Hydroponic Bucket Garden
Growing crops using hydroponics for the best success rates.
One of the major challenges in designing ANY food growing system for sub-Saharan Africa is the ACCESS TO MATERIALS. It is often cost-prohibitive to transport building supplies over long distances. That is why our solutions use items that are readily available everywhere and are cost-effective as well.
About Our Hydroponic Bucket Garden
How it Works
It's no secret that growing food in poor regions of sub-Saharan Africa can be challenging. The soil is often depleted of nutrients from excessive previous usage. Then comes the challenge of small animals and rodents eating the crops. And finally, there is the unreliability of rain to water the crops.
By growing crops using hydroponics, virtually 100% of the minerals needed to grow healthy food are present. By raising the beds up 3 feet off the ground, they are difficult for pests to disturb them. And by providing a protected environment for the plants to grow, they thrive and produce food with a very predictable success rate. Our solutions add in the factor of EXTREME VALUE - making it a win/win for everyone involved.
Proposed Solution
By utilizing locally sourced materials, we will construct hydroponic gardens to support the local area.
The materials used include:
Used Tires
Used Wooden Pallets
5-gallon Plastic Pails
The construction involves stacking two tires and topping them with wooden pallets. On top of the pallets, 5-gallon plastic pails are placed to create waist-high workspaces for growing plants.
Each of these gardens has the capacity to cultivate 24 food plants within a 7x4 foot area. The total initial cost for each garden is less than $300, resulting in a startup cost of less than $12.50 per plant, for a system with a service life of over 10 years.
The only recurring expenses are for nutrients and seeds, both of which are relatively inexpensive compared to conventional hydroponic systems that can cost tens or even hundreds of thousands of dollars to establish.