Lawnmower flight from Ireland to Africa to support poor farming families
The Corkman is to simulate crash-landings at 12 noon tomorrow on water at the National Maritime College of Ireland at Ringaskiddy, Co Cork.
He is to begin his his 3,000km, four-week journey next Sunday.
“In a region where 70% of people rely on small plots of land for survival, it is only by improving farm production that millions of people will be able to work their way out of poverty,” he says.
Gorta-Self Help Africa are helping farmers ‘climate smart’ agricultural techniques that support poor farming families to adapt to changing climate.
It also supports community-based seed production systems.
Oisín will fly a paramotor — a motorised unit fitted with a propeller blade that is mounted on his back on a rucksack-like frame.
Powered by a small two-stroke engine similar to the motor of a lawnmower, he should potentially be able to cover up to 150-200km of his trip, per flight, travelling at up to 60km an hour.
www.flyafrica.ie
