So earlier this week when I was browsing CNN on my phone I saw an ad in between the news panels and it was super interesting because it was similar to a blog I wrote about in the past. It was titled Freight Farms. I decided to do a bit of research.
Hydroponics and Vertical Farming
I previously wrote about aquaponics; what is was and how it worked, and how easy it is for just about anyone really interested to get into. Freight Farms is pretty much the same, albeit, they’re focused on hydroponics and not aquaponics. When I clicked on the link I was taken to their website which gave me a rundown on what their goal was.
They are a company with the vision to “empower anyone to grow food anywhere.” They gave a short list of reasons why you should be interested in becoming a farmer.
- To produce locally grown food for your community
- To help students learn and grow with a school farm
- To grow your own produce to use personally or for a restaurant etc.
What They Offer
They provide freight containers which can be modified to an individual’s specific needs, to be used as hydroponic farms, which provide a host of benefits over traditional farming. Planting and harvesting can be done 365 days a year, regardless of climate due to their contained space (pun intended) and climate control technology. They use up to 99% less water than traditional farming. Their systems are automated, which can cut down on labor hours. Only 25 hours of work per week is required for optimum productivity. Don’t quote on this here, please. I’m only going by what they mentioned on the site. What’s more, the overall size for the container is 40 feet by 8 feet, which is ideal for persons who don’t have a lot of space to work with.
If it is that you’re interested and have the necessary funds and space to start up, but don’t have the know-how, then they also offer training to get you off to the best start. I don’t have all the details on what the training includes, but they seem prepared to help you from the ground up.
To testify as to what they can do, they have images posted on the different locations they have set up around the world. From Canada and Alaska to the Bahamas and Egypt.
They provided a form for interested parties to fill out and submit. From what I saw, I have to admit that I was pretty tempted to sign up, but I held my hand. Not that I didn’t want to, but I lack the adequate land and funds to jump into that venture. (I still have plans in the making).
I will definitely be following up on this company. I don’t know if many in the Caribbean know about them, but it would be a great aid to assisting our local farmers and economy. I’ll be leaving a link to their page down below for you all to check out. Let me know what you think. Is this viable?
