Scythe Works Without Borders
scytheworks.ca
Scythe Works Without Borders
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Re: Scythe Works Without Borders
#2I mean it's an interesting idea, but it's weird to imagine that small time farmers in poor countries are capable of obtaining and using a sickle but are somehow not capable of obtaining and using a scythe.
At least looking for ones here in the US, a decent quality sickle seems to run in the $30-$60 range while places that sell scythes seem to cost $100-$300, so I can't imagine it's some massive price barrier either
Re: Scythe Works Without Borders
#3The Future is already here, it's just unevenly distributed. William Gibson
What is the skill tree of development, and how do we speed run it?
Re: Scythe Works Without Borders
#4The Future is already here, it's just unevenly distributed. William Gibson What is the skill tree of development, and how do we speed run it?
>What is the skill tree of development, and how do we speed run it?
There used to be an easy answer to this, now it's not politically or morally acceptable to support: colonization. Colonization is what brought modern farming practices (and their accompanying massive yields) as well as the development of the infrastructure needed to support it and other developments.
Re: Scythe Works Without Borders
#5I mean it's an interesting idea, but it's weird to imagine that small time farmers in poor countries are capable of obtaining and using a sickle but are somehow not capable of obtaining and using a scythe. At least looking for ones here in the US, a decent quality sickle seems to run in the $30-$60 range while places that sell scythes seem to cost $100-$300, so I can't imagine it's some massive price barrier either
It's usually lack of knowledge/understanding and simple inertia, "this is how we've always done it."
Re: Scythe Works Without Borders
#6[deleted]
Re: Scythe Works Without Borders
#7The Future is already here, it's just unevenly distributed. William Gibson What is the skill tree of development, and how do we speed run it?
In terms of joules spent per blade of grass cut, a well honed scythe in the hands of a skillful operator is more efficient than mechanized solutions. If you have an area where you already have an abundance of agricultural workers, it might be that scythe is a better solution than having your agriculture sector being dependent on fossil fuels.
Re: Scythe Works Without Borders
#8I mean it's an interesting idea, but it's weird to imagine that small time farmers in poor countries are capable of obtaining and using a sickle but are somehow not capable of obtaining and using a scythe. At least looking for ones here in the US, a decent quality sickle seems to run in the $30-$60 range while places that sell scythes seem to cost $100-$300, so I can't imagine it's some massive price barrier either
It's usually lack of knowledge/understanding and simple inertia, "this is how we've always done it."
I'm afraid you just dismissed the question, not answered it. Plenty of things changed in agriculture in spite of simple inertia. Why does sickle-for-wheat-scythe-for-hay concept seem to prevail for different cultures in distant lands for so long?
Re: Scythe Works Without Borders
#9The Future is already here, it's just unevenly distributed. William Gibson What is the skill tree of development, and how do we speed run it?
The skill tree depends on awful lot on what you care about, and don't assume that western "high tech" solutions are the best, because they're the most complicated.
From a "Built out of locally available resources, with minimum energy, and robust repairability," it's hard to beat a scythe or other similar tool.
And I guarantee a well built scythe will still work, if tolerably cared for, long past the last of our over-complicated tractors rusting in fields because the right software to update the firmware to allow you to start the engine after changing the oil was trying to talk to some server that no longer exists...
Unless you're making this argument. I can't actually tell which way you're arguing for.
Re: Scythe Works Without Borders
#10The Future is already here, it's just unevenly distributed. William Gibson What is the skill tree of development, and how do we speed run it?
In terms of joules spent per blade of grass cut, a well honed scythe in the hands of a skillful operator is more efficient than mechanized solutions. If you have an area where you already have an abundance of agricultural workers, it might be that scythe is a better solution than having your agriculture sector being dependent on fossil fuels.
"If you already have a bunch of people doing back-breaking labor, do not even think about giving them efficient machines"