<p>Shylaja Vittala, a diploma holder in computer applications, has been popular among farmers as an innovator of agriculture machinery. Shylaja, who was born and raised in Mysuru, does not have a farming background. Her tryst with rural life began two decades ago when she relocated to Arunachal Pradesh after getting married. <br /><br /></p>.<p>In Arunachal Pradesh, she took up teaching and helped local women get engaged in income-generation activities through skill development. She formed a Ladies Club there to bring women together and ensure their social and economic empowerment. As an extension of her activities, Shylaja started a marketing consulting firm and provided a platform to market their products. The firm also helped women come up with innovative products. For instance, they made incense sticks by cutting bamboo sticks in a round shape. The remaining bamboo was used to make candle stands. Both the products became popular among customers and the demand increased steadily. When the couple returned to Karnataka and settled in Tumakuru 15 years ago, Shylaja decided to make use of her exposure and experience, and began to support the farming community that was struggling due to various problems. By then, she had also developed interest in designing agriculture machinery and wanted to pursue it. <br /><br />To address the labour problem of areca nut growers, she came up with an areca nut dehusking machine, which she named ‘Udhav’, in 2003. The machine is capable of working for both types areca nut — fresh and dried. “Compared with other areca nut dehusking machines available in the market, this is easy to maintain and more effective, particularly for small farmers. It can be operated with single-phase electricity power,” says Harsha Hegde, who owns a one and a half acre areca nut farm near Sirsi. The one he bought is the smaller of the two machines designed by Shylaja. He bought it three years ago and hasn’t faced any major problems. Whatever small repair work that emerged, he could fix it himself. The machine, which is small in size and easily portable, dehusks 40 kg of dried areca nut per hour and 60 kg of fresh areca nut per hour. <br /><br />Shylaja founded Dharma Technology in the year 2005. In the last 10 years, she has developed about 35 equipments with different applications. Some of her innovations include a Varaha unit, which converts kitchen waste into manure; the fuel-efficient Vadiraja stove; cycle weeder; various types of seeders that help sow onion, finger millet or paddy; and a tool to peel open pomegranate easily. The Varaha unit, which was developed by engineering students under her guidance is lauded for its utility value and even bagged prizes at various events. The wet paddy seed drill machine, which can do multiple tasks, is the most popular of her innovations.<br /><br />There have been instances when a machine did not match the expectations and failed technically. For example, the tamarind dehusking machine failed to achieve its purpose. <br /><br />Then, she thought and decided to improve upon garlic dehusking machine to cater to tamarind growers. It worked and the machine is now used for both purposes.<br /><br />“It takes hard work, dedication and, of course, imagination and visualisation to prove ourselves in the field as machinery, which is largely considered to be a man’s stronghold.<br /><br /> Developing new concepts, designing machinery and marketing them are equally tough and my passion for the work has helped me sail through the challenges,” she says.<br />One can get in touch with Shylaja on 0816- 2292159.<br /><br />(Translated by AP)</p>
<p>Shylaja Vittala, a diploma holder in computer applications, has been popular among farmers as an innovator of agriculture machinery. Shylaja, who was born and raised in Mysuru, does not have a farming background. Her tryst with rural life began two decades ago when she relocated to Arunachal Pradesh after getting married. <br /><br /></p>.<p>In Arunachal Pradesh, she took up teaching and helped local women get engaged in income-generation activities through skill development. She formed a Ladies Club there to bring women together and ensure their social and economic empowerment. As an extension of her activities, Shylaja started a marketing consulting firm and provided a platform to market their products. The firm also helped women come up with innovative products. For instance, they made incense sticks by cutting bamboo sticks in a round shape. The remaining bamboo was used to make candle stands. Both the products became popular among customers and the demand increased steadily. When the couple returned to Karnataka and settled in Tumakuru 15 years ago, Shylaja decided to make use of her exposure and experience, and began to support the farming community that was struggling due to various problems. By then, she had also developed interest in designing agriculture machinery and wanted to pursue it. <br /><br />To address the labour problem of areca nut growers, she came up with an areca nut dehusking machine, which she named ‘Udhav’, in 2003. The machine is capable of working for both types areca nut — fresh and dried. “Compared with other areca nut dehusking machines available in the market, this is easy to maintain and more effective, particularly for small farmers. It can be operated with single-phase electricity power,” says Harsha Hegde, who owns a one and a half acre areca nut farm near Sirsi. The one he bought is the smaller of the two machines designed by Shylaja. He bought it three years ago and hasn’t faced any major problems. Whatever small repair work that emerged, he could fix it himself. The machine, which is small in size and easily portable, dehusks 40 kg of dried areca nut per hour and 60 kg of fresh areca nut per hour. <br /><br />Shylaja founded Dharma Technology in the year 2005. In the last 10 years, she has developed about 35 equipments with different applications. Some of her innovations include a Varaha unit, which converts kitchen waste into manure; the fuel-efficient Vadiraja stove; cycle weeder; various types of seeders that help sow onion, finger millet or paddy; and a tool to peel open pomegranate easily. The Varaha unit, which was developed by engineering students under her guidance is lauded for its utility value and even bagged prizes at various events. The wet paddy seed drill machine, which can do multiple tasks, is the most popular of her innovations.<br /><br />There have been instances when a machine did not match the expectations and failed technically. For example, the tamarind dehusking machine failed to achieve its purpose. <br /><br />Then, she thought and decided to improve upon garlic dehusking machine to cater to tamarind growers. It worked and the machine is now used for both purposes.<br /><br />“It takes hard work, dedication and, of course, imagination and visualisation to prove ourselves in the field as machinery, which is largely considered to be a man’s stronghold.<br /><br /> Developing new concepts, designing machinery and marketing them are equally tough and my passion for the work has helped me sail through the challenges,” she says.<br />One can get in touch with Shylaja on 0816- 2292159.<br /><br />(Translated by AP)</p>
