Mechanised device brings ‘shear’ benefits to shepherds
A cost-effective, durable and indigenous mechanised shearing device reduces sheep farmers’ drudgery in shearing the fleece, helping them produce better quality wool and earn more.
Sheep farmers in Uttarakhand and other cold, mountainous regions earn by selling their sheep’s fleece too, in addition to the sale of milk, manure and meat. Most of the shepherds in these regions have been unaware of mechanical shears and only use scissors to cut the fleece manually, which has some drawbacks.
A cost-effective mechanised sheep shearing device now has the potential to help the shepherds cut the sheep’s fleece from the root and earn more.
Need for an improved shear
India has 7.4 crore sheep as per the 20th Livestock Census of 2018. With more than 45 lakh sheep farmers engaged in rearing sheep, Central Wool Development Board (CWDB) under the Ministry of Textiles understood the need to improve their livelihood and approached IIT Delhi.
Later, JanSamarth, a non-governmental organisation, also raised the issue during a meeting of Rural Technology Action Group (RuTAG) held at IIT Roorkee. The NGO team mentioned that in the remote areas of Phata, Rampur, Uttarkashi, Devprayag and other such places in Uttarakhand, shepherds were not aware of mechanised devices for cutting the fleece.
At present shearing of 80 percent of the sheep is done by hand scissors. The drawback of cutting hair by hands is that only about half the length of the hair is removed. When this method of cutting the fleece is used, the quality of the yarn is not good and the staple length is not as per market requirement.
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Some shepherds use shears imported from the United Kingdom and Switzerland. They are expensive and the shepherds need a new set when combs and cutters get exhausted after shearing about 400 sheep.
Designing an indigenous shear
To reduce the drudgery of manual shearing of sheep by scissors and to obtain better quality of wool, IIT Delhi took up the work of developing a mechanised device.
A few years prior, IIT Delhi had developed a prototype of an indigenous sheep shearing device, which is a substitute for the product available in the international market. The cost of the product was reduced to a great extent when indigenised.
Under RuTAG, IIT Delhi further worked on complete indigenisation. For this, some components of the shears had to be manufactured locally. After extensive market survey, indigenous motor and flexible drive were purchased and tested at the Wool Grading cum Marketing Centre, HP Wool Federation, in Banuri, Himachal Pradesh.
As the tests on the motor and the flexible shaft were satisfactory, they were used in the new model shear. Further, the weight of the flexible shaft was reduced, based on the feedback from shepherds.
Benefits of mechanised sheep shearing device
With the mechanised device, the wool can be cut from the roots. The staple is long and of uniform length. This results in good quality yarn and fetches the shepherds a better price than the yarn obtained through hand scissors.
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While imported branded devices cost upwards of Rs 2.50 lakh, the mechanised sheep shearing device designed by IIT Delhi under the RuTAG Crossfyre platform costs about Rs 1.30 lakh. A science and technology driven business platform, RuTAG Crossfyre bridges technology gaps and provides solutions at the grassroots level using locally available resources.
It is within the means of the sheep farmers as the cost of the new design is half of imported devices. The device is lightweight and easy to operate. The ergonomic design minimises the strain on the shearers’ hands and wrists.
The device is made of easily available materials. Components are made of high-quality and durable materials to ensure longevity even under rugged operating conditions. It is efficient and makes the shearing process easier. The modular design makes assembly, disassembly and maintenance easy, thus reducing downtime.
With the manual scissors, it used to take the farmers 15-20 minutes to shear a sheep. With the mechanised sheep shearing device, they are able to shear a sheep in 3-4 minutes. The combs and cutters are designed in such a way that the sheep has very minimal skin cuts.
The mechanised sheep shearing device has potential use in sheep-rearing regions of Jammu & Kashmir, Ladakh, Haryana, Rajasthan, Uttarakhand and Himachal Pradesh.
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The lead image on top shows a shepherd taking out his herd for grazing in Uttarakhand. (Photo from Shutterstock)
