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Startup Puts Everything You Need for a Two-Acre Farm in a Shipping Container

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Re: Startup Puts Everything You Need for a Two-Acre Farm in a Shipping Container

#251

Post by randomdata »

kelvin0 wrote: post #71

There really are different 'cliques' on HN, depending on which subject is posted. And this one seems to be the 'not so positive' clique. If framework is bench marked, or if people create a great CSS suite and animations, you get (mostly) constructive criticism. A company is actually doing something about bigger issues which could positively affect the lives of many people in a sustainable way ... and we get this. I'm…

> It might introduce people who never though of farming

Who hasn't thought of farming at some point? As a farmer myself, all I see is people falling over each other for a chance to do it.

The problem is that by the properties of supply and demand, that intense interest results in high costs and small profits, so in the end only a relative few can make it work.

Re: Startup Puts Everything You Need for a Two-Acre Farm in a Shipping Container

#252

Post by phire »

roymurdock wrote: post #164
CodeSheikh wrote: post #92

$60,000 seems like a lot of amount for starving and underdeveloped areas. I went to their funding page and read more about what's inside the "box" https://republic.co/farm-from-a-box 1: micro-drip irrigation system 2: 3kW solar power 3: Pumping System 4: IOT setup 5: Energy management 6: Basic farm tools As of 2016, average cost of solar power is approximately $3.00 per watt so ~ $9K. I have installed a decent sized…

I worked on a project to create affordable, electric vegetable graters for rural farmers in Ghana [1]. For comparison, the price point of our grater was $150USD and was still seen as too expensive by a substantial portion of our customers, some of whom opted to purchase the graters on an installment basis (3 x $50 every 6 months as our group traveled to Ghana bi-annually). The main problems our rural customers faced…

I've seen brick by brick construction before in peruvian shantytowns, but they lived in the houses the entire time.

They would start with bamboo stakes, woven bamboo mats and sheets of black PVC plastic to construct temporary walls and and claim squatting rights on the land. Then they would slowly buy bricks and stack them up to supplement the walls.

Eventually they would buy cement to construct proper walls and proper roofing materials (the black PVC sheeting was used as a roof until then)

In the long term, they might repeat the process and start on a second story.

Re: Startup Puts Everything You Need for a Two-Acre Farm in a Shipping Container

#253

Post by lawless123 »

dvh wrote: post #244
irrational wrote: post #203

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I drip irrigated my entire yard (only about a quarter of an acre, so, quite small). I just used the drip irrigation stuff at home depot. Its fairly inexpensive and once you start working with it you figure out pretty quickly how it all the parts work together. I just looked at the companies website to figure out what I needed to get started.

Doesn't limescale eventually kill drip irrigation system?

Could you throw a calgon into it? :)

Re: Startup Puts Everything You Need for a Two-Acre Farm in a Shipping Container

#254

Post by jdowner »

nnain wrote: post #239
jdowner wrote: post #207

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Right, the governing body can make an exception for a particular private road. And in that case, you would be able to apply for a building permit. There are also provisions for exceptions in RSA 674:41 that would cause excessive hardship or practical difficulties. So it seems that the law has been made so that a local governing body has the discretion to made a pragmatic decision. However, this all assumes that the l…

Why are you guys talking about building policies in US, when this project is supposedly for under-developed countries?

I guess the first reason is that I was providing an answer to question about why would you want to use a container. My answer comes from personal experience in New Hampshire. I mention New Hampshire specifically because I do not know how general that situation for the rest of the US or other countries. However, it seems reasonable that they may be equivalent restrictions in other place, thus providing a reason for why a container may be desirable.

Secondly, the project is not being marketed for specifically for under-developed countries. In the linked article they do mention their experience in Kenya and that one of their target markets are governments to support development projects or refugee camps. But they also state that they are targeting individuals in the US. Also their website makes it clear that under-developed countries are not the major focus.

Re: Startup Puts Everything You Need for a Two-Acre Farm in a Shipping Container

#255

Post by kriro »

CodeSheikh wrote: post #92

$60,000 seems like a lot of amount for starving and underdeveloped areas. I went to their funding page and read more about what's inside the "box" https://republic.co/farm-from-a-box 1: micro-drip irrigation system 2: 3kW solar power 3: Pumping System 4: IOT setup 5: Energy management 6: Basic farm tools As of 2016, average cost of solar power is approximately $3.00 per watt so ~ $9K. I have installed a decent sized…

I think this is targeting a different part of the "supply chain". Not the people that will directly use it (African farmer) but rather the people that will donate it to the endusers (NGOs).

