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SPIN - Scythe Project In Nepal is one of ICO's initiatives.
Your generosity is greatly appreciated. 100% of your donation goes to the Scythe Initiative, no money is deducted for administration.
When contributing, please specify the Fund: Nepal - Scythe Initiative
INTRODUCTION
During my travels in Northern India and Nepal, while watching local farmers and their children using sickles, it occurred to me that a scythe would enable them to accomplish the task much faster and with less exertion.
Upon return to Canada and subsequent research I eventually connected with Chris Evans of Himalayan Permaculture Centre -- and my vision began to take shape...
First, a brief note on existence in rural Nepal.
Life in the remote mountainous areas of Nepal is physically very demanding. It was so for generations, but it is becoming ever more difficult for these hard-working people -- whose primary source of livelihood is small scale agriculture -- to make ends meet. In recent years some of the young, have left the family farms to seek some less strenuous future in the cities, and thus the land-working hands became fewer.
Many families now live continuously on the edge of bare sustenance; inclement weather during harvest can easily tip that balance between having enough to eat, or not. With the intensifying effects of climate change, unpredictable weather patterns are becoming more frequent.
A means to speed up the harvest (to make the best of the relatively short spells when the elements do cooperate) would be of decided benefit to these people; they, as well as everyone else concerned with their well-being would agree with this as a general statement. However, the relationship between expediency and quality calls for qualification, and I do not necessarily equate faster with better. (Please read Note 1)
THE MISSION
The intent of SPIN (Scythe Project in Nepal) is to present for evaluation by Nepalese farmers an ancient harvesting implement of many non-oriental cultures -- the scythe.
As a pilot initiative it will be carried out in close co-operation with Chris Evans from the UK, the founder and advisor to the Himalayan Permaculture Centre (HPC) in Baragaun, Surkhet district, Mid-Western Nepal. Involved with permaculture in Nepal for more than two decades, Chris perceives that use of the scythe would benefit Nepalese farmers; hence his willingness to help with the project.
MORE SPECIFICS
In Nepal’s agriculture the sickle has been the primary harvesting implement for centuries. In recent years motorized grain-cutting alternatives have begun to make the initial inroads. I do, however, think that at this point in history, with oil prices on the rise and climate change taking place, it is not wise to bring in industrial modernization to those cultures who until recently managed to practice the sustainability concept at a level that western environmentalists can only dream and talk about.
THE SCYTHE AND ITS PERTINENT FEATURES
From historical perspective the scythe is a close relative to the sickle. It represents the very next step in evolution of forage cutting tools. In existence since the dawn of the Iron Age (presumably first conceived by the Celts), by 12th century its use had spread like wildfire throughout Europe and the Near East.
The reason for such enthusiastic acceptance by so many tradition-rooted agrarian cultures is rather plain -- the scythe is among the real jewels of discoveries in the realm of tool design. Long after the Industrial Revolution was already in full swing, the scythe remained on the scene -- the backbone of haymaking and grain harvesting. Thousands of small family farms in the “poor” regions across Europe, Russia, Middle East and elsewhere, are still using it on regular basis.
Regarding the level of technology required for their respective production, or the input to maintain or repair, the sickle and the scythe are more or less on par. Although for the last four to five centuries the bulk of scythe blades as well as sickles have been produced in factories, both tools can be made out of either new or scrap steel, and within a set-up of a village blacksmith. Furthermore, both run -- as Wendell Berry once put it -- “on whatever the mower ate for breakfast”. However, somewhere along this point the sickle and the scythe part company, at least during most tasks that either of them can be used for.
Namely, if Energy Return On Energy Invested (EROEI) is taken thoroughly into the equation, the scythe is a more efficient tool than the sickle or, for that matter, the motorized harvester. The difference between the Nepalese sickle and the European/Near Eastern style of scythe is not one of more complicated technology per se, but of a more sophisticated design. What I mean is that instead of employing the strength of only one hand (as with a sickle) the scythe is powered by both hands, along with the movement dynamics of the rest of the body, particularly the legs. Consequently, each calorie processed by the body yields more accomplishment in the field. In fact, the difference can be so great, that a properly trained child of 10 years of age given a tailor fit scythe with well-maintained edge would readily out-cut her/his sickle-wielding father.
For a true to life demo of something along these lines please take a look at The Rise of the Scythe -- of which I was a co-producer. The mowing girl in the video, admittedly, was 14 years old (not 10). But still, what man could cut grass with a sickle at anywhere near this rate? The girl was using an 80cm long blade on a homemade snath of poplar and was cutting a swath 2.7 meters wide with a 20cm advance at a stroke.
I see no reason why the Nepalese teenagers could not learn to swing the scythe this well. Yes, they will initially need a little help from friends -- but precisely to that end the SPIN was conceived.
I honestly believe that, given the opportunity, the scythe could help the Nepalese farmers to withstand the outside pressure to “globalize” and thereby sustain their cultural integrity.
NOTES ON THE CHANCES OF SPIN's SUCCESS
I am confident that our project can avoid the common pitfalls associated with similar undertakings (Please read Note 3), and the reasons are:
a) Having Chris Evans and the Permaculture centre involved, negates the issue of initial caution that can sometimes really slow progress. Chris have an established relationship of trust with the local people and I feel very thankful for being given an opportunity to work with them.
b) I have absolutely no monetary gain connected to SPIN in mind.
c) I understand how to make this tool perform very well (as explained in Note 5).
PARTICULARS OF OUR APPROACH
Chris and I are aware that several key elements are paramount to realizing the project’s goal. These are:
a) our ability to listen – with other words, being open to continuous feedback from the locals
b) providing very good equipment to begin with (Please read Note 4)
c) thorough instructions on how to make best use of it (Please read Note 5)
Our objective is to support lasting self-reliance to the degree realistically possible. The scythe fits within such a mandate very well because no more resources from outside the region are necessary to make and maintain it than is the case with a sickle.
