Our Integrated Farm Design
By: Jehane Akiki
Tags: Regeneration, Agriculture, Design, Farming, Architecture

Our farm design

This article is part 3 of a 3-part series in describing the food and agricultural project Farms Not Arms is building. All renderings in this article are by our team member, landscape architect Emily Bauer from Bau Land.

Farms Not Arms is a collective of designers, farmers, strategists, & agriculturalists who have come together to build an integrated, multi-agricultural educational farm model that heals our lands, our health, and our communities. Our efficient and productive design brings refugees and the local population together to target nutrition, regeneration, and social cohesion. Our first farm will be located in Beqaa, Lebanon.

Here we will explore the technical components of our farm design, our adaptation guidelines, and the intended impact the project will yield.

FARM DESIGN MODEL

Our aim was to create a highly functional model that incorporates the old and new to maximize nutritious food security in a small space. It combines regenerative agriculture methods with low tech hydroponics in a closed-loop system that is capable of growing 3.5 times more food than traditional methods. Our model was designed as a non-site specific kit of parts that can be adapted to different landscapes in Lebanon and beyond.

The farm is organized into three main zones: the building / community center, the greenhouses, and the permaculture fields. This article will explore the design of the community center, the selection of crops and accompanying agricultural methods, and other design features relevant to the project as a whole.

Community Center

The community center serves as a social gathering space, as well as an educational facility to learn the different skill sets required to operate the farm. The same space also hosts a food processing loop to generate more value-added food products, while still holding space for informal exchanges.

The building loop defines an enclosed central community gathering courtyard. At the center of the entire project is a circle of olive trees around a reflection pool. The olive branch symbolizes peace, and reflects the social cohesion goal of building farms not arms through community.

Half the building is reserved for education…

Whereas the other half acts as a food processing loop

Building material and design draw from local traditions: the use of clay-pressed bricks and brick archways dates back to 5,000 BC in Lebanon. Creating these materials on-site offers another employment opportunity through biodegradable, regenerative design features.

Agricultural Methods & Accompanying Crop Selection

We began selecting a variety of crops after receiving feedback from local communities on the ideal diet. We arrived at a combination of nutrient-dense food crops that are far healthier than low-income alternatives available to low-income communities and refugees. Our selection includes crops that can be sold to market, as well as crops that can be used to create additional marketable goods and allow income generation further up the food chain.

In choosing such a wide variety, we would also be feeding the soil with way more diverse nutrients, launching the virtuous cycle of regeneration and accelerating the improvement of soil health.

To grow food in a way that heals the soil while maximizing nutrition, we use a number of agricultural methods, all aimed at diversification of crops:

multi-level tree intercropping: we are polycropping our plants by growing them on different levels and grouping plants that work together synergistically. This strengthens the soil while also maximizing space and feeding more with less footage. Our goal with the farm design is to grow the most varied amount of foods we can in order to cover a person’s total diet.

For agroforestry and permaculture, fruit and nut trees will be 4 meters apart with walnuts, apples, and pear growing on the first level and taking up 1/8th of the typical square footage and hazelnuts, carob, pomegranates, lemon, peaches, apricots growing on the second level in ⅓ of the area, with the understory crops growing in between.

2. silvopasture: Rotating herds of animals will contribute to soil health using the oldest and most trusted fertilizers; manure. For an area of 15,000 m², it would be ideal to introduce a herd of 12 goats and 1200 chickens.

In the winter off-season, free-ranging chickens will provide nutrients across the entire farm. Goats will be kept in pens to prevent overgrazing, though their manure will also be used for soil amendment. Having animals in the farm also provides byproducts such as eggs and milk as foods produced on the farm.

3. agroforestry: We are employing agroforestry techniques in two ways. First, we are starting with a selection of fruit and nut trees selected to offer useful, nutritious crops. We plan on expanding this selection by consulting local forests and mimicking the biodiversity and wild heirloom species found there.

