From Fish Poop to Plant, Right in Your Drawing Room with Ecofarm
The human population is massive. It is currently estimated to stand at 7 billion. Environmentalists state that the optimum number of humans on the planet should have been 2 billion; we are a resource intensive species. Unlike the animals, we are used to a regular supply of food and water apart from clothing and other resources. Providing food for all of us is a massive affair. Our fertilizer induced lands have lost most of their natural nutrients, and they are overburdened. In these times, it is necessary to find farming alternatives that can help to bring a sustainable change in our food production mechanisms. One such method is Hydroponics.
Hydroponics is a plant growing technique which produces plants using limited water. The technique is so efficient that it saves almost 90% water in comparison to traditional farming methods. It is also space saving so you can get maximum growing potential out of a tiny place.
The makers of Ecofarm
Now a Dutch startup called Ecobird has brought a Kickstarter campaign for their Ecofarm. Ecofarm is a mini-loop ecosystem in which the nutrients from a Goldfish’s excrements are used to grow plants in the grow tank above. As the fish poop is extracted from the water, the water is cleaned too. All that needs to be done for the fish is to feed it.
The triangular shaped Ecofarm’s grow tank will allow you to grow small herbs like basil and thyme. You can also grow small tomatoes in the Ecofarm. The makers claim that the Ecofarm is capable of providing enough nutrients for these plants to grow.
This is a good start and hopefully will engage more people to come up with similar products that will expand their capacity. Hopefully, someday your septic tank will be capable of fueling your food garden making you self-sufficient as well as saving you money for important things in life like beer.
The campaign has a goal of 125,000 Euros which is a big sum. The developers have gotten 13,520 Euros till the writing of this article with 16 days to spare. The idea of the Ecofarm is great, it also shows how a symbiotic relation with nature can help us clean the evil from the world that is hunger. As Charlie Chaplin said in The Great Dictator, “In this world there is room for everyone. And the good earth is rich and can provide for everyone. The way of life can be free and beautiful.”
Inventions like the Ecofarm if supported and taken further by the people will help to make a society free from menace like world hunger. It will also help us concentrate on undertaking more intellectual adventures like a self-sustained space colony.
