EduPonics

Project

269852

Status

Submitted

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NEW EUROPEAN BAUHAUS RISING STARS : concepts or ideas submitted by young talents (aged 30 or less)

Project title

EduPonics

Full concept/idea title

Description

Our goal is to give rise to a social aquaponic farm that: Increase and improve agricultural productivity to generate more profitable production models. We propose a resilient solution to climate change, to promote the stability of crops. Moreover the system consists of an oportunity to work integration for disables, since it is thought without architectural barriers. Promote knowledge creating courses for high schools about sustainable agriculture and social innovation.

Where is your concept/idea being developed or intended to be implemented in the EU?

Please provide a summary of your concept/ idea

In this call, we present a project of aquaponics, an innovative and eco-sustainable agricultural technique where fish culture and soilless plant culture are combined in an integrated and co-dependent system. This project has a significant social impact that could increase and improve agricultural productivity in a land scarcity context.  In particular, the system presents many advantages: • No need to use inorganic fertilizers.  • Can supply both proteins and vegetable products from the same growing system.  • No waste and no discharge.  • No pesticides or herbicides used or allowed.  • Reduction in soil-borne diseases. The biological activity of the system results in increased resistance to disease vectors and pests.  • Reduction in monitoring requirements due to an ecologically balanced system.  • Ability to grow fish and plants in areas with drought and poor soil quality.  • Food production year-round. Our project is innovative because we can count on Aquaponix © system. Its strength is the simplicity of the system, it is built mimicking the typical ecosystem of a pond in a tank, every element is modulated creating a perfect balance. In this way, water does not need to be filtered or recirculated. This results in considerable savings in terms of water and technological and energy materials (e.g. filters and pumps). The implant is designed without architectural barriers, enhancing work integration of people with disabilities. Everyone is welcome and can contribute

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of sustainability and how these would be met

Water is a precious good and we have to care about it. In an aquaponic system, the primary input is fish feed. Wastes generated by the fish serve as an organic nutrient source for the plants. Water containing dissolved organics and organic solids are circulated through the plant growing beds/troughs wherein the nutrients are removed and the water returned for reuse to the fish tanks. This results, in a huge water-saving. It is demonstrated that by using soil-less agricultural techniques a 90% of water is saved concerning traditional agriculture. Moreover, we can count on an aquaponics method under copyright, that can reduce the use of technology and electricity. Innovation should make easy something considered difficult. Simplicity is a huge advantage since allowing you to consider also the social aspect, creating opportunities even for disadvantaged people.

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of aesthetics and quality of experience beyond functionality and how these would be met

The system is extremely adaptable in aesthetics canons. It reproduces the ecosystem of a pond. 

Please give information about the key objectives of your concept/idea in terms of inclusion and how these would be been met

We think that agriculture offers a social intervention thanks to its multifunctionality allowing us to design and develop educational paths for different beneficiary figures from the disabled to the child at risk, from the psychiatric patient to the person detained. This idea leads us to move on two fronts, the first will be to make courses open to everyone to promote the contamination of ideas, dissemination of knowledge, and stimulate innovation. The second will be to make all projects accessible and usable to people with disabilities. Agriculture does not have the concept of disability as everyone finds a job, or a work environment adapted to its possibilities.

Please explain the innovative character of your concept/ idea

The system is composed of only one tank with water enriched with nutrients (that we will adapt for each plant and fish culture). The formed solution feeds the fish introduced into the same cultivation tank for purification and rebalancing of the micro-ecosystem of the tank.   On the surface of the "water cushion" created in the tank, and 30-40 cm high (depending on thermal needs and geographical location), special "floating rafts" in polystyrene are placed, inside which the seedlings of various crops are introduced (housing the radical "cubes" in the appropriate alveoli that divide the surface of each raft).  Under the rafts swim in total freedom the fish, in precise and controlled quantity to obtain a symbiotic and synergistic relationship of the fish themselves with the root system of the cultivated plants. Fish feed on the roots of plants: the roots are re-emitted daily in place of those eaten by fish and thus the possibility of the settlement of radical diseases (the most dangerous in off-ground cultivation systems) is excluded. Everything remains in perfect balance and can react and self-stabilize in case of entry of any pathogens. This system is capable of producing a wide range of leafy and fruiting plants including but not limited to: any leafy lettuce, pak choi, spinach, arugula, basil, rosemary, thyme, oregano, mint, watercress, chives, tomatoes, most common house plants, sweet peppers. hot peppers, cucumbers, beans, peas, squash, okra, melon, strawberries, carrots.   Final products present many benefits:  • Improved plant growth and efficiency; • No radical disease; • Uniform, faster and healthier crop growth; • Pesticides are not used; • Our products do not need to be washed before consumption (more water savings); • fruits and vegetables are tastier;

Please detail the plans you have for the further development, promotion and/or implementation of your concept/idea, with a particular attention to the initiatives to be taken before May 2022

We believe the time needed to build and start-up the plant will be around 8 weeks.

By ticking this box, you declare that all the information provided in this form is factually correct, that the proposed concept/idea has not been proposed for the New European Bauhaus Rising Stars Awards more than once in the same category.