cultivating agriculture

The Maldives is dealing with a very pragmatic problem; agriculture is hard to practice on their islands. Their two biggest economic sectors, tourism and fishing, are both negatively impacted by both climate change and the built up of waste on the islands. Agriculture has the potential to become a stable and important part of their economy.

For this to become true, three main obstacles must be tackled. Firstly, the system to created must be very water-efficient, rainwater being the only source of sweet water on the islands. Secondly the system must protect the crops from both the aggressive sunlight and the regular floods. Lastly, the system must be set up in a way that it can be applied on a country-wide scale, by many people. This is to actually make it an important part of the economy, not just a gimmick.

To reach these goals this design starts out as a simple wooden structure which can be made without skilled labor. A small group of aspiring farmers their investment is enough to start off. In this structure the farmers can execute a very basic form of hydroponics, safe from too much sunlight and floods.

As time grows on the structure is designed to be able to grow over the years together with the farmers expertise and hydroponic techniques. The end result is a fully self-sufficient aquaponic farm with highly efficient harvest rates.