Farmer Thai Van Au and his corn husking machine.

In Ma Noi commune, maize is a staple food of the local Raglai ethnic minority. Though he wasn’t born there, Thai Van Au has lived among the Raglai people for more than 30 years. Seeing how difficult it was to remove the husks from the corn, Au started imagining a corn husking machine that would make life a little easier. After much trial and error, in 2015 Au found a design that worked and put it into operation.

“The first 6 designs failed. My family advised me to stop because it was costing a lot of time and money. Then, fortunately, I found a design that worked,” said Au.

Au’s corn husking machine runs on electricity and includes a frame, a hopper, a screw propeller, a husking chamber, a cutting blade, and an engine. The corn is put into the hopper and the screw propeller pulls it past an S-shaped blade which separates each ear of corn from its husk. It takes just 5 minutes to husk 10 kilos of corn. It used to take 4 hours to husk the same amount of corn by hand.

Au’s corn husking machine has really made a difference in people’s lives. Mr. Chamale Tho, who lives in Ma Noi commune, said: “Maize is our main food. In the past, life was really hard, because we had to spend a lot of time husking the corn. Things are easier now, thanks to Au’s corn husking machine. Now we just grind the maize and cook it. It saves a lot of time”.

Mr. Kieu Thanh Dang, Chairman of Ma Noi commune’s Farmers Association praised An’s corn husking machine: “Thanks to this machine, local farmers have more time and energy for other work. I hope the authorities will encourage Au to find other outlets for his talent”.

Thai Van Au’s corn husking machine won first prize at Ninh Thuan province’s 4^th Science and Technology Contest and a consolation prize at the 2017 National Technical Innovation Contest.