EDF Evaluation Question: “Please describe shortly below how your project contributes to change energy together for better living (sustainable behavior).”
Answer: I think the question is asking us to evaluate our project, Deep Root Irrigation and Precipitation System, in terms of its impact on the communities where it will be deployed. We believe there are two opposite ends of the use continuum where D.R.I.P.S. will be adapted: Subsistence Farming and Eco-conscious Individuals, both living in areas of water scarcity.
The image above shows areas on Earth where plants don’t grow even in the summer. A lot of this lack of growth can be attributed to the low water budget of these ecosystems.
For example, In Arizona—a desert state in United States of America—water scarcity means giving up landscaping that requires a lot of water. But the D.R.I.P.S. can help individuals in these communities grow trees and brushes that otherwise would require too much water. D.R.I.P.S. would also contribute to the total water budget of a household trying to grow beautiful plants.
In Sub-Saharan Africa, on the other hand, people grow plants for food. But a low water budget means that food is hard to grow in quantities large enough to reduce hunger in the community. The D.R.I.P.S. could change this. We envision that people there will be able to plant root vegetables that would previously have had too little water to grow.
The manufacture of the D.R.I.P.S. would also be a boon to impoverished nations, providing jobs and the ability to grow cash crops.
