Initially, I think we hired the first thrashing from Mitchel Cotts in Addis Ababa. Prior to that, we used the local method.
We used to thrash the grain we grew by walking cattle round and round the grain which had been placed on the ground in a circle which had been cleared of grass. Then they would throw it into the air. The grain would drop to the ground and the chaff would be blown away by the wind. This was a very slow and laborious way of thrashing.
So, we hired a thrashing machine from Mitchell Cotts in Addis Ababa
This of course made the thrashing much easier and quicker.
The local people were fascinated by this method and would ask us to thrash their grain, which we did, charging them an amount to cover the cost of the fuel used.
It was a very exciting leap forward in our farming practices and Michael’s reputation leapt into full favour.
He was called Mr. Muck because we called him Mike.
Really, we should have called him Michael because there is an Amharic word for Michael. It is pronounced Mikile.