密歇根新闻广播 非营利组织为非洲社区重新设计阿米什农场设备

 

When it comes to solving 21st century problems — say food insecurity in developing countries — everything old is new again.

That's the message of Tillers International, a nonprofit based in Kalamazoo County. The organization is taking 18th century agricultural technology and working with engineers and the Amish community to redesign plows¹ and tools for African farmers.

Jonathan Kline is the executive director of Tillers International. He spoke² with Stateside about why these old tools are needed to solve current day problems.

Currently, Kline's organization is working on projects in Madagascar, Mozambique, Democratic Republic of Congo, and Burkina Faso. They work with artisans and blacksmiths in these countries to build ground driven agricultural equipment, like the kind used in the United States in the 18th century.

Many of the tools Tillers looks to as models are still produced by Amish manufacturers. According to Kline, these tools still work well and they are also very sustainable.

Kline said some of the communities they are helping³ have already seen great improvement in efficiency.

“We've seen what would take somebody two or three days to plant by hand, that they are able to knock that out now in an afternoon,” Kline said. “Which is quite nice for people that are having to hunch⁴ over and plant by hand every day.”

Kline has also begun to notice that when communities no longer need ten people farming, they are less likely to pull young girls out of school for manual labor⁵.

Listen above to hear more on the impact Tillers International is making.

This post was written by Stateside production assistant Sophie Sherry.

1 plows   

n.犁( plow的名词复数 )；犁型铲雪机v.耕( plow的第三人称单数 )；犁耕；费力穿过

参考例句：

• Alex and Tony were turning awkward hands to plows and hoe handles. 亚历克斯和托尼在犁耙等农活方面都几乎变成新手了。
• Plows are still pulled by oxen in some countries. 在一些国家犁头仍由牛拖拉。

2 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 hunch   

n.预感，直觉

参考例句：

• I have a hunch that he didn't really want to go.我有这么一种感觉，他并不真正想去。
• I had a hunch that Susan and I would work well together.我有预感和苏珊共事会很融洽。

5 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。