151–160 of 180 posts
Reminds me of a similar machine I saw for pruning tree branches: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x6UZ_2OAHNI
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Given the fact that the training that goes behind this is a brutal busniess and the fact that monkey is a God figure, it would not be received well in India, I believe.
I do not think brutal training is necessary, but I might be wrong. Also I thought in India there a cows ploughing the fields, and they are also holy?
Incidentally my aunt's home is located right next to a snake shrine of old (yes, they give offerings to snakes, mostly cobras, there), even though the area is predominantly resided by Muslims. On the other hand, there is a Hindu temple in another district dedicated to the worship of a Robinhood-esque thief who was a Muslim - and the offerings are mostly alcohol (and previously weed).
There recently was a huge controversy in Thailand about using monkey labor for coconut harvesting which resulted in many shops and even countries considering banning thai coconut milk. [1] Since then I've been thinking: why is it so difficult to harvest coconuts? Surely a pair of long clipper or some sort of stick-like device ought to do it? I've popped a few coconuts myself of trees, it's not that complicated, right…
The biggest problem is that 15 minutes to mount the robot (and a similar time to disassemble it again, probably), is probably more time that an experienced harvested would need to climb and take the fruit down.
I grew up in a remote village in south India. We had over two dozen coconut trees in our yard. I made a long loop in the mud that went around all these trees. I'd pull water out of the well using a rope & pulley & pour it down the loop. The water would wind its way until it reached all the two dozen trees. About an hour of this water pulling & the loop would stay wet for a few hours. This sort of manual work was stan…
One time as a tourist I stayed at a guest house in the Kerala backwaters. My host had several coconut trees and gave me a shot at climbing one. There was this contraption I harnessed to myself with a strap around the tree and I made it up a fair bit before realizing that there was no way in hell I was going to go any further, let alone perform any meaningful act of dexterity at the top of the tree. Everybody had a go…
"As the population increasingly moves towards tech jobs, there's now a shortage of coconut harvesters in India." Is this really true? Is there a shortage of low skilled labor in India?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Islamic + Christian colonialism covered about 1000 years, during which time the natives or Hindus were second class citizens. Somehow the poverty and destitution seems to be always blamed on the natives. Moreover Caste system is a European system introduced by the British to divide up communities.
The caste system existed long before Europeans ruled India. Caste system has roots in the Vedic society. "The varnas originated in Vedic society (c. 1500–500 BCE). The first three groups, Brahmins, Kshatriyas and Vaishya have parallels with other Indo-European societies, while the addition of the Shudras is probably a Brahmanical invention from northern India." Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caste_system_in_In…
Caste and any discrimination is abhorrent, and like others have commented is a more recent phenomenon. In old times and today, anyone can become a priest/Brahmin by learning. [2]
1. Same wikipedia page
2. https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/amaravati/first-bat...
I grew up in a remote village in south India. We had over two dozen coconut trees in our yard. I made a long loop in the mud that went around all these trees. I'd pull water out of the well using a rope & pulley & pour it down the loop. The water would wind its way until it reached all the two dozen trees. About an hour of this water pulling & the loop would stay wet for a few hours. This sort of manual work was stan…
I am from a southern district of Tamil Nadu. Here, we follow a different method to cut the coconuts. The harvesters do not climb the tree. Instead, they tie together bamboo poles to form one long pole and tie a sickle to one end. The harvester then cuts the coconut bunch from the ground. It is much more efficient and faster than climbing the trees. When I was young, I was fascinated by their craft. They are so good,…
"As the population increasingly moves towards tech jobs, there's now a shortage of coconut harvesters in India." Is this really true? Is there a shortage of low skilled labor in India?
Coconut harvesting is not a low skilled job though. It pays very little because coconuts are cheap and it's traditionally a low status job.
I grew up in a remote village in south India. We had over two dozen coconut trees in our yard. I made a long loop in the mud that went around all these trees. I'd pull water out of the well using a rope & pulley & pour it down the loop. The water would wind its way until it reached all the two dozen trees. About an hour of this water pulling & the loop would stay wet for a few hours. This sort of manual work was stan…
I am from a southern district of Tamil Nadu. Here, we follow a different method to cut the coconuts. The harvesters do not climb the tree. Instead, they tie together bamboo poles to form one long pole and tie a sickle to one end. The harvester then cuts the coconut bunch from the ground. It is much more efficient and faster than climbing the trees. When I was young, I was fascinated by their craft. They are so good,…
I believe it might be an issue with this robot too. But you can see this requirement in the design of other tools. It always involves climbing the tree.
I enjoy the conversation here. So many people are assuming there is true thought in OPEX, CAPEX, and employer rights and employer safety in these operations. As others mentioned, Thailand used Monkeys. There is so much of a disconnect between this crowd and the farmers and the people this robot will actually replace. What is the average annual income of a farm hand in Thailand, Philippines, or any country that has co…
Good. I hope they lose these kinds of jobs to robots. Human beings shouldn’t be doing this kind of dirty and dangerous jobs. Once upon a time they used slaves from Africa to pick cotton in the newly formed United States. I often wish I was around to see the mechanical cotton harvester for the first time ever. I KNOW it would have taken my breath away. Consider this..there are 8 billion people in the world. Growing an…