In Evje women’s prison in the southern part of Norway, inmates learn how to make mini hydroponics and aquaponics units. These are units where plants grow in water, with or without fish co-existing in the same system. The project is part of an international research project which focuses on aqua-agriculture.
Evje prison is a white wooden building surrounded by a green garden with a kitchen garden and a small greenhouse. The only way to tell that this is a prison is the high fence that encircles the building. Here, 30 women serve time in one open and one closed facility. The women in open facilities have more freedom and can leave their rooms and spend time in the garden as they prefer.
On a shelf in one of the classrooms, many small microgreen herbs are growing. Right next to the shelf there is a small white plastic tower with green plants grown in small openings all the way around. So far, the participants have learned about plant physics, fish biology, and nutrition. Now they are ready for the final part of the course, and the completion of a unit with both plants and fish.
“Today we will move on from drawing sketches to actually building the complete aquaponics unit. We call it the AquaBOXponi, because about it concerns how we can create optimal growing conditions in only one square meter,” explains Siv Lene Gangenes Skar to the participants. Gangenes Skar is a NIBIO-researcher and the project leader for the Norwegian part of the EU-project CITYFOOD, that focuses on sustainable urban food production and training.
“Food preparation is already an integrated part of the daily routines. The inmates do their own shopping and food preparation. NIBIOs contribution is to teach them how to grow their own food, in only one square meter,” says Asbjørn Espenes. He works in the prison and is responsible for the project from their side.
“Asbjørn is the driving force behind this project from the inside of the prison. To succeed with this, we really need an employee on the team, who understands what this is about and is motivated,” says Gangenes Skar with reference to their collaboration.
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