What has been hailed as a “brilliant” aid that will help lift the lid on farm safety, the ‘Grasper’ has been designed and made by three first-year students from Drumshanbo Vocational School in Co. Leitrim.
The Grasper was created by Amy Keaveney, Freya Whitney and Alex O’Looney. It helps farmers to lift the lids of slatted tanks, boosting farm safety.
Alex was concerned when she saw her grandad bending down to try to open a slatted tank cover with his fingers and a pitchfork.
She brought this information to the group and the members all brainstormed to come up with a solution which resulted in Grasper being developed by their company, Handled With Hearts.
Grasper was devised by the Leitrim students under the guidance of their teachers Sharon Feeney and Yvonne Traynor.
Grasping farm safety
The lift mechanism assists with the opening of slatted tank agitation covers. It saves the farmer or agricultural contractor the need to bend and lift the cover by hand and can also be used to close the cover afterwards.
The students sold handmade earrings and cupcakes to generate seed capital for the Grasper which costs €25.
“We are getting a fantastic response with the Grasper being described as ‘innovative’ and an excellent product idea. We sell all over the country,” they said.
In December 2022, the students entered the Future Cast Young Entrepreneur Competition held during the Winter Fest in Manorhamilton.
They will now represent Leitrim at the Junior Student Enterprise Programme finals in Croke Park in May.
The students promote the Grasper through their Handled with Hearts social media platforms. They have a video demonstration on Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Currently they have over 76,000 views of their TikTok demonstration.