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6 years ago (7/15/06)
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So kickstarter is an ass. I've been busy with college, so I haven't posted on here directly, just lurking and enjoying the wonderful RT community and the for better or worse site updates.
Kickstarter is supposed to help people get funding for projects, after the company takes 5% of whatever gets funded, and they go through amazon. Amazon takes another percentage for their own profits. So I will not be using them. Also, they require a drivers license number, and I do not have one. Even at 20 years old, I do not have a license yet...
SO.
The plan was at the beginning of summer for me (June 6th) I would start work on building an aquaponics system. Aquaponics is a closed system of aquatic life (usually fish such as tilapia or perch) and plants- namely vegetables and some fruits. It would be on going so I could learn a few things; how to actually grow things, programming, and applying engineering skills to create the system.
I'll be building a small sized aquaponic set up in a garage. It will be my first foray into aquaponics, and farming in general. I would like to learn how to grow vegetables and plants, learn how dense the plants can grow together while still producing full fruit, and I would learn how to control and program robots.
My first phase will be building the basic aquaponic system, cycle the system and make sure the environmental factors are within tolerance so nothing dies.
Second phase I will build and program a micro computer to control the environment; ph of the water, temperatures, feeding the fish, a back up pump in case power goes out.
The last phase I wish to build and figure out how to program a robotic arm to pick fruit and vegetables automatically when they are ripe.
If I am able to complete this project I hope to:
Learn the best environment to produce the most aggressive, natural growth in a variety of fruits and vegetables (list of plants I wish to try growing below)
Create a closed system of growing produce to bring into large populated areas to inevitably bring down the price of produce to a few cents per pound (hopefully less than a quarter per pound if not less). The only long term cost of production will be the electric bill, which can be downsized with green tech.
Teach myself electronics and better management.
Vegetables I wish to grow; lettuce, choy, brocolli, carrots, potatoes, onion, peppers, rhubarb, celery, peas, eggplant, and cucumber.
Fruits; strawberries, mango, limes, bananas, pineapples, tomatoes, watermelon, sugarcane, and kiwi.
Seasonings; dill, parsley, basil, chives, garlic, ginger, sage, vanilla.
My Inspiration;
In high school psychology, we went over Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. (Physiological- breathing, food, shelter... Safety- security of body, employment, health... Love/ Belonging - family, friendship, intimacy... Esteem - confidence, achievement... Self- Actualization - morality, creativity, spontaneity, problem solving, lack of prejudice, acceptance of facts...)
I feel if we could solve the triangle, and give everyone access to everything at affordable prices, we can reach a utopian society. I wish to start the process from the bottom and work up- organic food for cents rather than dollars. Shelter for tens of dollars a month/ free rather than hundreds a month. Fresh water that's not over priced tap water. Established communities where everyone is appreciated. Education that promotes self actualization rather than regurgitating facts, and promotes a society of longing for enlightenment rather than power over others.
Being able to build a small system in a garage will be a very useful step towards my goal of feeding everyone for pennies.
Please, Donate. Every little helps my friends. After donating, the link to a tumblr should pop up, I'll be updating how it goes there first, then copy and paste it here if you guys want.
Also, my goal is about $3,000.00 large plastic containers and metal is not cheap surprisingly...
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