Sanatomba : Bringing the story of a self taught machine man

By Our Staff Reporter
IMPHAL, Oct 21: Meet 44-year-old Ahongsangbam Sanatomba, who is making all kinds of tools for farming--machines to grind rice husks, cut grass, oil furnace, carts--you name it.
His craft is gaining popularity among the people, especially farmers and the tools he makes are selling for thousands of rupees.
Ahongsangbam Sanatomba hails from Thoubal Ningombam Utha Leirak and is son of Late A Ibungo.
Sanatomba studied upto Class X only, and he received no formal skill training. However, all the members of his family are skilled craftsmen.
He began taking interest in making DIY craft and he started making nets first. Inspired by tool making videos on social media including YouTube, Sanatomba tried his hands on making grass cutter machines.
In the meantime, he started tinkering with broken washing machines and tried fixing motors.
He learnt by experience, and by 2020 he started building various kinds of machines and daily tools for farms including a portable grass cutter.
From scratch, he has built machines to prepare poultry feeds, cut grass, grind rice husks, oil furnaces, carts etc.  
Compared to grass cutters available in the market, Sanatomba says his machines consume less power and are energy efficient.
Interestingly, like other reputed companies in the market, his machines come with a warranty of 1 year.
Depending on the size of the grass cutter, its price ranges from Rs 5000 to Rs 18,000 a piece.
The price for the grinding machines starts from Rs 25,000.
Making an average size grinding machine takes about 10 days while the grass cutter takes only 2 days, Sanatomba says.
While he procures the motor from the market, he makes every other part from scratch and assembles it himself.
Sanatomba says his machines are popular among poultry, piggery and fish farmers.
"Many youths who are unemployed these days are trying their hands on a variety of farming. Be it poultry or fish farms, they need tools and machines that would make their work easy and efficient. I took an interest in making these machines to assist and help them," says Sanatomba.
Sanatomba says he has so far sold at least 100 machines.
He has received orders from places including Tamenglong and Dimapur.
Even as his machines are increasingly sought after by many farmers, Sanatomba says he has not received any grants from the Government.
"I have faced many difficulties and struggled. I have not received any grants from the Government. I don't even have land to use as a workshop," says Sanatomba, who is using a space at his wife's parental home at Thoubal Ningombam as the workshop.
"I don't have the money to fund larger projects, but people are now beginning to support me by buying my machines. This has now inspired me to continue and build many more machines of all kinds, says Sanatomba.