So this is basically enterprise sales. "Turnkey solution". Sure it could be assembled cheaper but it's also a lot easier to fundraise for such a turnkey solution because it's easier to imagine a shipping container that turns into a farm. Your donation will go to one of these boxes which we'll set up in this African neighborhood...etc.

Re: Startup Puts Everything You Need for a Two-Acre Farm in a Shipping Container

#256

Post by azernik »

danielbarla wrote: post #238
azernik wrote: post #237

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You mentioned communal access to capital equipment - what was the organizational structure that acquired/owned this equipment? And how was this organisation run and to whom was it accountable?

Not OP, but thought this link to Hungary's attempts at collective farming might be relevant [1]. Being Hungarian, I've heard many anecdotal stories lamenting the abolishment of that system, to the detriment of small land owners. (In general, in the post-socialist economy, nothing seems to have taken its place, leading to obvious problems of scale and access to equipment.) The last sentence in the article is quite sho…

Oh yeah - I'm Israeli, so I know what a well-known run agricultural collective can do (in the kibbutz as well as the "lite" version, the moshava). I'm more curious to know what the equivalent structure is in Ghana, and why it has such trouble managing equipment. This has been done before, they're just not doing it well.

Re: Startup Puts Everything You Need for a Two-Acre Farm in a Shipping Container

#257

Post by almonj »

These people don't actually make anything, they just buy a bunch of items and resell them as a package, it has to be overpriced for them to make any money. It seems like a really dumb idea for a business, anyone with any sense would just do their own research and buy what they need themselves. Notice they specifically want to work with governments, which typically means creating elaborate lying games in order to get access to stolen money.

Re: Startup Puts Everything You Need for a Two-Acre Farm in a Shipping Container

#258

Post by VLM »

maxerickson wrote: post #185
VLM wrote: post #166

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're more than self sufficient you're of inherent value to your self sufficient rural neighbors and can expect a long happy life. If you have $5K of easily movable commodity dollars, gold, pasta, in your basement, you're of value in another way, and you're probably not going to like that outcome.

So hard. If we end up in a world where neighbors are shooting neighbors for pasta I hope someone gets me quick. I guess I'll make at least 1 tasty meal, even for a big band of brigands. The post I initially responded to wasn't about self sufficiency, it was about buying it in a box and making it work in 1 season. I replied about the making it work in 1 season not being a particularly likely thing. Hence buying an eas…

I guess I was looking at it from a long term community perspective rather than just brutality.

If in the long run you're a net positive to the neighbors you'll be "in" and life will be very good. Everyone loves the village blacksmith or brewer or fellow farmer or whatever.

On the other hand if you don't bring something to the table or just have a shopping bag of temporary loot then life will be much harder without the community.

Re: Startup Puts Everything You Need for a Two-Acre Farm in a Shipping Container

#259

Post by amorphid »

ci5er wrote: post #224
amorphid wrote: post #98

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For fun, I was looking at cheap (compared to San Francisco) land with no infrastructure in Wyoming. 1 acre of land, $10K USD. Drilling a water well that might work, $5K to $30K.

The soil here (in much of the state) is fairly good, but the growing season is pathetically short. Assuming you're on the plains and get a full day of sun. (If not, it's even shorter). But, on the plains, then you've got more wind than you want to deal with. So - why Wyoming? Why don't you go some place with milder weather that isn't a desert like Kansas or Arkansas?

I was just poking around the Internet for the cheapest land I could find. I didn't look for a super long time. I think land below a certain price doesn't stand out because there's little incentive to promote it, so you have to hunt for better prices.

Re: Startup Puts Everything You Need for a Two-Acre Farm in a Shipping Container

#260

Post by maxerickson »

VLM wrote: post #258
maxerickson wrote: post #185

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So hard. If we end up in a world where neighbors are shooting neighbors for pasta I hope someone gets me quick. I guess I'll make at least 1 tasty meal, even for a big band of brigands. The post I initially responded to wasn't about self sufficiency, it was about buying it in a box and making it work in 1 season. I replied about the making it work in 1 season not being a particularly likely thing. Hence buying an eas…

I guess I was looking at it from a long term community perspective rather than just brutality. If in the long run you're a net positive to the neighbors you'll be "in" and life will be very good. Everyone loves the village blacksmith or brewer or fellow farmer or whatever. On the other hand if you don't bring something to the table or just have a shopping bag of temporary loot then life will be much harder without th…

You think the $50,000 kit is relevant in that perspective?

Or is it something like 10 years of practice that is relevant?

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