Project Sarmaya
Hydroponics — A Sustainable Solution
Hydroponics is a new type of gardening where plants are not grown in the soil. They are cultivated in water with mineral nutrient solution under controlled environment.
Hydroponic systems grow faster than other conventional ways, and more importantly, they are suitable for all seasons.
Hydroponics yields much better crops than the traditional method. The quality of vegetables grown with hydroponics is higher than the traditional farming method. These vegetables are more nutritious as light, water, ph levels and nutrients are controlled. Traditionally plants and vegetables can get attacked by pests. To solve this problem many farmers use pesticides. These pesticides are harmful to humans and exposure to them can cause serious health complications. In a hydroponic system the plants do not get attacked by pests thus making the vegetables safe for human consumption. Moreover, hydroponics also conserves water and utilizes less resources than traditional gardening methods.
The idea of working on hydroponics was first discussed on 8th April, 2021 during the Circle meeting. In the meeting every member had a different idea about what to pursue. Some had an idea to address social causes, others wanted to raise awareness about issues of the society. After listening to everyone’s ideas, we decided to merge those ideas which had a somewhat similar theme. The most agreed option was to pursue something water related targeting people having low resources. Syed Hussain Abbas had come across the concept of Hydroponics before so he made the suggestion which was well received by the other members.
Initially the main idea was to promote hydroponics to conserve water. This idea has evolved ever since. Now our idea focuses on promoting hydroponics for a healthy lifestyle through sustainable methods. We present hydroponics as a more sustainable solution of farming vegetables as compared to traditional methods of gardening.
Research on Hydroponics
Mahnur Kanwar, Subial Aslam and Syed Hussain Abbas started researching hydroponics in the beginning of the project to check its feasibility as a Mega Project. After being satisfied with what we came across, we decided to move forward.
Our Vision
To promote a healthy lifestyle through sustainable choices.
Our Mission
To provide an efficient and a sustainable design of a Hydroponic Garden.
If we introduce the concept of hydroponics gardens at micro level then we’ll be able to promote a healthy lifestyle through sustainable methods.
In this blog all the team members will be sharing their experience of working on the Mega Project Sarmaya.
For the Mega Project our goal was to promote a healthy lifestyle through sustainable choices. To achieve our goal we made a list of tasks that needed to be completed. Following are the tasks that were accomplished from 24th April, 2021 to 6th June, 2021.
- Social Media Marketing
- Product Development
- Informational Video Creation
Social Media Marketing
Social media marketing included:
- Branding
- Social Media Presence
- Creating Sponsored Posts
These tasks were the responsibility of Mahnur Kanwar, Shah Faisal, and Nimra Noor.
Branding and Social Media Posts
Mahnur Kanwar
The process of social media marketing started with properly branding our idea. We selected the name Sarmaya with mutual discussion. The logo and slogan were created and soon after the Instagram and Facebook pages were optimized. The Instagram account was managed by Mahnur Kanwar.
From 26th April, 2021 to 5th June, 2021 the Instagram account was able to reach 58.8k accounts and accumulated 171 followers organically and inorganically.
Regular posts were created in order to promote hydroponics. The main theme of the posts was to spread awareness about hydroponics and promote the use of hydroponics instead of traditional gardening.
Professional Dashboard
58.8K accounts reached in the last 30 days.
Analytics
Content Interactions
Audience
Nimra Noor
I did research on types of hydroponic gardens and collected six types. I noted down the description and images with the respective type of hydroponic and added Sarmaya’s logo to each.
Muhammad Shoaib Khan
The mega project journey was a roller coaster for all of us. In early stages, we had faced problems related to completing the project on due time, two of our team members left the fellowship, and how to modify our project. With all these problems at the beginning of the mega project and at once we were going to change the mega project. But due to the support of our team members we were able to complete our project on time.
I wrote a complete blog on the topic of “A Healthy Lifestyle”. In this task, I gathered data from different sites and also created a picture story on instagram to highlight the importance of this topic.
Shah Faisal
I was responsible for managing the Facebook page.
