Aeroponic container farms set to open doors for rehabilitation
For the first time, DROP & GROW™ container farms are to be used as part of a rehabilitation programme for UK prisoners.
This ground-breaking project aims to bridge the gap between the farming experience currently available within the prison system and the rapidly developing indoor agriculture sector - supplying prisoners with the knowledge they need to obtain employment once leaving the system.
The initiative will first be trialled at Her Majesty’s Prison (HMP) Hewell, before being adopted in sites across the country, in an effort to ensure equal access to new technologies for prisoners throughout the sector.
About HMP Hewell
HMP Hewell is a secure prison housing over 1000 prisoners who participate in education, training and work in a number of enterprises including recycling, double glazing manufacture, horticulture, laundry, cycle repair and catering. Prisoners here are able to hone their skills in traditional farming methods, harvesting fresh produce from polytunnels and market gardens all within the prison grounds.
However, the agricultural industry doesn’t stand still for long. Our changing climate, unstable supply chains and technological advancements in indoor and vertical farming means that growers across the country are having to adapt, and fast. Prisoners who are now released from the system risk leaving with skills which are technologically limited, leaving ex-offenders at odds with the rapidly developing job market.
Paul Cooper, Land Based & Concrete Sector Lead for Prison Industries, decided that if prisoners were going to stand a chance in securing employment, the opportunities offered by prisons have to adapt. Using our aeroponic container farm DROP & GROW, Paul’s goal is to bring their agricultural experience up-to-date, and create a pathway into the agritech industry for prisoners across the country.
“It’s all about upskilling prisoners so that they can get employment in the workplace. For example, we're also investing in our prison dairy farm, where we’re installing a robotic milking machine. Before, we were milking how farmers were 50 years ago, so if a prisoner went out to get employment in that sector, they’re going to have no experience in working in a real modern dairy farm. Our new project with LettUs Grow is going to work in the same way.”
- Paul Cooper, Land Based & Concrete Sector Lead for Prison Industries
The benefits of urban container farming
Although prisoners at HMP Hewell have a chance to utilise the green spaces and outdoor horticulture projects, this is not an opportunity that’s available in all prisons across the country. Prisons in cities and urban locations often will have sparse grounds, surrounded in concrete, making traditional agricultural activities an unfortunate impossibility.
DROP & GROW container farms provide unique access to agriculture, which Paul and the team are planning to utilise for not only rehabilitation benefits, but also to:
- Reduce food miles: Herbs and microgreens that used to travel over land and sea can instead be harvested right within the prison.
- Limit food waste: In a containerised system, crops can be easily grown and made to order. Each prison can not only specify what crop they need, but in what quantity, limiting food waste.
- Provide therapeutic respite: It’s also hoped that by bringing farms into urban sites and allowing prisoners to work with plants on a regular basis, this will provide untold mental health benefits.
“I’ve got a long-term vision that I want all those inner city prisons that don’t have market gardens, the Brixtons, the Birmingham prisons, the Bristol’s of this world, to contribute to growing food locally. We can drop these shipping containers, grow food on site, harvest in the morning, and they can eat it at lunchtime. So it can’t get any fresher.”
Specialised training in aeroponics
For the workers of HMP Hewell, this will be the first time they’ve had hands-on experience with aeroponics and container farming. For them to be able to support the prisoners in their own development, the team travelled down to LettUs Grow HQ for a 2 day training course to gain first hand experience with aeroponics.
The training included an introduction into both our DROP & GROW containers and Ostara farm management system, the basics of plant husbandry in aeroponics as well as HACCP and Food Safety regulations. As the trial expands, workers across the prison system will be able to revisit the LettUs Grow training programme, and receive a comprehensive curriculum that will support both the prisoners and the workers for the months and years ahead.
“The training provided by the lettus Grow team has been informative with a good level of detail. Vertical growing wasn’t an area we’ve had a lot of experience with previously, and the LettUs Grow team helped us understand the technology behind their growing systems and delivered training to suit our situation. The practical exercises were a great help and will be put into practice back on the farm.”
- Steve Ball, Land Based Specialist for Prison Industries (pictured above)
Watch this space…
At LettUs Grow we are thrilled to be able to support Paul and the team achieve their vision, and provide access to invaluable skills and experience for prisoners that will open doors in the job market for them in the future.
If you would like to find out if DROP & GROW can help you in your own social enterprise or business you can get in touch here, or to hear the latest updates from this project and the LettUs Grow community, make sure you sign-up to our newsletter.