This project was aimed at researching and developing a low cost, sustainable, scalable agricultural product or system. This can be powered or non powered, soil based or non soil based, passive or active. The outcome could be suited to grow organic and non-organic produce.

This project will also run as a community engagement with Siyakhana gardens in Bezuidenhout Valley.

From the get-go I decided on going with hydroponics. so I did research on what existed, what has been done and also what sustainability is in its 3 leaves.

After I did the research I did some ideation of possible solutions that ranged from modular wall growing units, to indoor greenhouses, even the measuring of the nutrients was considered.

After some ideation of possible products that can be made, that fits most of the criteria. I thought of how the water would be in a hydroponic system would be transported and measured for nutrients. Since growing with hydroponics was faster than soil I was concerned with areas where water was scarce and/or far away.

Most water was being transported by using massive strong pumps that were expensive and difficult to maintain and required electricity that rural areas don't have access to. I then looked at what low cost, off-the-grid pumps were available to transport water and I found a ram pump which only used water pressure and kinetic energy of water to pump water higher than the source it came from.

And so I built my own...

Here is how I did my research and also some of my findings.

These are some videos that were taken to show how the ram pump was built.

For my inlet pipe I used a hosepipe (garden hose) since it was the biggest diameter pipe I had at home. When the pump started to pump the hosepipe moved and felt like a vein that was powered by a heart beat. #MechanicalHeart

When I tried to explain the idea of how a ram pump works was difficult, so I made a 2 posters of how a ram pump works and how it is assembled.

The idea of how this can be incorporated is by having the ram pump pump water to a larger tank that can then be taped from for drip irrigation or pumping water to another system. It is versatile enough to also be implemented directly into a growing wall or be used in a urban environment to provide residents with water to use.

What I have learned from this project was how to make and possibly implement a ram pup system to farms and rural areas. I also learned about the various ways of growing plants along with the advantages and disadvantages thereof.

5th Feb 2020 
 https://www.google.com/url?sa=i&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.alibaba.com%2Fproduct-detail%2FFlat-Pack-Greenhouse_60621056036.html&psig=AOvVaw0uMhSM6Yop7ZKhmwup4te9&ust=1580935249548000&source=images&cd=vfe&ved=0CAIQjRxqFwoTCOCct_PguOcCFQAAAAAdAAAAABAJ
    https://www.sustainablewaters.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/irrigation-in-imperial-irrigation-district.jpg
    https://c8.alamy.com/comp/X95BAG/cabbage-lettuces-growing-in-hydroponic-glasshouse-hertfordshire-X95BAG.jpg
    https://sc02.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1UjWuX0fvK1RjSspoq6zfNpXaX/Livestock-Hydroponics-Fodder-Growing-System.jpg