Second, we are creating a ribbon of native tree species around the farm as a buffer to clear out pollution, and offer a natural fence around that contributes to afforestation.

4. low tech hydroponics: We are employing 3-level and 1-level hydroponics. The former will grow greens that optimize yield and nutrition, and the latter will be vine greenhouses for season extension of key crops.

The hydroponics are made from low-cost PVC pipes and are southwest facing to create optimal wind ventilation. They are also easily adjustable for different climates using a that can be added and removed to accommodate the high summer heat and snowy winters of the Bekaa.

5. Rooftop gardens: To maximize efficiency, our community center will feature rooftop herb gardens. The building is built through a series of barrel vaults, creating deep pockets of soil for a variety of plant root needs. Natural sloping provides seating and easy access for farmers tending to the roof gardens. Until it can be replaced by a biodigester in future models, we will grow flowers on top of the farm’s septic field.

Other design features

To achieve a productive, educational and regenerative farming operation, our model also incorporates the following elements:

Seed Bank: We will collect and preserve the organic seedlings of our crops as we move towards planting more wild, local plants such as freekeh, wild berries and more. These nutritious plants grow freely in Lebanese forets but are not currently valuable in the marketplace. Our aim in maintaining a seed bank is to slowly reintroduce these varieties and restore a thriving heirloom seed market.

Water Systems: Water management is an integral function of the site plan design. We funnel excess rainwater from the greenhouses into long-term water storage through low- tech metal wire and plaster for large, cost-effective storage. This reduces the impact of irrigation on the aquifer.

Once the reserves are full, excess water drains into a large open air detention pond. This pond not only serves as overflow storage but also as a small wetland, fish pond, and entry feature for visitors. It is central to the community courtyard, a physical recognition that water is at the center of all life.

Adaptations: Our farm model was designed to be an adaptable plan capable of replication throughout Lebanon and beyond. This is in line with our wider vision to address climate change and food security at scale with a system that connects participants to unused arable land.

Our adaptation guidelines allow for the easy replication of optimized, dense food forests by pairing learned agricultural skills to a variety of landscapes and microclimates. Our ultimate visionwider goal for Farms Not Arms is to be adaptable and scalable to different communities and regions globally.

Sun: Our design can easily be adapted to different directional orientations, maximizing exposure to rays in winter while making sure the farm does not overheat in the summer.

Wind: Greenhouses and the food drying loops of the building are wind-direction dependent — they need ventilation. The kitchen and bathroom should be in the opposite direction to make sure the wind does not carry smells across the farm. Each unit can easily be moved to achieve these goals.

Water: Given water scarcity issues in Lebanon, having access to a well or ability to build one onsite will be extremely helpful to ensure that we do not face water shortages. At the same time, if the land is sloped, the design should be tailored so that as the retention pond rests at the lowest altitude for water to effectively drain down.

Yield Efficiency

On a 15000m² plot of land, where 10,000m² is used for growing food, this multi-agricultural model is capable of producing 35,600kg of net food. This will feed 250 people their total food diet, and potentially even more people if they are not solely dependent on this one farm.

The same amount of food grown using conventional agriculture methods would require 24,100 m² of land, meaning that our hybrid agricultural system yields about 3.5 times more food than the current agricultural methods employed. This yield will get even higher as our trees mature and successful iterations of new farms incorporate new lessons learned.

If Lebanon’s population is around 8 million with refugees, using our model would require only 329 km² to feed the entire country. If we round it up to 330 km², then just by using 3.15% of Lebanon’s area (which is 10,452 km²), we can feed every single person in the country (including the refugees) their entire yearly diet.

Illustrating some of our impact in terms of food security, the typical Lebanese diet, and land use

Note: Farms Not Arms received special mention as a semi-finalist in the Food System Vision Prize and was awarded $25,000 by The Rockefeller Foundation for designing an inspiring vision for a nourishing and regenerative food system by 2050.