VertiGrow
This entry has been selected as a finalist in the
Improved Nutrition: Solutions through Innovation competition.
VertiGrow is a device that allows residents of slums to grow nutritional food by utilizing the vertical space along the sides of their houses or roofs, while at the same time cultivating community empowerment and entrepreneurship.
A propos de vous
Section 1: About You
Prénom
Elizabeth
Nom
Nowak
Adresse électronique
URL du site Web
Organization
Pays
États Unis
Section 2: About Your Organization
Nom
VertiGrow
Site Web
Téléphone
716-597-7271
Adresse
56 Linnaean Street, Cambridge, MA 02138
Votre organisation est-elle une
organisation à but non lucratif
Pays
États Unis
Your idea
Name Your Project
VertiGrow
Country your work focuses on
Kenya
Describe Your Idea
VertiGrow is a device that allows residents of slums to grow nutritional food by utilizing the vertical space along the sides of their houses or roofs, while at the same time cultivating community empowerment and entrepreneurship.
Website URL
Innovation
What makes your idea unique?
Current solutions to the malnutrition crisis in slums are based largely on food aid, although there has been some attempt at spreading alternative forms of gardening. These initiatives, including sack gardens, garbage dump gardens, and keyhole gardens, require the user to provide a substantial amount of horizontal land, and are heavily dependent on resources like water and soil. VertiGrow is unique in that almost anyone can use it regardless of their land possessions, and it can be adjusted to meet specific space needs. It is modular and portable, so it can be broken down and transported easily (essential for highly mobile populations). It is also extremely conservative, ensuring that expenses related to water and soil will not prevent its use.
Do you have a patent for this idea?
Oui
Impact
This Entry is about (Issues)
What impact have you had?
VertiGrow has been piloted in Kibera, Kenya. We work with three women's community groups, who helped design and assemble the first installation of the project. The project has served as a proof of concept, indicating that vertical farming is an important initiative for Kibera, and has provided supplementary food to thirty women and their families.
Problem
We are addressing two problems which are invariably interconnected- urbanization and malnutrition. As our world becomes more urbanized, individuals are increasingly dependent on the transport and sale of outside food sources. For the urban poor, this generates a tendency to purchase the least expensive food available, which incidentally tends also to be the least nutritious. In Kibera Kenya, food prices have risen more than 50% in the past year, and more than 30% of the population is malnourished. This is compounded by the fact that nearly half the residents of Kibera remain unemployed.
Actions
For the past year, our team has been involved in designing, producing, and piloting VertiGrow. We conducted an initial study in Kibera, to assess the nutritional needs and requests of residents, and to test the concept of vertical farming within the community. After an overwhelmingly positive response to the idea, 30 women in the community formed three groups to build and pilot VertiGrow. The first three prototypes were created entirely from local materials, and built by each group. Together, they care for the projects, and share the produce amongst themselves.
Results
The women's groups who run the existing VertiGrow units are already benefiting from the initiative. Some of the women sell their harvest in the market for an extra income, while others use the vegetables to supplement their family's diet.
As the project grows, the VertiGrow design will improve in efficiency, conservation, and expense, and spread to more families throughout Kibera. Our goal is to enable every family that so desires, to affordably and efficiently produces food for their table.
What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Please address each year separately, if possible.
Year 1:
We will distribute VertiGrow in partnership with Carolina for Kibera, the NGO with which we worked for our pilot studies. The VertiGrow units will be manufactured using biodegradable plastic at a local Kenyan manufacturing plant.
Participants will be asked to form groups of ten and sign up together in order to receive the VertiGrow units. Our site coordinator will visit the land selected by each group to confirm that it is appropriate for VertiGrow. Each group of ten will be required to have elected a team leader, a treasurer, and to place a $5 deposit for the unit. Additionally, each group will need a treasury containing $5 with which to purchase water, soil, and seeds.
The proceeds from the sale of vegetables or compost will be divided amongst individual group members. After teams register to receive VertiGrow units, we will track their progress tri-annually.
Year 2:
Following a successful launch in Kibera, we will begin to market VertiGrow to urban U.S. populations, with a "give one, get one" strategy.
