Feed The Soil, Feed The World
With Subpod
Tara Samuelson Photography for Whole Beings
“Food waste going to landfill is a great resource, it’s simple intelligence - if we can take this resource to build soil, to grow food in location - this is priceless.”
Andrew Hayim De Vries | Subpod inventor
Andrew Hayim De Vries, inventor of Subpod, is an ecological designer, up-cycler and recycler by heart. He saw the need to re-educate people on environmental values was becoming more and more pressing in the current global climate, which led him to founding Compost Central, the first interactive compost education facility based in Byron Bay.
Retail and DYI composting systems often suffer from bad smells, attract rodents and flies and take more space than people might have to devote to their food waste. This generally discourages most people from using them long term. To solve these problems, Andrew needed to find an easy, quick and trouble free way to compost and came up with the concept of theSubpod®.
To learn more visit www.subpod.com.au or attend a workshop at The Farm.
Tell us a little more about how you came up with the Subpod concept, and why you were so passionate about bringing this invention to life?
The Subpod team is so passionate about this invention because we believe that producing nutritious, sustainable food is essential for a healthy planet and should be accessible to everyone. The way we deal with waste is, in itself, wasteful. Many of our current systems for food waste management are linear - we take and consume, and then dispose of the 'waste'. These systems are broken and must be replaced with closed-loop, circular and sustainable systems. This is important now more than ever - according to Lester Brown, environmental analyst and author, one third of the world’s cropland is losing topsoil faster than new soil is forming through natural processes. Composting with the Subpod® creates nutrient dense soil that can be taken straight from the source to your garden. If we used these systems on a micro and macro scale, we could repair these environmental issues and feed the world. At its’ conception the Subpod® seemed to be answering a lot of the tricky questions about how to present composting as a modern, viable solution which is what really drove us to bring it to life.
Tara Samuelson Photography for Whole Beings
Who would you recommend Subpod to?
Everyone! The beauty of the Subpod® is that we made it scalable, to fit the individual needs of each owner. From small homes and families to large scale industrial ventures, the Subpod® has been designed for simplicity and flexibility. With the duality of it being usable for seating to maximise its’ versatility we encourage businesses and home-owners alike to re-think the way we can all manage waste. Offices and companies in need of composting can provide lush, green above ground seating outside their buildings for lunch breaks – the way we see it, when you’re done with that apple, why not lift up the seat you were just on and put it straight into the compost?
Since the launch of our prototype the Subpod system is now being used in backyards, at an eco resort, by cafes, community gardens and residential development sites.
What can someone expect to learn from a Subpod workshop here at The Farm?
Our workshops are aimed to inspire a passion for soil, the earth and growing food. We’ll explore the wonderful wriggly world of worms, and provide everything a person needs to know to start composting today – or up their composting game. With specialist speakers from backgrounds to teach you best practices in growing food and composting, we’ll get our hands dirty with the nitty gritty of what makes soil tick. During International Compost Awareness week, joining Team Subpod®, we’ll hear from special guest speaker - internationally acclaimed permaculture educator, and consultant, Geoff Lawton.
At the end of the day we want everyone who participates in the workshops to go home with a drive to get involved, become a part of the loop that is needed to get our soils flourishing and fed. If we can do that, we can feed the soil – and feed the world.
Click the button below for upcoming workshops with Subpod…