Anastatica

Kayla C, Carter M, Menchu S.F.

(Ah-na-stah-tih-ka)
Over 23 million people live in a community without access to healthy and
nutritious foods. We call these communities Food Deserts, which are urban
areas where it is hard to access healthy food. Fast food chains often
dominate food deserts, which makes these communities more likely to
develop health problems such as obesity and heart disease. These areas are
also areas that have high rates of poverty, so it is often not an option to just
travel to the closest grocery store.
Our teams solution to this problem is growing food locally, or even better, at
home. Our innovation, Anastatica, is an at-home growing pod which helps
preserve water and maximize space. The innovation mimics the Jericho rose,
South American grass cutting ants, and bromeliads. We took the process of
closing to preserve water and opening when the plants have a sufficient
water supply from the Jericho rose, the thatched material to help insulate
heat from the ants and their nests, and the ecosystem cooperation in the
form of vertical farming from the bromeliads. The pod is shaped like an egg
when closed, and like a flower when open.
It has three petals made of a thatched netting material so heat can easily
flow throughout to prevent killing the plants inside. The amount of water that
pools at the bottom of the pod determines whether or not the petals are
opened or closed. The petals hold their structure with tubing which helps
distribute water in the form of mist when connected to a kitchen sink. Inside
you will find room to easily plant seeds vertically instead of horizontally to
help maximize space. The plants cooperate together inside by recycling
water. The water drips down from each planter to help recycle water that
was not absorbed by the last, pooling into the bottom for easy removal in the
base of the pod. The only thing the user would need to do is plant the seeds
and hook the pod up to a sink. From there, water will collect and the pod will
remind you when it needs water. Our innovation is important in terms of
helping people in an area where they do not have time or money to access
healthy foods. Our innovation was designed to help them and help end the
food desert epidemic.