Students aim to make growing food easier

STUDENTS have launched a new project to encourage residents to grow their food indoors.

The Hectar project aims to remind people of ways to grow their food locally without the help of smart gardening products.

Wokingham-based Felix Wieberneit and Simone Suresh have designed a hydroponic vertical farm which is free for residents in the borough to access online.

The pair hope that with the support of the community, their project will educate people about their way of growing food in an easy, accessible way.

The Hectar hydroponics unit can grow up to 120 plants in a space the size of a cupboard.

The design of the unit means it can be built using standard parts from local hardware stores.

Simone, co-founder of the Hectar project, said: “I was one of the many people who started taking up gardening last year as a result of having to find new homebound hobbies.

“Come winter I didn't want to stop so I urged Felix to help me move the operation indoors.”

Inspired by successful open source companies in electronics and 3D printing,

Hectar was set up for the students to

ULTIMATE HOME-GROWN: Felix Wieberneit and Simone Suresh have designed a vertical farm system

share their knowledge with others.

Co-founder of the project Felix said: “Through the Hectar project we are trying to nurture the next generation of local growers by being open source about our learning.

“We are determined to present hydroponics technology in an accessible and honest way that doesn't hide behind complicated technology jargon and subscription models.”

Teachers, makers and designers from the Reading Hackspace have shown their interest in building the unit themselves.

Felix and Simone hosted a pre-launch

event on Monday evening last week to present their new unit to people who are interested in testing it out.

Over the coming months, the beta testers will be helping them develop and improve the design of the unit to make the project successful.

After being selected as one of 25 companies to be part of the Imperial College venture catalyst accelerator programme, Felix and Simone want local’s help to support their project.