The library and the tractor, united

This was in the morning mail, a bulletin from READ GLOBAL, the nonprofit through which we're working to raise money to build a library in Bhutan. Here's how their existing facility is supporting itself:

Ura READ Center Starts Tractor Rental Business

Opened in May 2010, the ASSP Community Library and Resource Center in Ura, Bhutan has started acommunity-run tractor rental business to generate income for the center. After assessing five business proposals submitted by the community, the tractor rental business was selected for its market feasibility and need in the community. For a fee, local farmers hire the tractor from the committee to till their land. The tractor committee consists of 14 members from the village and is responsible for running and maintaining the business.Ura village is a potato growing community and has over 50 acres of land under cultivation. With this much-needed service, villagers can now tend to their fields without the large investment of buying their own tractor or hiring at a higher rate from the nearest town of Chamkhar, 1.5 hours away by public transportation. Mr. Tshering Tashi, a member of the tractor committee, said it has been his dream to buy and operate a tractor but was unable to do so due to finances. Now he intends to work hard, support the READ Center and make his family and community proud. "Everyday, the community hires the tractor for tilling land, collecting firewood, manure and some odd jobs," says Mr. Tashi.