Active learning on sustainable agro-food production

Youth in the middle east have little awareness about environmental challenges. We want to provide schools with green-living technical systems and introduce Aquaponics inside of them. This ideal platform allow active learning while witnessing the creation of a productive living ecosystem as a model for sustainable and healthy food production.

In Lebanon, traditional agriculture don’t provide a sustainable model for several reasons : water availability and quality are two very limiting factors for growing food. Getting soil suitable for agriculture requires a lot of human and animal involvement especially when it is filled with arsenic and heavy metals. Traditional agriculture uses manufactured chemical and synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides causig significant pollution in the process in addition to the carbon foot print caused by long distance transportation of our food. Aquaponics is an agricultural technique which combines the best aspects of aquaculture (fish farming) and hydroponics (soil-less farming). The system uses fertilized water from farmed fish to supply nutrients for plants grown hydroponically, which in turn purify the water that is circulated. Aquaponics requires significantly less water by recirculating it through the fish and plant system : less than 10% of the water used in traditional agriculture is needed. Aquaponics provides the plant everything it needs, nutrients, oxygen and water in perfect combination and totally sustainable. So plant roots in aquaponics don’t have to bore through the soil to find what it needs and can spend all of its energy growing up into edible plant material without chemicals use. Green Matter set upaquaponics inside schools. Having two living systems producing symbiotically and train educators on experiental learning. We implement a very interesting system for scientific learning, exploration, and research while providing a local supply of healthy safe vegetables and fish with minimal impact on the environment and natural resources.

In Lebanon, traditional agriculture don’t provide a sustainable model for several reasons : water availability and quality are two very limiting factors for growing food. Getting soil suitable for agriculture requires a lot of human and animal involvement especially when it is filled with arsenic and heavy metals. Traditional agriculture uses manufactured chemical and synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides causig significant pollution in the process in addition to the carbon foot print caused by long distance transportation of our food. 

Lebanon is facing many social and environmental challenges. We believe in the urgent need of involving lebanese young citizens in those challenges and help them become critical thinkers. Students need to acquire a conscience enabling them to understand, value, and share the principles of solidarity, nature respect, and responsibility. implementing green solutions in schools allow students to understand the concepts of sustainability and engage all of them in innovative projects. We beleive young people have power to be the change for sustainability that our world needs by engaging them in action-orientated and socially responsible learning. 

We are considering a pilot system strategically located between three universities in the rural hub of Lebanon- The Bekaa Valley: the Lebanese University, the Beirut Arab University, and the Saint Joseph University. The farming operation is accompanied by educational services designed and provided by SBi for theoretical and practical training targeting the educators and students. This will ensure their participation in business and scientific assessments and their integration into the productive system. We are also planning to install a much smaller system (50 to 100 m2) in a private school in Beirut purely for education and demonstration purpose.

300 institutions installed our aquaponics systems and integrated modules into curricula - 300 systems sold with active learning modules initiated

Track tons of fish and lettuce produced and consumed - Systems producing fish and lettuce

Track reporting through app use linked to system - 260,000 students, teachers, and vulnerable community beneficiaries are learning sciences and business interactively using aquaponics

We will introduce green living systems that introduce science and technology to the educational curriculum through active learning sessions that are Scalable, Modular, Productive

We will start with aquaponics as it produces healthy clean food, filled with science and business, can understand ecology and agriculture alike, is therapeutic (green and watery space in harsh environments).

We will engage students in designing, maintaining and continuously learning through application reporting and feedback mechanism. These technologies, our curricula, and our business model will be tailored for all sorts of communities and ages as needed.

We will target

•Mainly education communities wherever they are found(schools, universities, refugee camps or gatherings, prisons)

•We will start by considering 238 public schools in Lebanon that provide refugees with afternoon « second shift » of formal education.

We aim to pilot in one school / university the first year and cover 10  more schools / educational institutions by the second year, and 20 more schools / educational institution by third year.

We can provide both low-end products and small scale to high end products at large scale depending on customer ability or needs.

Ex: FAO developed a 800 $ aquaponics systems that is robust. has proven track-record and produces 30 Kg. fish, 50 Kg tomatoes, 350 heads of lettuce / Year

Winning 20 K USD from Unicef / Elevate business incubation competition.

- Lack of follow-up and maintenance from educational institution

- Lack of support funds to start in vulnerable communities

- Lack of funds for continuity and maintenance

- Change in external conditions (sudden weather fluxes, new disease..) that would disrupt the ecological balances of our systems

http://www.fao.org/3/a-i4021e/i4021e00.pdf

- Networking support

- Funding support

Difaf s.a.l is an environmental consultancy company that can provide the technologies (www.difaf.org)

Social Brain Institute is an NGO that can provide active learning modules

We know of virtually no institutions in the region providing the solution as presented.