Senga Bay, Malawi … Have you ever-shoveled and hauled sand? It’s backbreaking work, and in the African nation of Malawi the heat, the weight and oxen that often rebel against the load, compound this backbreaking work. Thus it is no wonder the women of Senga Bay arrived at Samantha Ludick’s door with a major request. They need to contract her V-Tractor to help haul sand. Upon its arrival in 2009 Sam, as she is better known, dubbed the new tractor, “My Ferrari.” She immediately built it a new house (garage) to live in, and outfitted her staff members with tee shirts and caps that read, “Cool Agriculture.” With its new name, and with community pride ever increasing, the machine took on a whole new persona. No longer was it just a tractor that could do difficult tasks in record time, it became a beloved member of the community. “My Ferrari” currently has a backlog of requests that would take weeks of working from sun up to well after dark, to complete and even then it is still getting farther and farther behind because of the needs.
The women in the bay area collect sand along the lake’s shore (Lake Malawi is the twelfth largest fresh water lake in the world), in order to sell it for well drilling rigs, and for building contractors in the Salima/Senga Bay area. The request was to be able to contract the V-Tractor to assist them. It seemed the ox presently being used eats too much, and it is sometimes difficult to get them to work when they get overly tired.
Ludick calls in her two drivers. What they know that the women do not know is the fact the V-Tractor can do far more than just haul the sand. It can go right down to the water’s edge for the sand collection, and then carry it right up the house, or work site, where the sand is needed. On top of that if they will put the sand in the “tipper” wagon the sand can actually be dumped right on the site.
According to Ludick, “It only takes a short time for the women to see the way My Ferrari can help them with their heavy loads in a way no ox can. No food required. No sitting down on the job. No getting tired and trying to go home. It has become the hit of the neighborhood and is helping them support their families. We have a backlog of requests that extends weeks out. Our guys are working 12 to 15 hours a day, and the request list keeps getting longer and longer.”
Ludick received her V-Tractor in November 2009. She also runs the Cool Runnings lakeside resort, and works with the Malawi Project in operating the Clinic at the Gate, a medical care program for people in the villages of Senga Bay, and a number of other programs in the Salima/Senga Bay area that are designed to help the community.
The V-Tractor is the invention of Tom Rich of Agricultural Aid International, Lebanon, Indiana with the help of the Malawi Project, of Indianapolis, Indiana. Four units have been sent to Malawi in recent years, and a fifth is expected to arrive before the end of the year.
– Samantha Ludick and Richard Stephens