Find Your Therapy in Home Farming and Consuming Your Own Produce

In today’s fast-paced world, where life is often synonymous with perpetual motion, the desire to reconnect with nature and savor the fruits of one’s labor is stronger than ever. The concept of home farming, often romanticized for its therapeutic qualities and the satisfaction of producing your food, appeals to many. However, the hurdles of time and resources have long kept this dream at bay for most. But with Regrow, a groundbreaking innovation, the dream of home farming has been brought closer to reality.

Designer: Haneul kim (Designer dot)

Regrow offers a revolutionary experience for those who are intrigued by the idea of home farming but find it challenging to manage the daily responsibilities and investments it typically demands. This innovative system automatically transforms food scraps into fertile soil and showcases your bountiful crops, all while providing a rewarding, environmentally friendly hobby.

In a society where people yearn for the soothing embrace of home farming, the daily grind often obstructs their path. The daily chores of tending to plants, adjusting soil, and monitoring water levels according to the seasons can be burdensome. It’s no wonder that around 60% of those who initially embark on the journey of home farming give up, with the top two reasons being difficulty managing time and the cost of supplies.

Regrow, recognizing the unique place it occupies in the kitchen, draws inspiration from various kitchen appliances. It brings a new dimension to the concept of home farming. With Regrow, users no longer have to fret over the time constraints of home farming in their busy lives. Instead, they can efficiently care for their plants with an array of features designed for convenient operation.

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The soil used for cultivating edible plants is primarily recycled compost from food processors. The snug fit of the lid and body keeps unwanted odors from escaping, while the powerful rotation function effectively processes various food scraps. This synergy of recycling and sustainability sets Regrow apart.

Regrow is designed to be user-friendly with just five simple buttons. Users can schedule tasks via the dedicated mobile application for quick use or even operate it remotely. The glass door on the front can be easily opened for harvesting edible plants, making the whole process incredibly convenient.

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One of Regrow’s unique features is its hole bottoms, which facilitate the flow of soil and compost. The compost generated by the top food processor automatically moves to the bottom through a rotary grinder. If users prefer to use water instead of compost, they can open the top lid to add water. This combination of features ensures that users can effortlessly maintain their edible plants, promoting their health and sustainability with minimal effort.

Regrow incorporates a bottom LED bar that provides users with invaluable insights into the needs of their edible plants. It changes color to indicate when watering is required, when soil adjustments are necessary when it’s time to clean food waste, or when the system is circulating. This intuitive feedback mechanism ensures that users can take timely and appropriate actions to ensure their plants thrive, enhancing the overall home farming experience.

In conclusion, Regrow offers an all-in-one solution to the common barriers of home farming, making it accessible and enjoyable for everyone. With its innovative technology, sustainable practices, and user-friendly design, it not only simplifies the process of home farming but also promotes a greener, more self-sufficient lifestyle. Regrow brings the joy and fulfillment of home farming within the reach of all, revolutionizing the way we connect with the earth and harvest the goodness it provides.

The post Find Your Therapy in Home Farming and Consuming Your Own Produce first appeared on Yanko Design.

This prefab traditional farmhouse finds a contemporary twist with energy-efficient building practices

Friends Lab House is a prefabricated, single-story barn-style residence located in the grassy fields of a family-run farm in Hampshire, England.

On the hunt for a home to share with friends and family while spending time on their farm in the English countryside, a young couple looked to AMPS Arquitectura & Diseño to design and build a sustainable, single-story farmhouse. When it comes to sustainability, AMPS architects consider it a top priority.

Designers: AMPS Arquitectura & Diseño

The young couple who reached out to AMPS found that they were on the same page in that regard, leading to a match made in barn-style heaven. Dubbed Friends Lab House, the traditional single-story farmhouse reveals a contemporary flair through energy-efficient principles and artisan details.

Especially true in the wide-open countryside of Hampshire, England, new architecture must blend into its surroundings and that was one of the Friend Labs House’s residents’ main requests. In addition to building an expansive, sustainable home, AMPS ensured the residence would harmonize with its surroundings by mirroring the look of the farm’s other homes.