Yes, it does take more blacksmithing skill to make a blade of a scythe than one of a sickle and somewhat more training for the average person to learn how to operate it really well. But the potential to learn is a local resource and I trust that working together we can make it blossom.
With the help and guidance of Chris, local instructors-to-be can be selected and offered an intensive hands-on course. They in turn will take on the role of presenting the tool further afield and thereby multiply the benefits of our courses most expediently.
PROJECT TIMELINE (the first phase)
September 2011: Chris already took a couple of sample blades to Nepal so that the blacksmiths can begin considering their reproduction.
March 2012: During the harvest time for wheat and barley I'll travel to Nepal and take the rest of the supplies to HPC's working area in Surkhet where I will spend time working with Chris and the local farmers.
PROJECT BUDGET (the first phase)
- Traveling expense - $ 2,000.00
- 30 scythe blades at cost - $ 1,200.00 - until the local production reaches an acceptable level, this, we feel is the minimum inventory needed in order to successfully proceed with the initial demonstrations, the trials of the various blade models, the instructional courses -- which will leave each participant with a blade etc. of his own -- as well as few to pass among the smiths.
- Accessories - $ 300.00 - this includes sharpening equipment -- peening anvils, whetstones and watertight holders -- as well as the rings for attaching the blades to (locally-made) snaths.
- Magna Grecia hoes - $ 100.00 - as samples of an extremely efficient deep tillage tool, with long history in the rocky soils of southern Italy -- but practically unknown around the world. The unique design deserves to be reproduced in all regions where people are still willing to work with their hands -- and Nepal is certainly one of them.
- Extra shipping cost - $ 200.00 - depending on luggage weight restrictions, I might have to send a portion of the supplies by mail, or pay a fee for extra luggage.
Total expenses - Canadian $ 3,800.00
A full report will be available upon my return. Any leftover funds will be used towards the next phase of this project, or donated to HPC to help defray their associated costs.
THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.
If you wish to donate a scythe blade for the project In Nepal - $40.00
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Note 1:
I am, after all, a born Slav. In my homeland, long before children learn to read, they will likely have heard multiple references to one of that culture’s popular maxims: ”Slowly you can get further”. In that light, the motorized equipment, while immanently faster, may very well actually inhibit the “going further” of traditional Nepalese agri-Culture -- culture that represents the heart and soul of these people. Firstly, the initial purchase price of machines is rather unaffordable for most family farms... Nepal is unlikely to begin its own production of such equipment anytime soon. Besides requiring imported fuel, sooner or later every engine-driven contraption breaks down. Provided they are readily available, the replacement parts must also be imported, and paid for. There are endless examples of this sort of “aid” whereby some crucial component of a machine became “obsolete” not long after it was introduced as the saving grace... If the parts indeed arrive, competent mechanics are needed to install them. As millions of farmers around the world have already learned, trading the power of human body for a machine can be very much a Faustian sort of a deal -- have speed now, pay later, sometimes with your soul.
In any case, machines are most likely not a sensible option for the outback of Nepal.
Now, I’m well aware that introducing more efficient technology to practically any “underdeveloped” nation can entail often overlooked risks. History is full of examples where a Western introduction of something “better” (be it a tool, a seed or a method) proved itself disastrous, eroding, in the long run, the spirit of cultural sovereignty.
That said, a case can be made for aid by means of a carefully selected option among the various examples of the so-called intermediate technology. At times these indeed function as cushions, so to speak, to soften the leap from a given culture’s present “primitiveness” to (sometimes shocking) modernization. At best, the right tool may even prevent the need for such a leap altogether...which is what our project hopes to accomplish.
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Note 3:
During the last century, a large portion of attempts at introducing the scythe to some regions of Africa and Latin America had failed due to one, or combination of these factors:
a) the innate caution/mistrust on the part of a culture with long traditions towards imported tools and ideas;
b) the introductions were sometimes carried out by entrepreneurs in hopes of establishing profitable markets. This monetary sideline to the “aid” often nose-dived the stated intent.
c) the individuals involved had themselves only rudimentary knowledge of how the scythe is to be used and maintained -- and were therefore incapable of improvising with regard to techniques and nuances of design so as to tailor-fit the tool to the needs of a local niche.
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Note 4:
Scythe blades have been made in an enormous diversity of patterns, lengths and weights. Many of them are not well suited to certain conditions (re. terrain, the kind of material to be cut etc.) For this reason I initially want to bring along -- for trials and evaluation -- diversity of blades as well as accessories (snath, attachment rings as well as edge-shaping/sharpening tools). They should be of a design that can, in all likelihood, be reproduced in Nepal, preferably within each small region.
Our task will be to identify some models that fit the respective local niches and could at the same time be made by the Nepalese smiths.
Scythe smithing is a very specialized craft requiring long training. However, the Nepalese blacksmiths are among the epitome of ingenuity when it comes to carrying out their craft under “adverse conditions” (lack of convenient set-up, tools and materials).
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Note 5:
I wish to make clear that not every scythe used around the world functions as well as what you saw in the above referred to video; many, in fact, don’t. The loss of potential is due primarily to blade/snath/person disharmony.
Having been initially taught by my brother, Peter Vido -- a well-respected personality on the international scythe scene, (who conceived and popularized an innovative energy conserving movement as well as amore ergonomic snath design) -- I do grasp the principles of a good fit, and expect to be able to share it with the Nepalese farmers.
Peter continues to be my ongoing mentor and will be involved in selecting the equipment that may best suit the purpose.
Here are a few more photos from rural Nepal.
