5.1 Client Interviews Hilario Lopez is our main client and our first hand communicator from the community that has formed the basis of this project. His notions were our directions as to what the goal was. In order to better define the situation, the team asked many questions about the community, cows, and silage production in the community. Below is a table laying out data from the following conversations: Cows Community Silage Number: ~ 60 cows total. Feed: They are mostly grazing pasture. Some remains of sorghum crop as well. -Cows are fed dry or hay in the dry season. -Some nutritional blocks so the cattle don’t lose weight: molasses, semolina, lime, urea, salt Cost: One head cattle must pay 150 cordobas Silage knowledge: No silage is in production at the moment. There are 3 diesel powered choppers in the community, and one person is willing to share. -Half the community knows about silage production and its benefits -Some community members chop up the material and give it to the cows without fermenting, or they store it in conditions that can grow mold which can make the cows sick. Resources: There is a welder in the community With workshops and facilitation Feedstock used: Pasture, Taiwan Grass, Sorghum, Corn. current production:Silage produced by hand chopping and storing in a 100 lb plastic bag 0.5 m in the ground -3 men 1 hr with machete 100 lbs Challenges: Main issue is using machetes and bags. Machete leaves big chucks that rip through the bag. Seasons: driest time. February, March and April are the toughest -August is dry as well mini summer (canicula) Cost: -The crop residue from one manzana (7000 m^2) of sorghum costs
every month to graze commercial land Current state: 6 people including Hilario have: 3 cows in production 8 are pregnant (they will calve at different times) rotational grazing is a possibility. -Totogalpa has hardware stores and welders and its 5 km away -1500 cordobas is a rough estimate for monthly expenses a family of 5 -Hilario doesnt make more than 2000 on a good and some are unemployed or occasionally employed -Available Land: some have 1mz, some have ½, some rent land Plans: Forage chopper would be shared in the community -CRITERIA economic (diesel is cheaper than gasoline and ease of use safety of use -Community would like to use them 200 cordobas 500 lbs -Hilario has more or less measured: feeds 2 cows for a day on 200 lbs of grass fresh from 600 m^2 -Cow feed is too expensive. One 100 lb bag is 1000 cordobas, way too much, no one sells silage -Current large chopper: Yamaha, funnel fed chipper -50 Cordobas per litre of diesel. They can chop 300 pounds worth of silage material per litre of diesel
Environment environmental impact (1, low - 3, high) 1 3 2 1 3 1 3 upkeep (1, low - 3, high) 1 2 2 3 N/A 1 2 availability (1, low - 3, high) 3 2 2 1 3 3 1 Culture /Society client interest * low high medium medium low low low benefits convenient and known process highly efficient efficient favorable easy and known source of high nutrition easy to use easy to use, efficient, and cost effective building hr 0 0 2 4 weeks 1 week 5 weeks mobility portable/ stationary stationary stationary stationary stationary user scale individual community community individual all group drawback caloric a long time, incosistent chopping sizes costly, loud, fuel impact, dangerous Unreliable energy source, cannot chop during night, expensive high caloric expenditure, unreliable availability of parts, need more than 1 person to operate need enough hand power from a person to work for a long period of time item is not available locally, diesel powered. sources: * 2015 , ** Alibaba, 2015, *** Khope 2013 5.3.1 Comparison of Chopper Technologies Figure 1. Chart comparing hours saved compared to machete chopping and cost of chopper. Color represents environmental impact of each technology and line points to most ideal chopper. environment