Analytics
Reach
Audience
Facebook Posts
Sponsored Posts
Mahnur Kanwar
To reach a diverse pool of followers two sponsored posts were also created. The cost of sponsored post was Rs. 6,300/- where each member contributed Rs. 1,050/-
The posts were able to reach 33k and 35k accounts in 7 and 8 days respectively.
The posts were created to achieve two goals i.e. gain followers and to encourage more people to download the Hydroponics Beginner’s Guide.
Promotions Overview
Promotions Results
Product Development
The product development included:
- Creating an effective design of hydroponics
- An ebook which explains how to setup hydroponics at home (DIY Kit)
- Making the ebook available online free of cost
These tasks were responsibility of Syed Hussain Abbas, Subial Aslam, Muhammad Shoaib Khan, and Mahnur Kanwar.
Research on Hydroponics Design
Syed Hussain Abbas
I and Subial Aslam worked on designing an effective hydroponics design suitable for domestic use. They shared different ideas and resources with each other. The main challenge was what type of design to move forward with because there were different types of garden designs each having different pros and cons. If they were to select a basic design it would be difficult to justify as a product but if they selected a complex design it would be tricky and expensive to build and would even have high running costs compared to other types. In the end they decided to approach a hybrid design combining an NFT design (most popular type) and using its storage tank to set up a Floating Raft.
Subial Aslam Khan
Our goal was to create such a design that was innovative and efficient. This task was mainly carried out by Syed Hussain Abbas, my role was to assist him by doing research and giving suggestions regarding different Hydroponics design. The challenging part of this task was choosing two right and compatible hydroponic systems. But through proper research, Hussain was able to come up with the design in which two hydroponics systems were merged, Floating raft and Nutrient Film Technique.
Designing the Hydroponic Garden
Syed Hussain Abbas
I was given the responsibility of coming up with our garden design. It was new for me as I had never done something like this before but at the same time I was excited and confident that I would be able to do it. At first I thought about using some online assets available but after seeing that they were not something I would be able to utilize properly I started from scratch. I used AutoCAD to design the blueprint on the readily available equipment in the market going through some trial and error about the positioning of the equipment.
Apart from these main contributions I was also involved in regular team meetings and provided updates, suggestions and feedback when needed.
Creation of DIY Kit
Subial Aslam Khan
The goal of this kit was to provide the audience with all the necessary information so that they could build their hydroponic garden. This task was divided among Muhammad Shoaib, Syed Hussain Abbas, and Subial Aslam Khan. Shoaib was made responsible for the introduction part, Hussain worked on the instructions portion and my job was to write a glossary and compilation of the whole data.
While working on the DIY kit, I faced several issues. Initially, I realized that the information that we had shared was not enough to guide the audience properly. We had not discussed or planned to discuss suitable nutrients, growing media, and plants etc. To overcome this problem, I did some research and gathered the necessary information. But then presenting all that information while keeping our DIY kit concise and brief, was another challenge. However, with the help of some infographics and images, we were able to overcome that issue.
Another problem that I faced while working on the kit was formatting. It was my first time creating a guide, so I had to consult YouTube and Google for different formatting techniques.
Muhammad Shoaib Khan
I was assigned to work on a DIY Kit with Subiyal and Hussain. Then,we divided the task into different parts: introduction, instruction and glossary/compilation of data. I was assigned to work on the introduction part, which was completed on time.
DIY Kit — Link Creation
Mahnur Kanwar
The DIY Kit was uploaded on Google Drive with public access. The link was shortened by using Bitly — an online link management service. This service also records the number of clicks and categorizes them on the basis of location.
DIY Kit https://bit.ly/3tV6wdu
Informational Video Creation
Initially the circle members wanted to arrange an informational webinar. An expert in hydroponics was invited but due to Eid holidays the speaker excused and asked to take a 15 minutes interview instead. So the idea of arranging a webinar was cancelled and the team decided to create an informational video on Hydroponics that includes an expert’s interview.
