I am Asenla Zeliang hail from Jalukie B village, Jalukie block, Jalukie Sub Division. I am a beneficiary of brush cutter. I use my brush cutter for cutting grasses in my garden and roadside. I have a paddy field and jhum field, where lots of manpower is required for clearing jungle especially in field boundaries. Also the field bunds and field boundaries in lowland paddy field needs to be kept weed free. Weeds serve as host for insect-pest and diseases as well as a hideout for rodents. Those rodents make easy passage to my paddy fields and ultimately destroys and spoil the standing crop of rice as well as other vegetables in kitchen garden. Clearing weeds cost me more labours and expenses but I had to keep my field safe, so I hire labour for clearing weeds. However after receiving brush cutter from the Department of Agriculture, I not only use it in my garden but also in my fields, now I can easily clear my field boundaries and keep it clean. Using brush cutter has helped cut down the demand for labour. It is user friendly, less expenses as compared to hiring 4 - 5 labours @ 200/day which was quite expensive for someone like me. Though I am a lady I can operate the brush cutter well. According to me brush cutters are light weight, easy to handle and comfortable to use even for ladies. I also give out my brush cutter on hiring basis twice a week during summer season and once a week during winter. I charge 50-100/ hour depending on the distance. I recall earning not less than 1000 a week during summer which could now help me meet my daily expenses on vegetable buying. I am now a service provider, earning money through brush cutter.
Asenla Zeliang
Jalukie B.