Overview

From learning about hydroponic growing in our agriculture course to building our own NFT channels, our Intro to AgTech Cohort 7 participants gained hands-on experience in designing efficient, sustainable systems for cultivating food. To wrap up our construction skills training with the Soulful Synergy team, we challenged our Intro to AgTech Cohort 7 participants to build out these aeroponic and drip irrigation channels for our central farm site. Despite some challenges with the heat gun that slowed us down on the drip towers, our participants still managed to prep the majority of the aeroponic channels for our central farm site to support our community food relief efforts.

Impact

• 5 Participants Trained in Carpentry/ Construction skills

• 5 Aeroponic channels built

Our Partners

• Soulful Synergy

• El Coqui Community Garden

Overview

Our 7th Cohort of Intro to AgTech obtained carpentry skills from our friends at Soulful Synergy and then, used these skills to complete a carpentry project for El Coqui Community Garden! After gaining their site safety, hand tool/power tool basic training and learning how to measure and cut lumber by hand and with power saws, they worked collaboratively with the Soulful Synergy team to build a much-needed bench (at no cost) for the community stewards of El Coqui Garden—as per their request. These small furnishings will, not only, help members gather more comfortably in the garden but also serve as quality training time for our Intro to AgTech job trainees.

Impact

• 1 Bench built

• 8 Participants trained

Our Partners

• Soulful Synergy

• El Coqui Community Garden

Overview

Our 10x10 ft greenhouse at El Coqui Community Garden needed a new home and found one at PS 328, where Principal Pierre has made tremendous milestones with food relief efforts and hydroponics systems training for his elementary school students. Our Intro to AgTech Cohort 6 students joined us at El Coqui to break down the greenhouse and helped us rebuild it at PS 328’s courtyard to support their hydroponics efforts.

Special Thanks to

• Soulful Synergy for helping us break down and rebuild this greenhouse!

• Principal Pierre for giving us access to their courtyard to relaunch this farm

Overview

Our first rooftop garden build was also our last build for Intro to AgTech Cohort 6! We were asked by a Brooklyn resident for help ideating the perfect rooftop farm system to grow cucumber and leafy greens year-round. They needed it to be easy to maintain, provide vining crop support, and be aesthetically pleasing - for under $1000. Our team got to work assessing the site and creating a proposal that met all her parameters. Alongside our Cohort 6 job trainees and team members, we were able to build out a small greenhouse structure with a tower garden and trellising in one day!

Impact

• 1 Tower Farm and Greenhouse built

Special Thanks to

• Stephanie Birmingham of NYCETC for joining us to feature our organization and interview our job trainees

• Cecilia & Hugo for inviting us to design and build a farm solution for their rooftop garden.

Overview

Our AgTech 101 program included 2D/3D design work for farm systems, strawberry DNA extraction, entrepreneurship, farm maintenance fundamentals, even working with drones! Our participants applied their skills as they built out and maintained 2 Gardyn tech systems for their classroom which have become a reliable resource for fresh produce for students and staff at HSMC.

Impact

• 45 Participants trained

• 2 Farm Systems for Food Relief Built

• 4 Job Placements

Special Thanks to

• Principal Russo - for her continued support of our programs, team, and organization!

• Ms.Tabrizi - for supporting us as we integrated new training modules, allowing us to introduce DNA extraction & entrepreneurship modules for the future business owners at HSMC!

Overview

We transformed a 12 by 10 concrete backyard patch at our central grow site in NYC into a full-blown pollinator garden! We placed styrofoam boards with a thick layer of soil, followed by mycorrhizal fungi, and then seeded with wildflowers and microclover. This pollinator patch helped foster local bee and butterfly populations to the site, increased the biodiversity of the area, and beautified our site. It required incredibly minimal watering and care but was an immense success. And given our limited experience with soil-based farms, we were really excited to see this project through!