The video creation included:
- Searching Hydroponics Expert
- Preparing and Conducting Interview
- Writing a Video Script
- Recording
- Editing
Searching Hydroponics Expert
Subial Aslam Khan
None of our group members had any experience with Hydroponics, so to add credibility to our project and to leave a deeper impact on our audience, we decided to approach different field experts. For this reason, I contacted Mr. Muhmmad Hassan Akram, who has been in the field of Hydroponics since 2016. He has provided his services as a Hydroponic Farm Manager at multiple UAE-based companies. I made contact with him through Linked-in and he was kind enough to accept our interview request.
As for the interview questions, we crafted the questions that were important for our audience, and we were lucky enough to get comprehensive and brief answers on them from Mr. Akram.
The challenging thing in this interview task was setting up a meeting with other experts. I contacted four other experts through Email, Linked-in, and contact number. A few of them agreed on giving us an interview but because of their busy schedule, we had to postpone our meeting which eventually resulted in cancelling the interview with them.
Preparing and Conducting Interview
Mahnur Kanwar
The interview was conducted on 24th May, 2021. Before interview the interview questions were created and shared with Mr. Muhmmad Hassan Akram via email. Following questions were asked during the interview:
- Hydroponics is relatively a new concept in Pakistan, Do you think it has the potential to replace the traditional methods of farming vegetables?
- Is it possible to set up a hydroponic garden on a smaller scale e.g. in homes? And is it sustainable?
- What are some features of an effective hydroponic design?
- What are some suggestions that you would like to give to the people who are interested in building their own hydroponic gardens?
- Price range of setting up a domestic level hydroponic garden?
- Difference between quality of vegetables grown through hydroponic and traditional methods?
- Why should people switch to hydroponics?
The main themes of these questions were:
- Hydroponics and its scope in Pakistan on domestic level
- Hydroponic gardens and their sustainability
Writing a Video Script
Mahnur Kanwar
Before writing the video script the structure of the video was discussed among Subial Aslam, Shah Faisal and Mahnur Kanwar. Suggestions were taken from other circle members as well.
After multiple revisions a final script was created and forwarded to Nimra Noor for recording.
Recording
Nimra Noor
It was a little challenging to learn the entire script by heart. So, I had to put up a setting where I could read the script from a screen and speak in front of another. I had to remake most parts of the video as I would stutter at times where the script did not seem right. I altered the script and remade the video. I made five short clips that were combined and edited by Shah Faisal.
Editing
Shah Faisal
My task in the mega project is video editing of the hydroponic expert interview and Nimra intro about hydroponic. I used filmora software for video editing. I took background music and other video clips from youtube. When I started video editing I faced some challenges for beginning, background music, and video themes. But I shared with our circle fellows step by step and feedback from our circle fellow. We handled all the challenges and finally I completed the video editing task.
Remaining Tasks
Now the only remaining task is to upload the video on social media accounts which will be done on Sunday 6th June, 2021.
Challenges and Solutions
While working on our Mega Project we faced multiple challenges but the most prominent one was limited time. We wanted to arrange a webinar which couldn’t be done due to the Eid holidays. We improvised and created an informational video instead.
Another challenge was finding the audience interested in hydroponics. We overcame that challenge by running paid promotions on the instagram page. This way we were able to increase our reach and find the audience.
Significant Changes
We changed our focus from conserving water to promoting use of hydroponics for a healthy lifestyle. It helped us in narrowing down our niche. Our goals also became clear by changing our direction. Another significant change that we made was creating informational video instead of a webinar.
Impact of the Mega Project
Sustainability of the Project
Sarmaya is a self -sustaining project as the Beginner’s Guide is available online for free and anyone with the link can download it. After promoting hydroponics on social media it is also evident that there is a market for hydroponics in Pakistan and other South Asian countries.
To make Sarmaya a reliable source of hydroponics, new and simple designs can be added in the ebook. A dedicated website for the project can also be created. Team members have also suggested that we should create prototypes of our design on a domestic scale and sell them which can be a profitable business in Pakistan.
Social Media Accounts
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/projectsarmaya/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Recyclewater123
DIY Kit
Circle 4 Team Members
Mahnur Kanwar
Nimra Noor
Syed Hussain Abbas
Muhammad Shoaib Khan
Subial Aslam Khan
Shah Faisal