Group uses solar power to help farmers

Jul 10 - McClatchy-Tribune Regional News - Larry Sackett Star-News, Wilmington, N.C.

July 10--Sometimes a big problem can have a simple solution.

"One of the biggest frustrations of North Carolina farmers is getting affordable access to water," said Jock Brandis, founder of the Full Belly Project, a Wilmington nonprofit organization that provides simple engineering solutions to owners of small farms.

"Drought has taken a toll on farmers, making it difficult to irrigate farmland or to provide water to livestock," Brandis said. In some areas, environmental regulations have limited direct access to streams by livestock to prevent pollution, he added.

Brandis's solution is to harness solar power and inexpensive 12-volt pumps to pump water from shallow wells that cost a fraction of conventional deep wells. A 120-watt solar array with a back-up 12-volt marine battery is the power source.

In much of eastern North Carolina, groundwater is only a few feet from the surface even in times of drought, Brandis said. While the water may not always be suitable for human consumption, it's fine for irrigation and livestock.

"We developed the solar well technology to help small farmers gain access to affordable water," Brandis said.

Brandis has teamed up with LINC founder Frankie Roberts to set up a solar-powered irrigation system at the Marvin E. Roberts Transitional Living Facility on Division Street. LINC, or Leading Into New Communities, is a nonprofit organization that provides transitional living and case management services for men and women returning from prison.

Earlier this year, Roberts set up an urban farm on the facility's property to help feed residents and provide them with job skills.

Excess produce will be distributed by a third partner in the solar well venture, Down East Connect, founded by Josh Heinberg. Down East Connect is an online service that enables consumers to purchase fresh produce from a network of local growers.

"Water is a crucial element but city-provided water is too expensive," said Roberts.

To provide ongoing irrigation, Brandis hired a pole-digging truck (normally used to dig holes for electric power poles) to dig three 14-foot deep wells, each about 18 inches in diameter and equipped with 12-volt solar-powered submersible pumps.

Each well includes a 12-inch diameter corrugated drainage pipe with evenly spaced holes. The drainage pipe is back-filled with pea gravel to allow water to enter the well, while keeping dirt, mud and sand out.

Brandis estimates the three-well system will produce as much as 1,200 gallons a day, more than enough to irrigate LINC's 3-acre farm.

"I never thought we could get water this way," said Roberts.

In addition to providing irrigation to the LINC urban farm, the water system will be used as a demonstration unit for other small farmers. It will also provide water for a future, year-round agroponics greenhouse that will use composted material and water as the growing medium for produce.

Brandis is perhaps best known for his invention of a low-cost, low-tech peanut sheller. Designed at the request of a woman in a small African village in Mali in 2001, the machine can be manufactured from molded concrete and locally available wood and scrap metal. It's called the Universal Nut Sheller and costs less than $28. With it, a single person can shell up to 120 pounds of peanuts an hour, vs. about 2?1/2 pounds by hand.

Brandis teamed up with a group of former Peace Corps volunteers in Wilmington to form the Full Belly Project in 2002. The organization has placed the shelling machines in more than 17 countries and trains entrepreneurs to locally manufacture and distribute them.

In 2008, Brandis won the Purpose Prize from Encore.org, for his invention. The prize is awarded to people 60 years or older who create new ways to solve tough social problems. He has also been recognized by CNN's Heroes series.

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