification he was able to establish the variety. The selection was based on phenotypic characters viz. intermediate plant height and lengthy spike. Deepak Ratna was neither notified nor protected. He provided the seed of the variety to farmers of his locality and Bilaspur. The variety gives a higher yield (60-80 quintals per hectare), has a plant height of 130 cm, grains are medium long with slender shape and are resistant to biotic and abiotic stress. The farmers have given good feedback to Dadaji Ramaji.
Transport/Energy
Electricity Generation from Tap Water, New Brakes' Mechanism in Bicycles and others
Dhirendra Kumar (37, higher secondary) runs a repairing shop for electrical and electronic appliances in Muzaffarpur, Bihar. Right from childhood, he tried making gadgets by using unused and broken electrical parts.
He has come up with a new design of brake system in bicycles. The motivation for this innovation came from a realization on his part that the majority of accidents are caused due to ineffective braking which in turn is caused by worn out rubber pads. Although, there are a few patents registered in USPTO on the braking system of bicycles, none of them have either design or mechanism similar to one made by Dhirendra.
Dhirendra is a serial innovator and has developed foot operated water pump, water dynamo, lighting arrangement for sewing machines, hand pump, hand operated fan, foot pump and gas lighter are among his many innovations. Invariably, all his innovations have been motivated by the drudgeries faced by common people in their day-to-day life. He made the lighting system for sewing machines to eliminate the difficulty that women folk face when they have to operate the sewing machine in case of low or negligent visibility during power cuts.
Household
Interlocking Bricks
Umesh (42, tenth standard) is a resident of Chamua village of North Lakhimpur in Assam. He sells construction sand, stone chips, cement etc. to nearby villagers.
Umesh has developed interlocking bricks to facilitate faster and cheaper construction.
After a long trial and error process- experimenting with wooden and thin MS sheets, consultations with builders, changes in mould designs, he eventually succeeded in making improved moulds with the help of fellow N Lakhimpur innovator Uddhab Bharali.
These self-aligning interlocking bricks enable speedy construction, substantial reduction in the consumption of mortar during construction and a huge reduction in labor cost.
Umesh has constructed his house and also his neighbor’s compound wall using the interlocking bricks.
Single Finger Pen: Small Ideas Have a Place Too
Arindam Chattopadhyay (36, science graduate) is self-employed. He has a small workshop for over a decade to service LPG ovens and stoves.
Since his college days, he used to think of a pen which should be small in size and comfortable to write. He noticed that whenever we do something using our hand, particularly palm, we use our index finger. This gave him the idea of developing a pen compatible with forefinger. This innovation could be useful for physically challenged people who do not have a thumb or even abled persons for repetitive marking on any object or surface. He has developed some other innovations such as LPG crematorium.
(Science graduates are no more considered eligible for grassroots cateogry awards : Ed.)
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Honey bee 20 (4), 14 to 23, 2009 & 2010 |
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