Small carpentry workshops have difficulty in purchasing and using multiple machines due to high initial costs, space constraints and maintenance considerations. Ghonakanta Gogoi, a carpenter from Dhemaji, has developed a pedal operated wood turning/wood carving machine. 

This multipurpose machine with minimal footprint, is built to address all major workshop needs, allowing completing the sequence of wood-working operations in one place, and facilitating  better finishing of the  product. Ghonakonta’s father was an expert carpenter himself and specialised in making innovative designs out of wood including gears. Due to poor financial conditions, Ghonakonta had to drop out of BA Third year to take up the family tradition of carpentry. Those days’ local carpenters had to visit the nearby district, Lakhimpur for wood carving, which was done by the electrically operated machines. Understand the need to have a solution to this, he worked hard for two years and developed the pedal operated manual wood carving machine.

This portable machine is very easy to operate and only one person can handle it. The working speed of the machine can be varied as per the requirements with minimal wastage of wood. NIF supported him for the product development and trial marketing of the same under which additional features for drilling bamboo, wood as well as iron along with the sanding of bamboo facilities were incorporated. Apart from wood curving machine, he also made a new model of latrine which has been approved by DRDA for supply to poor people.