In a recent post, we described homes being made out of shipping containers. But an architect friend cautioned that it’s not easy to get all the permits for something like that, asking, “How many how many people do you know who would welcome a container home in their neighborhood?”
Well, here’s a story about shipping containers recycled for something that might be more manageable.
Yvonne Abraham writes at the Boston Globe, “On a blah gravel lot in East Boston sits an especially cool example of the human ability to invent and adapt. Spend enough time here, and even the most dedicated pessimist might feel hopeful about the future.
“It’s not much to look at from the outside: four recycled freight containers, painted a friendly shade of green, sharing a patch of land with some trucks at the base of Eagle Hill.
“But inside those containers, it’s spectacular. Disco-lit by thin ribbons of red and blue LED lights, all manner of leafy greens grow in long PVC planters that hang from the ceiling in tight rows. The hydroponic plants are watered and fed by an ingenious, and remarkably efficient, irrigation system. Lush and bursting with flavor, they’re neatly harvested in seconds and then it’s on to restaurants all over the city.
“These containers — which make up an operation owners Connie and Shawn Cooney have named Corner Stalk — hold the equivalent of a four-acre farm. The Marblehead couple came to farming just a couple of years ago. Connie, 63, taught in public schools for 35 years, and Shawn, 61, was a tech entrepreneur. …
“They both wanted to try something new, and they believed in what the guys who make the containers — Boston-based Freight Farms — are doing: creating computer-controlled environments that can grow produce year round, anywhere where there’s electricity and a water supply.” Read how the business grew — and where it’s headed — at the Boston Globe.
Photo: http://www.CornerStalk.com
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