The Friends Lab House finds its veil with permeable black-stained Accoya timber batten screen cladding that hearkens back to the other blackened timber structures around the property. Just beyond the Friends Lab House, dense woodlands run parallel with the lengthy home, a subtle ode to the home’s sweeping surroundings.

Describing the home’s initial plans, AMPS founder Alberto Marcos says, “A similar formal and color approach to the existing farm was used for the design of the new house, but reinterpreted in a thoroughly contemporary way, from structure to finishes and importantly, a very high level of energy efficiency.”

Characterized as “a house designed to sit silently on the landscape,” AMPS outfitted the Friends Lab House with all of the energy-efficient specs needed for a self-sufficient home. During the home’s prefabricated and industrialized construction process, CLT or contra-laminated timber panels were used to equip the home with strength and dimensional stability.

Punctuating the home’s semi-double-pitched roof, AMPS also set up photovoltaic panels for sustainable energy production throughout the year and changing seasons. In addition to the home’s green construction process and solar-paneled roof, AMPS integrated a ground-source heat pump and a borehole connected to a treatment plant to supply water.

Towards the center of the residence, the living room finds half-bay overhangs and windows that open up completely to the south-facing grassy fields. In direct contrast to the home’s sleek black exterior, the home’s interior combines limestone and lime-based mineral micro-mortar (MORTEX) floors with chestnut paneled and MORTEX walls. While the home’s spacious personality is contained to one level, the double-pitched roofs and high ceilings give the home a lofty, airy feeling.

The post This prefab traditional farmhouse finds a contemporary twist with energy-efficient building practices first appeared on Yanko Design.

This self-sustaining planter + composter takes the work out of indoor gardening

To reduce their environmental impact, my parents have started composting their food waste. Great idea, but there are two small problems with their set-up: one, my parents aren’t gardeners, so the resulting manure is usually scattered on empty soil beds (which the weeds appreciate), and two, the composter lives in the backyard, which means they keep a plastic container on the back porch for their discarded orange peels and wilted salad (not the prettiest sight). Overall, the composter is not living up to its full potential, because it doesn’t suit my parents’ lifestyle.

Segue to the Sustainable Family Farm, a miniature composter and planter that is best suited for indoor life. When I saw this design, my first thought was Ah-hah, the perfect Christmas gift for my parents … in theory, since it hasn’t entered the market yet. A mini-composter isn’t a novel idea; in fact, you can make your own with a plastic jug, soil, and some worms. However, the Sustainable Family Farm sets itself apart in two ways: first, by integrating seamlessly into the household regardless of the members’ gardening/composting experience, second, by making gardening into a fun experience for the family.

The product accomplishes this first point by utilizing all the food waste in the household without requiring a lot of additional effort. All you have to do is dump your compostable scraps into the plant incubator and monitor your veggies’ growth. The amount of maintenance that goes into the gardening depends on the seeds you choose — and there plenty of low maintenance options, like basil or cilantro. The Sustainable Family Farm accomplishes its second goal, making gardening a fun activity with the power of smartphones. The planter features a companion app, which treats gardening as a game, showing the stages of plant growth as “levels” for your real-life veggies. If you were a teen in the late 2000s, you might remember the popular Facebook game, Farmville? Imagine that concept but in real life. Or, you know … regular farming. (Jeez, I’ve exposed myself as a phone-addicted city-dweller.)

The Sustainable Family Farm, I think, is one of the most accessible urban planter concepts I’ve seen. Its low maintenance process makes it as easy as possible for anyone to grow herbs or small vegetables. You just need to buy the seeds and worms to get started – the circle of life takes care of the rest.

This concept won the European Product Design Award in “Home Interior Products/Household Appliances” and “Design for Society/Design for Sustainability.” An earlier version of this design was also featured on Yanko Design.

Designer: Chaozhi Lin