Learn More

Overview

In 2018, our Founder took part in a travel abroad experience to Kenya & Tanzania. She spent a month immersing herself in Kenyan culture, volunteering and training for an expedition up Mount Kilimanjaro. The experience was created with the intention of helping youth achieve their personal and professional goals by challenging them physically, mentally, and environmentally. During the trip, she bonded with one of her program peers, Jane Muthoni, a farmer from Kenya who overcame countless challenges. After connecting about farming and hydroponics, Jane expressed that she would want to get into hydroponic farming. Our Founder made a promise then to return to Kenya with the resources to launch a hydroponic farm that Jane could run, employ herself through, and educate locals on hydroponic farming practices. In 2021, we launched our crowdfunding campaign through IFundWomen to support the material and staffing costs to launch this farm system. In 2023, the development of the farm site was completed at Kwa Njenga Primary School in Nairobi where it will support the nutrition of 2400 students, employ Jane as the head grower and trainer for students, and serve as a pilot for school-based sustainable farms.

Challenges

• Coordinating with stakeholders abroad

• Unclear budgetary needs throughout the process

• Civil unrest halted the project at points

• Displacement of Head Grower’s home

• Determining location

• Pivoting from an Apprenticeship Abroad to a Farm Build facilitated remotely

Impact

• 1300 plant sites capable of producing 13,000 plants annually (primarily spinach, kale/sukuma wiki)

• 2400 students will receive supplemental nutrition for their school lunches which consist of maize and beans

• 2400 students and several staff members will receive training on hydroponic farm maintenance

• Jane Muthoni to receive gainful employment for at least 10 months as Head Grower

• 100% Solar Powered

• 100% Rain-water supplied

• Economic development benefits by purchasing services and materials from local Kenyan vendors only

• 0% cost to the school for implementation

Takeaways

• Partners on the ground are critical

• Security issues are key concerns and need to be included into budget

• Non-GMO crops was the greatest concern for parents

• Local vendors and materials is a must, shipping costs would have doubled the material costs

• Starting smaller and expanding is far more effective than larger builds to pilot

Partners

• Vertical Gardens Ltd.

• Kwa Njenga Primary School

Special Thanks to

• Steve Kasoa - Our Project Coordinator in Nairobi who spent his free time coordinating all the vendors, vetting the sites, gathering quotes, assessing risks, and coming up with solutions to ensure this project’s success.

• Jane Muthoni - Our Head Grower who persisted through challenge after challenge over the years while we worked to keep our promise. For being a pillar of strength and for inspiring our team to keep pushing, thank you.

Overview

Drive Change NYC invited Change Food for Good to host a workshop on hydroponics and sustainability fundamentals. The participants of their culinary workforce training program got to learn the basics of sustainable design, soil-less farming, and create their own mason jar kratky hydroponic kits to grow herbs at home!

Impact

• 10 Participants

• 10 Home Farm Kits

Partners

• Drive Change NYC

Special Thanks to

• Mandy Mei - Our Intro to AgTech Cohort 1 alum for joining us to assist with our workshop for the day!

Overview

Our AgTech 101 program included 2D/3D design work for farm systems, sustainable design principles, farm maintenance fundamentals, even working with drones! Our participants applied their skills as they built out and maintained 2 Gardyn tech systems for their classroom which have become a reliable resource for fresh produce for students and staff at HSMC.

Impact

• 30 Participants trained

• 2 Farm Systems for Food Relief Built

• 1 Job Placement

Special Thanks to

• Principal Russo - for her continued support of our programs, team, and organization!

• Ms.Paula - for making the farm development and maintenance process smooth and easy

Overview

Led by our Intro to AgTech Cohort 2 alumnus (Lucero & Will), our AgTech 101 program included 2D/3D design work for farm systems, sustainable design principles, farm maintenance fundamentals, and DIY farm builds/maintenance! Our participants applied their skills as they built out and maintained 2 DIY Farm systems (microgreens and leafy greens) as well as an Aerogarden mini farm to support the school’s food relief efforts. One participant was subsequently selected for a paid internship to support the farms.

Impact

• 15 Participants trained

• 3 Farm Systems for Food Relief Built

• 3 Job Placements

Special Thanks to

• Dr. Johnson - for investing in our training

• Lucero & Will - for leading the design and development of these systems

• The Soulful Synergy team for volunteering their carpentry skills to make tweaks to the farm

