What We Do

Maa-Bara is a minimal-waste closed-loop sustainable agricultural model that utilizes kitchen scraps to grow healthy, fresh fish and vegetables. The Maa-Bara system increases food security by boosting the productivity of small-holder farmers allowing families to grow their own food at a quantity and quality they desire in almost any location and in places where food has never been grown before.

We are developing low-tech, low-cost kits for the developing world.

Maa-Bara means “water farm” and comes from the Ogoni language of the Niger Delta.  Each Maa-Bara structure is designed to utilize kitchen scraps as feed for tilapia fish. The tilapia-waste-laden water then becomes a nutrient solution for hydroponics (growing vegetables without soil). The output is an empowered and employed community which grows their own food.

One 5,678 liter system takes up only 6 square meters of space and generates approximately 1,050 fish and 4,200 vegetables per year. That is enough to provide a family of 5 with approximately 3 fish and 12 vegetables per day. Excess fish and vegetables can be sold as a source of supplemental income or shared with extended family and friends.