We will partner with distributors in the US to market VertiGrow planters as socially conscious, eco-friendly solutions to increase levels of self-sustainability, reduce waste and carbon emissions, and promote healthy lifestyles. VertiGrow will be packaged and on the shelves in major retail outlets in northeastern cities.
Our main sales strategies in the US include:
* VertiGrow can save you money. By growing even a fraction of the food you consume, you will save dollars on your grocery bill.
* VertiGrow is good for the environment. 60% of the fruits and vegetables consumed in the U.S. are imported, resulting in significant fuel costs.
* VertiGrow is a humanitarian effort. A substantial percentage of every VertiGrow purchase goes to subsidize VertiGrow in the Kibera slum.
Year 3:
After two years, we will transition VertiGrow production in Kibera to local businesses. We will partner with local ceramics studios to produce VertiGrow units. We will pay the artists for their time, regardless of the number of units sold and distributed.
We will also work on expanding our U.S. sales geographically and demographically.
What would prevent your project from being a success?
VertiGrow's biggest turning point is based on sustainability. In order for the project to work, U.S. sales will have to be big enough to subsidized the manufacturing costs in Kenya after the first year of funding runs out. This will require an effective U.S. marketing strategy and key partnerships with large retail outlets like Walmart, Bed Bath and Beyond, etc.
How many people will your project serve annually?
101‐1000
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
$100 ‐ 1000
Does your project seek to have an impact on public policy?
Viabilité
A quel étape votre projet en est-il ?
En place depuis moins d'1 an
In what country?
Kenya
Is your initiative connected to an established organization?
Oui
If yes, provide organization name.
Carolina for Kibera
How long has this organization been operating?
Plus 5 années
Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?
Oui
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with NGOs?
Oui
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with businesses?
Non
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with government?
Non
Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.
Carolina for Kibera (CFK) is an umbrella organization established to serve the needs of Kibera residents. CFK oversees several community-based initiatives. The programs we worked most closely with included a women's empowerment organization, which helped us organize our community groups, a local health clinic, which allowed us to do nutritional surveys and host community forums, and an agricultural initiative which provided trainings and educational sessions.
What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization?
1. Organization and training of participating community groups:
The participating team members are the heart and soul of VertiGrow; the are the population this project was designed to serve, and the group which has the most voice in how it proceeds. To launch a larger scale version of our pilot, we will need to have a professional network within Kibera and establish an effective way to check up on progress and help meet needs. We will also have to invest a significant amount of time and money in training community groups who express a desire to learn more about agriculture and nutrition. The first year of our project will be the most difficult and the most important in this way.
2. Enhance the VertiGrow design so that it best reflects the needs of Kibera residents:
VertiGrow will simply not work unless our community members find it useful enough to invest in. While we are improving the design, we need to reflect on the cost of materials, the needs of water and soil, and the harsh demands of the environment. This process will require extensive experimentation regarding the sizing of units based on the crops and yields desired.
3. Raise awareness of malnutrition and market VertiGrow in the U.S.:
We want VertiGrow to be sustainable. We think one of the best ways to create sustainability is to draw attention to the fact that urbanization and malnutrition are global problems in which we should all be involved. While VertiGrow is dependent on operations in Kibera, we see an equal importance for it to take off among U.S. users. This is the way VertiGrow will gain traction, and eventually spread to other cities and families.
The Story
What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?
The VertiGrow team was incubated by five individuals in the Harvard Idea Translation Lab at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Science. We were inspired by the work of MacArthur Genius Grant recipient Will Allen, who is known for his work in urban and vertical farming in U.S. cities. We wanted a way to bring Will Allen's methods to poor populations in the developing world, making urban farming accessible to everyone.
Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.
Elizabeth Nowak is a senior at Harvard College, and is one of the co-founders of VertiGrow. Elizabeth is studying African Studies and Chemistry, and in addition to the VertiGrow pilot in Kenya, has worked in Southern Sudan, Sierra Leone, and Ghana. She is particularly interested in the adaptation and introduction of technologies to advance health and nutrition in the developing world.
How did you first hear about Changemakers?
Friend or family member
If through another, please provide the name of the organization or company
| Fichier attaché | Taille |
|---|---|
| vertigrowpilot.jpg | 176.52 Ko |
| pilotgroup.jpg | 239.25 Ko |