• Steven Jeanty - for donating the Aerogarden mini farm

Overview

Isaac joined us as a participant of Cohort 2 of Intro to AgTech. He was quick to dedicate his final project farm design to his grandfather in Mexico, where he could address the concerns with water scarcity, and the needs his grandfather had with mobility and increase the locals’ awareness of soil-less farm systems. With these goals in mind, he created a small-scale Kratky system concept that would be able to be affordably replicated, whose materials could be sourced locally, and would require minimal maintenance. He also had to account for potential pest issues by enclosing the system in chicken wire and mosquito netting to ensure that the crops weren’t interfered with, as well as, prevent seeds or debris from landing in or on the system. Given his thorough design and ideation process, we agreed that the best use of a portion of his internship scope would be to go out to Mexico to bring his farm concept to life and generate a detailed report of his project that could enable others to replicate his process. We asked that he include a data-informed approach to managing his farm, gathering metrics along the way, and assessing areas of improvement for the future. Despite countless challenges, Isaac was able to bring his idea to life and published a 20-page report that helped him secure gainful employment after this internship ended.

Challenges

• Local materials sourcing for some parts can be challenges

• DIY Pest Management using physical structures rather than chemical

• Farm system had to be somewhat elevated to limit bending down motion for maintenance

• Consistent water access was difficult given the local water infrastructure

Impact

• 1 Internship Job Placement

• 1 Full-time Job Placement

• 1 Farm System Build

Special Thanks to

• Upward Farms

Learn More

Overview

We were invited by Mary Mitchell Family Center’s Food Justice Club to conduct a workshop series and develop a hydroponic farm system to support their food relief and sustainable farming efforts. We donated one Aerogarden System and worked with their team to provide workshops on maintaining the systems and share the fundamentals of soil-less farming.

Impact

• 1 Farm System Build

• 15 Participants

• 1 Internship Job Placement

Special Thanks to

• Mary Mitchell Family Center - for becoming a farm and workshop host site

• Steven Jeanty - for donating the Aerogarden mini farm

Overview

Our first in-person cohort of Intro to AgTech centered around the development of a large scale DWC system at El Coqui Community Garden. We came together to bring a DIY farm set up to life that would grow year-round produce for food relief in the Bronx. In just one build day session, we completed the 10x10ft greenhouse build. After about 4 build days, we created 2 sturdy stands for our DWC grow trays and connected the reservoirs to them. We closed out our 2 job training cohorts with clean up and set up of our greenhouse for our graduation ceremony.

Challenges

• No Running Water Access

• Solar Panel Materials Stolen, Damaged or Needed Replacement

• No Alternative Consistent Electrical Source

• No Internet Access Point

Impact

• 4 Internship Job Placements

• 90% Job Placement Post Program

• 1 Farm System Build

Features:

• Bronxnet Program Launch

• Bronxnet Graduation Ceremony

Overview

Our Intro to AgTech Cohort 2 participants were joined by one of our Cohort 1 alums and volunteers to help build a 26-ft greenhouse for Oko Farm’s new site in Brooklyn. It was one of our first in-person days since the start of the pandemic and we had an amazing time assembling this heavy-duty greenhouse system that still stands today.

Impact

• 1 Greenhouse Build

Partners

• Oko Farms

Overview

We resumed our AgTech 101 programming for the first time since the start of the pandemic in 2021, thanks to a partnership with Arete Education Inc. in the Bronx. We arranged to facilitate the class 100% virtually and equip each participant with a hydroponic mini farm kit and guide them through proper soil-less farm design for their own food security goals.

Impact

• 2 Job Placements

• 40 Mini Farm Kits

• 40 Participants

Overview

We were invited by the folks at Synergi Urban Garden 2.0 to help reconstruct the aquaponic farm system that was initially intended to be housed in the greenhouse structure. So, for our pilot cohort of Intro to AgTech, we enlisted the help of our newest training partner, Soulful Synergy, to develop brand-new stands for the hydroponic NFT channels. We cut new lumber, went over site safety, and managed to construct the stands. Later, we returned and assembled the NFT system that the stands would hold, in anticipation of the underground gorge for fish to be refilled by the garden managers.

Partners

• Soulful Synergy

• Synergi Urban Garden/Greenfen

Impact

• 2 NFT Farm Systems

• 10 Participants

Overview

Our pilot cohort of AgTech 101 ended off with an office space farm system built in the Bronx at The Knowledge House’s new headquarters! The aquaponics system was our first mini farm build for our trainees and was quickly followed up by our Intro to AgTech pilot cohort with a secondary hydroponic farm build.

Impact

• 2 NFT Farm Systems

• 25 Participants

Features

• News 12 Bronx