We know a good idea when we see one. That’s why soulpepper is excited to share an amazing Kickstarter project started by VertiCrop™, who was selected by TIME Magazine as one of the World’s Greatest Inventions. And one that represents a paradigm shift in sustainable farming and global food production practices.
It All Began With a Seed of an Idea
Imagine if you could take an empty warehouse, a vacant lot, or the roof of a downtown parking garage and in a 50’ x 75’ space, sustainably produce as much food as a 16 acre farm. In any climate, using only 8% of the water required for conventional field agriculture and no chemical pesticides. Now imagine it was better tasting and healthier than produce trucked from thousands of miles away because it was grown in a bustling urban area where it would be consumed.
That’s the idea behind VertiCrop™, a revolutionary urban growing concept that represents a paradigm shift in sustainable farming and global food production practices. Utilizing patented growing technology, the VertiCrop™ system can grow and harvest up to 3,500 pounds of fresh, leafy greens every week. No matter what the weather or the season.
It’s a sustainable way to provide fresh, healthy produce within a smaller environmental footprint and use less overall energy and water in doing so.
See just how they get it done:
Choosing to be Sustainable Is No Longer an Option
There are over 7 billion people in the world today and by 2050 it’s estimated that number could exceed 10 billion. But finding more fertile farmland to grow food for our increasing population is becoming more and more challenging.
Fresh water is clearly the most precious of all our natural resources. Yet up to 70% is used for agriculture. And the ensuing run-off due to the widely accepted practice of using chemical pesticides and herbicides is unusable.
In order to meet future global demands for enough food and clean water, a combination of solutions is required. Conventional soil farming will need to be modified if it is to be sustainable. Which is why we need to be exploring solutions now, before it becomes too late.
By employing a sustainable vertical farming model for urban areas, VertiCrop™ is part of the movement that can solve the world’s food and water shortage by growing fresh, healthy food on less land, with less water, and a smaller carbon footprint.
Why Kickstarter?
Despite having operated a successful R&D VertiCrop™ greenhouse in the heart of downtown Vancouver, the company’s current landlord won’t renew their lease. So they are being forced to move. They are looking to build a community to help them raise funds to move the greenhouse and technology to Langley, British Columbia, where there are better options for additional growth. The good news is they have a proven innovative vertical growing technology. The challenge is it will cost tens of thousands of dollars to disassemble, move, prepare the new site and reassemble. And that’s a bloody shame.
Head over to their Kickstarter page, watch the video and see for yourself. The funny thing about amazing technologies is that they can be the best kept secrets – electric cars were crazy talk only 20 years ago! VertiCrop™ is one of those amazing technologies that can stop good nutrition from becoming a luxury around the world.
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Written by Rik Klingle-Watt
About the author
Rik Klingle-Watt is a soulpepper and the writer of Not Business as Usual, an award-winning documentary about disrupting the business quo.
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