In 2022 a multifunctional wheeled excavator was purchased with the support of the Schmitz Foundations.
The very powerful JCB 3DX shovel and bucket excavator, which is suitable for the high mountains, now enables the farmers’ cooperative to move earth at any time to optimize agriculture. Several compost pits have already been constructed, fields leveled and paths cleared. In particular, the backhoe is helpful in creating and maintaining irrigation canals for the fields. These are of utmost importance for the farmers in Zanskar, a high mountain desert, who depend on the melt water from the glaciers. Building the houses is also made much easier.
In the spirit of sustainability, a separate “Dredger Management Committee” was founded to take care of all matters and, among other things, ensured that 2 young men from the village received thorough training as machine operators. For this purpose, they were accompanied for more than half a year by an experienced JCB excavator operator in their daily work and problem solving.
