How aquaponics could benefit your residential estate

Aquaponics is a burgeoning industry. It has revolutionised how we grow our own organic food and provided an alternative to many communities. People have introduced the practice of aquaponics into their own homes but, increasingly, it’s being adopted on an event grander scale.

A case in point is Distell’s latest empowerment project which has resulted in the creation of an eco-friendly, water recyclable aquaponics project that helps a community to grow a variety of vegetables and farm fish at its Nederberg Winery in Paarl. The project resulted in the creation of a 500 square meter trout and packaging facility with a 1,000 square meter hydroponic greenhouse.

What exactly is aquaponics?

For those not in the know, aquaponics is a food production system that couples aquaculture with hydroponics. It’s a bit of a mouthful, but in plain English it simply means it’s a system whereby fish are used to help grow plants. Effectively the plants benefit from being fertilised by fish poop. It may sound disgusting but it’s quite effective and mimics what mother nature does.

Distell’s Charles Wyeth, who is acting head of the company’s sustainability operations, expands: “The same body of water is used to farm the fish and plants. Much of the fish waste is beneficial to the plants, but to avoid any potential ammonia uptake by the herbs and vegetables, the water is first purified with bacteria before it is fed to the plants in a recirculation process.”

The added benefit of aquaponics is that it is a self-containing ecosystem that creates healthy, natural food which some argue is even better than the organic food that can be bought in shops. Cederberg grows leafy greens and herbs like thyme, min, basil, coriander, baby spinach, rocket and exotic lettuces which can be grown all year around. Of course, the aquaponics system is also a great breeding ground for trout which will also be served up on the menu.

Nederberg have also ensured that there’s minimal disruption to the set up from loadshedding as it’s linked with alternative energy sources that can be used as a backup in the event of loadshedding.

What are the benefits?

There are plenty of benefits in installing an aquaponics system. It can help to supply and feed an entire community with organic, nutritious food. Or in Nederberg’s case, can supply its own restaurant kitchen as well as other eateries and commercial businesses (it has already lined up contracts with several high-end retail processors and distributors) with sustainably grown food.

Nederberg plans to ramp up its venture to three times its current size to 3,000 square meters. Not everyone can expand to this type of scale, but that doesn’t mean that estates or individual homes can’t set up their own systems to sustain a smaller community or individual household. Here’s the basics of what you need:

• You need some space but not a lot. You can effectively create a small system through using a jar on a kitchen counter. Estates, if they have the budget, can of course invest in a larger fish tank.
• The type of equipment needed will be based on the size of a system. But the basics that are required include a water pump, air pump and PVC plumbing with fittings.
• Setting up of an aquaponics system can be easily done with the help of online tutorials or a qualified handyman. After that all that’s required is maintaining the system can be done by the community or groundsmen employed by the estate.

Ultimately, an aquaponics system installed and maintained correctly can feed communities and supply businesses and even boost an estate’s income.