I initially took this course as a way to get to work on one of my passion projects: Urban Farming
Our initial readings and class discussions confirmed by existing belief that the current food system is highly flawed and due for major corrections. I’m a believer in decentralized and local production(farming) and distribution of food, and I think a city like NY is the perfect urban setting to implement local urban farming systems.
After conducting research on aquaculture, I became interested in algae farming and decided to focus on designing a system for regular people to grow algae as one of their main food sources in their apartment. After reading Timothy’s blog post, I realized that we both have similar objectives, and I think through collaboration and combining our skills we will accomplish our goal in the limited timeframe we have.
For now, we have decided to design an automated algae growing unit for people with limited time and space. We believe Spirulina is the most suitable algae to grow as a food source. Its properties make it easy to grow and harvest. Also, it has already established itself as a superfood and a good source of protein among the health conscious as well as the vegan consumer markets.
We’re still doing research on urban and algae farming, as well as the design and technical aspects of our project. I personally still wonder if we should design a personal algae growing unit or a community/building unit. Another important element that we are being mindful of is creating a closed loop system that can close the loop in food production, consumption and waste. For this, we are looking into using compost or other sources like gray water as the source of nutrients to grow Spirulina.