Maresha Ripper in Teso

By Sara:

A few weeks after the ECHO conference, Neil Miller came to Teso to teach some Ugandan development organizations about a low-cost minimum tillage implement called a "maresha".  It has been used in Ethiopia for a very very long time and Neil and others have been looking into ways it could be introduced into other countries for farmers who want to do conservation agriculture.  One of the most difficult aspects of conservation agriculture for farmers who are used to ploughing with a team of oxen, is minimum tillage.  Without an implement called a "ripper", which cuts a line in the field in which you plant, you need to dig holes for planting by hand.  This feels like the opposite of development for farmers who have large pieces of land and who normally use oxen to do the work of preparing a field.

But minimum tillage is very important and can be hugely beneficial for protecting and improving the soil and land of farmers in many places.

Here is Neil doing a demonstration of how soil is affected during rain if it is covered or uncovered (it's very difficult to always keep your soil covered if you plough it):

So, enter the maresha.  It is super cheap and easy to build.  The group at this training divided into four smaller groups and each one built a maresha.  After that experience, I am confident that I could build one myself.

People had fun trying it out using their own strength:

Then, the next day, we went out and tried it in a farmer's field.

I'm not going to lie - there were issues.  First of all, to properly use a ripper, you need a wider yoke than oxen usually use for ploughing.  This requires a lot of training to get them used to moving together in a new way.  So problem number one: these oxen were not yet trained to use a wide yoke.  Then, this field was super bushy - there were tree stumps and giant clumps of grass all over.  It was hard to maneuver the maresha around these obstacles.  Problem number two: bushy fields; not good for a maresha.  Finally, it is nearing the end of the dry season so the ground was very dry, which made it hard for the maresha point to cut in the soil.  Problem number three: hard, dry ground.

Nevertheless, I think this ripper could be very helpful in many parts of Teso.  I'm looking forward to seeing farmers test it out more and hope to try it out with some of my farmer friends as well.