This idea shows the impotence of promoting access to education and technology in third world countries. This Swahili born inventor, now living in the USA, exhibits the creativity that can be achieved by letting local intelligentsia to develop. People are our greatest resource.
While this isn't technically a "low tech" innovation some of the basic principles are. The use of fish as a "hyper-composter" has potential.
Eric Maundu is farming in Oakland. There are no open fields in this concrete jungle, and even if there were the soil in his part of town is contaminated and not a suitable place in which to grow food.
But he’s not using farming methods of old. In fact farmers of a century ago wouldn’t recognize anything he’s doing. His technique uses fish, circulated water, and gravel to grow vegetables in whatever space he can find; a farming method called aquaponics.
The video after the break gives an excellent look at his farm. The two main parts of the system are a large water trough where fish live, and a raised bed of gravel where the fish waste in the water is filtered out and composted by bacteria to becomes food for the vegetables.
More parts can be added into the mix. For instance, once the water has been filtered by the stone bed it can be gravity fed into another vessel which is being used to grow lettuce suspended by floating foam board. But the water always ends up back in the fish trough where it can be reused. This ends up saving anywhere from 90-98% of the water used in normal farming.
But Eric is also interested in adding some automation. About seven minutes into the video we get a look at the control systems he’s working on with the help of Arduino and other hardware
Aquaponics
About Aquaponic Systems
- recirculating water system
- uses bacteria to compost fish waste into plant nutrients
- grows plants on gravel and water: NO SOIL!
- produces BOTH FISH and plants
Advantages Of Aquaponics
- uses ONLY 2-10% of the water used in regular farming
- 10 times as much PRODUCE as CONVENTIONAL FARMING
- food GROWN anywhere
- a secure source of fresh healthy vegetables and fish
- NO WEEDS or soil based bugs
