sites we love :: windowfarms.org

We recently came across this website and couldn’t get out to you guys quick enough. The good folks at windowfarms.org have shown us that even our own window frames yield hidden potential. Moving into a new decade, our attitude is all about being “solution based” – And this project has solutions growing all over it…

WINDOWFARMS.ORG
The Windowfarms project broaches both immediate urban agriculture goals as well as a far-sighted shift in attitudes toward the green revolution. We are both starting a windowfarming craze in cities worldwide and hoping to accelerate the pace of sustainable design by having ordinary citizens think of themselves as innovators.

The Project was started by artists Britta Riley and Rebecca Bray in February, 2009 through an artist’s residency at Eyebeam Art and Technology Center in New York and sponsorship by Submersible Design, Riley and Bray’s interactive design firm. Riley continues to drive the project at Eyebeam with a team of volunteers and the participation of hundreds of windowfarmers worldwide.

About This Video:
Window Farms is a project that helps people grow food in urban windows through crowdsourced research and development of DIY hydroponic vertical gardening.

Windowfarms: Growing Food Year-Round in Inner City Buildings

Researchers have argued that to grow some of his own food is the most effective action an individual can take for environment, not only because of the food industry’s heavy carbon footprint but also because participating in agricultural production cultivates a valuable skill set around sustainability issues.  Many neighborhoods (particularly low income ones) in cities aroun the world are considered food deserts, meaning little fresh food is easily accessible. Residents tend to consume processed, packaged, and canned food having depleated nutrients.

Few other projects provide opportunities for such direct personal involvement, make this productive use of existing construction, or so directly target urban dwellers estranged from agricultural issues.  Inner city dwellers can grow their own food in their apartment or office windows throughout the year by means of these elegant, inexpensive, vertical, hydroponic vegetable gardens made from recycled materials or items available at the local hardware store. The first system produced 25 plants and a salad a week in mid winter in a dimly lit 4’ x 6’ NYC window.

For more info: WINDOWFARMS.ORG

This entry was posted on Thursday, January 7th, 2010 at 4:10 PM and is filed under FWL BLOG and tagged with art, DIY, edible, environment, farm, food, friends we love, garden, grow, hydroponics, installation, love, NYC, ORG, project, r&d, science, vertical gardening, WINDOWFARMS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.