Nu-tan – Yanmar · SUGAR project 2018/19

The project · from brief to prototype

What happened, step by step.

01

Challenge

Yanmar asked the team to help small-scale organic farmers, who lose time and strain their bodies preparing crop beds. The solution had to reduce physical labour without weakening the farmers' connection to their crops.

02

What the team learned

Farmers walk the bed again and again to unload and spread supplements by hand. Most organic farms are too small for tractors, leaving a gap between wheelbarrows and heavy automatic machines.

03

What they built

Nu-tan combines dispensing and spreading soil supplements into one action, with electric power to spare farmers' backs. It comes as a manual, semi-automatic or tractor-attached version, adjusts to bed widths of 70–90 cm and has rollers for compost, powder or mulch.

04

Impact

The team saw a gap in the market, as little machinery suits small organic farms. Nu-tan adapts to each farm, so farmers do not have to change their layout to fit the tool.

In their words

Bed preparation is so important, but I have to outsource someone to do it because it takes too much of my time and energy

Small-scale organic farmer

Full project text

The team’s original texts from the project page.

A new system to reduce time and physical labor for organic farmers during non-crop handing tasks such as bed preparation. This gives farmers the time for activities that brings them joy.

Challenge

Create a solution for small scale organic farmers of ground grown produce, in a way that does not hinder their connection to the crops. The solution must assist in reducing physical labour to maximise output, and make the process more efficient and enjoyable.

Solution

Organic farmers value the connection they have with their land and this is what primarily distinguishes them as being organic. Bed preparation is a very time consuming and labour intensive task within the field of noncrop handling actions. Our solution ‘Nu- tan’ is designed as a tool that evenly distributes and spreads soil supplements during the stage of bed preparation. Nu-tan combines the actions of dispensing and spreading of soil supplements into one, which significantly saves organic farmers time and physical labour. This gives organic farmers back the time for the crop handling actions they enjoy.

Impact

Currently, there is a lack of agricultural machinery suited to small scale organic farmers which makes the process of farming very labour intensive and time inefficient. Our solution addresses this gap in the market, whilst still giving organic farmers control through self directed mobility. Our solution is a tool that adjusts to the farmers needs and specific farm configuration, which allows the farmers to continue to farm with ease knowing they don’t have to change their farm to suit the tool. This solution allows farmers to move and spread heavy loads without the physical strain that traditionally came with that task, which as a result reduces time spent on bed preparation.

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