Overview

Alongside the need for better health and education the people of Tunguli also need to feed themselves and produce cash crops to earn an income.  Together with the Anglican Diocese of Worcester and Worcester College of Agriculture we actively worked on a project to provide the community of Tunguli with a farm tractor.  This was to improve the efficiency of crop production over manual methods.  The tractor was supplied with a small trailer for moving produce and a disc plough which will be suited to the land being farmed.  The tractor and trailer was shipped to Tunguli during 2015.  Land for cultivation near Tunguli has been donated by the Diocese of Morogoro.

Tractor

The tractor is a 1985 Massey Ferguson 265 which was purchased by the diocese and is currently being refurbished by Warwickshire College at Morton Morrell.  The College used the refurbishment as a practical project for the students and was completed in 2015.

Trailer

The second key part of this project was a small tipping trailer.  This is needed to collect and move crops and other machinery.  We have recently acquired a well-worn but solid trailer and as with the tractor we are grateful to Moreton Morrell College for their support in renovating it.  They will be responsible for checking and refurbishing all mechanical parts such as the tipping ram, wheel bearings and all other working parts.  MM trustees are also 'getting their hands dirty' and helped to rebuild the timber bed and de-rusting and painting the chassis and frame.

The pictures above show the trailer as purchased, kindly housed by James Barrett at his yard, prior to transport to Moreton Morrell.

The pictures below show the trailer being worked on in the College workshop.  The bed and its supporting frame have been removed and dismantled.  The chassis has had a new beam welded at the rear and the ram (not shown) has been re-conditioned as have the wheel bearings.  The chassis is almost ready for painting.  Although just about serviceable we have decided to replace the bed frame and timbers to maximise the future life of the trailer.  Most of the fittings from the trailer have been retained and will be cleaned, painted and refitted.

The following pictures show the frame which supports the bed. The corrosion turned out to be worse than we first thought which meant that extensive repairs were needed. Fortunately James Barrett came to the rescue again. The frame was returned to his workshop in Hanbury and the second picture shows James welding in a new section. Following this MM volunteers painted the repaired frame with primer.  Here you can see David Plummer, an MM trustee, slapping on some primer, followed by a snap of the almost finished frame. The frame is now back at the college and will be painted and reunited with the chassis there.

Plough

The farming method the Tunguli farmers will use is known as Conservation Agriculture. This involves limited disturbance of the ground when cultivating by using what is known as a 'ripper' plough. A ripper has chisel-shaped blades which open up narrow slots or furrows in the soil, about 5 - 10 cm deep. This method of cultivation results in higher yields and much less damage to the soil. The pictures below show the ripper plough we are shipping to Tunguli. It is also relatively simple and low cost to maintain which are further benefits.