Teen Technology InvenTeam

We will invent a simple machine to thresh both Sorghum and Millet. The machine will replace the mortar and pestle technology currently used by subsistence farmers in developing parts of the world – particularly in Sub-Saharan African countries. We envision a simple and very inexpensive design that can be constructed with materials and tools available in the poorest regions of the world. Since the intended users of the threshing machine typically do not have access to either electricity or gasoline, the thresher will be powered by hand or the pedal action of a bicycle which has its sprocket linked to the drive shaft of the thresher. The processing rate is expected to be between 5 and 20 kg of raw grain per hour, with 80 percent yield and less than five percent broken kernels.