(Janis Smits / Shutterstock.com)
The University of Engineering and Technology (UTEC) in Peru is good at thinking up creative ways to encourage prospective students to apply – knocking it out of the ballpark in 2013 with their billboard the filters and produces clean water.
For the 2015 academic year, the University thought of another ingenious way to use their engineering skills, encourage enrollment and help improve the lives of local citizens along the way.
In the area of Bujama, the water that is used to irrigate the fields is highly polluted, with high concentrations of arsenic and lead. The vegetables that are planted in this soil absorb the toxic metals, creating contaminated produce that is later sold and consumed. Looking at the problem with an engineer’s hat on, the students of UTEC set out to create a safe and affordable solution dubbed the Air Orchard. Once again utilizing a billboard, rows of lettuce were planted and irrigated with moisture from the air, aided by dehumidifiers to create a drip irrigation system. Thousands of heads of healthy toxic-free lettuce were produced and distributed freely every week.
The creative, safe and eco-friendly idea once more creates buzz for the UTEC and also serves as a reminder that a little out-of-the-box thinking can create a world of difference.
Watch here to see how it all happened:
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