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How can we help the oceans while helping people?

 

 

This was the question we set out to answer during the project selection phase of our Appropriate Technologies class. Three ocean lovers brainstormed for days until an undertaking fell into our laps with the help of instructor Steph Fellows: a woman with land in Tanzania wanted to start an aquaponics facility, and we could be the ones to help set it up. We were thrilled--aquaponics would be an incredible technology to propogate in Dar es Salaam, and it would take pressure off the already over-fished oceans. We were hooked (pun fully intended).

 

We began with basic research into our site in Mbutu Amani, the principles of aquaponics, and the feasability of a brand new system in an area where this would be an emerging technology. We visted the experimental farm at Cal Poly and spoke with aquaponics guru Dylan Roberts for advice and information. Even with this basic knowledge, we were still a little stuck.

 

We reached a breakthrough in the project when we were able to meet with Dylan and Tanzanian talapia farmer Eric Djanie to discuss business models and logistics--where did we want this project to go? Who were we trying to help? Why would these efforts be successful?

 

Our reasoning was simple: we want to help the oceans by helping people, and we believe that elegant technologies such as aquaponics have the power to do both simultaneously. We want to introduce a method of fully sustainable food production in an area that has stretched its resource--the ocean--to its breaking point so that such a society can continue to grow and thrive even under the threat of environmental pressures. We want to create an opportunity for jobs in a field that has the ability to spread far and wide, and we want to give locals the tools they need to become self-sufficient when fishing becomes difficult. Finally, we want the oceans to recover from the constant stresses of overfishing so that natural ecosystems can be conserved and enjoyed by many generations to come.

 

Yes, the logistics are tricky--Tanzanians, for example, do not typically eat the leafy green vegetables that grow best in aquaponics systems--but we are determined to create a profitable, scalable technology that benefits local economies and households. We are essentially helping to facilitate the starting of a business using a new technology which will counteract the destruction of the ocean, as well as bring abundance to a malnourished and relatively poor area. With your support, we can make our plans reality.

 

Please see our Kickstarter video for more information and to learn how you can help our cause.

 

Thank you!

 

 

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