Urban Farma

Our solution seeks to minimize emission, cost and waste involved in harvest, packaging and distribution of perishable food items, by bringing hydroponics based “farming pods” and “compost pods” directly at consumer’s site. We believe that cultivating food and recycling it at the place of consumption is more sustainable than existing food chain. Our solution will also improve land use, air quality and help create reliable food system in urban areas. When scaled globally, it will bring down the GHG emissions in food transport, cold chain storage and food losses. It will also make a part of the global food system robust and resilient. Consumers will also be assured of the food quality and develop a sense of well being as they see their plants grow. In doing so, we wish to work with diverse teams across the globe, to mature hydroponics and related technologies to support global sustainable food systems.

We are working on a solution to minimize food loss in the supply chain, introduce new models for producer-market connections and create a low carbon cold chain in urban areas. Transportation including cold chain storage accounts for 17% GHG emissions and 35% food loss globally. Agriculture in total accounts for more than 25% of global GHG emissions every year. Considering rise in population, agriculture will be intensified further, causing even more pollution and environmental degradation. Developing a sustainable and efficient food system is the need. Starting with home cultivation of fruits and vegetables, we aim to partake in reducing 3% transportation loss and 35% food loss of fresh foods across the globe. By producing food at the site of consumption we can minimize transport and handling loss. People will utilize more of their home refrigeration than commercial cold storage to further reduce emissions. Moreover, an online consumer-to-consumer marketplace will ease the transaction and food delivery in local areas. Adopting our technology will also bring higher quality, choice based food all year long. This will benefit consumers with good physical as well as psychological health.

We intend to make modular hydroponic farms called “farming pod” and organic composter called “compost pod” that can be placed indoor or outdoor, especially in urban areas where people can produce sustainable, reliable and resilient food as well as manure without giving much attention to its growth and maintenance. “farming pod” will utilize techniques such as NFT and aeroponics for plants to grow in optimal climate. “compost pod” will create manure from biodegradable waste generated at home. Customers will have the choice to participate or buy the end products directly from our labs. Consumers can also sell their excess products via proprietary internet based marketplace. We also aim to create knowledge forums on the internet for hobbyists and serious home growers to develop, share and sell new methods of food and manure production. The market-place on the internet will be a consumer-to-consumer platform with third party transportation service provided within the local area. Thus, customers can generate a source of passive income from the pods throughout its life. Collaborating with other bio technologists, scientists and engineers through the “Solve” platform, we aim to mature our technology to grow 80% of all vegetables in next 5 years.

Our solution will positively impact people across the world. People living in urban areas report for increased prices with failing quality of fresh foods every day. When surveyed, these people are willing to adapt new technology for their own and environmental benefits. They are willing to pay extra for higher quality food products. Also, with the opportunity to earn passively, our pods will create a reliable system of fresh foods within their localities. We anticipate ROI of 3 years to the customers having a large sized “farming pod” and a “compost pod”. Virtually, we expect our customers to not to know anything about farming or growing a plant. Apart from minimum maintenance, we do not expect any extra attention from the customers either. We intend to bring only high quality, choice based, nutritious food in their diet. As of now, we have more than 100 people from various towns in India willing to buy our prototypes. Personal health benefits are even more. People will start consuming low carbon, balanced diet every day. They will develop a sense of well being, a positive outlook and assertiveness in eating what they have grown.