SARMAYA
Hydroponics — A Sustainable Solution
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.
Healthy and organic vegetables are not easily available to everyone. Currently, the organic vegetables grown on farms are quite expensive and they are out of reach of the common population. They are sprayed with pesticides that can be harmful to human beings. If we propose a design for a hydroponic garden for homes then it can be used to solve this problem. It can also promote a healthy lifestyle through sustainable methods.
Social Media Accounts
Instagram https://www.instagram.com/projectsarmaya/
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/Recyclewater123
Team
Mahnur Kanwar
Nimra Noor
Syed Hussain Abbas
Muhammad Shoaib Khan
Subial Aslam Khan
Shah Faisal
Progress
The Project Sarmya (Hydroponics garden) is a sustainable solution to utilize the water resources to grow plants. The primary focus is to promote a healthy lifestyle through a hydroponic garden design. The target is to inform the people with the new idea of hydroponic gardens and how they will benefit.
The traditional method of growing vegetables utilizes mostly pesticides, harmful sprays, and water resources. That will ultimately affect the environment and most importantly the human health and lifestyle. This project will reduce the usage of these pesticides and promote fresh organic food.
The following are the progress of the project till now:
- Completion of Design/Structure.
- Completion of DIY KIT
- Active Social Media Pages (Instagram and Facebook)
Timeline
The project was started by creating proper branding. The name was suggested by the team members while slogan and logo were created by the team leader. Social media accounts were created on Facebook and Instagram on 26th April, 2021.
Gantt Chart
As the Marketing team was creating posts on social media, the Research and Design team started working on the design of the hydroponic garden. The complete design was finalized on 1st May, 2021.
Gantt Chart
After the completion of hydroponic design, the Production team started working on the DIY Kit. The final version of DIY Kit was created on 10th May, 2021.
The next steps are:
- To create an informative video on hydroponics that includes the interviews of field experts.
- To run paid promotions on social media accounts.
- To make the DIY Kit available for the audience to download.
Due to Eid-ul-Fitr Holidays all the operations of the project were on hold, which will be resumed from 19th May, 2021.
Gantt Chart
Task Division
To work efficiently on the Mega Project, four teams were created:
1. Research and Development Team
2. Production Team
3. Accounting and Finance Team
4. Marketing Team
This project is managed by the group leader, Mahnur Kanwar.
The duties of the Research & Design team includes doing research and designing a hydroponic system. This team includes Syed Hussain Abbas and Subial Aslam Khan. The Production team is responsible for creating the DIY Kit, preparing presentations, and conducting interviews with the field experts. Muhammad Shoaib Khan, Syed Hussain Abbas, and Subial Aslam Khan together make the production team. Accounting and Finance, this aspect of the Mega Project is dealt by Nimra Noor. Her duties are to estimate the cost of different tasks that are important for this project i.e. cost estimate of ad campaigns on Instagram and Facebook. The Marketing Team creates content for Instagram and Facebook, increasing the content reach also comes under the scope of their work. Shah Faisal, Mahnur Kanwar, and Nimra Noor work together to make this happen.
Social Media Pages and Engagement
The instagram account is being managed by Mahnur Knawar. In the last 30 days the social media account on Instagram was able to organically grow and reach 275 accounts. Since then 9 meaningful posts have been created that accumulated 34 followers. 162 accounts interacted with the content and there were more than 50 shares. The content of the posts revolves around healthy lifestyle, home gardening, sustainability and hydroponics.
The Facebook page is being managed by Shah Faisal. 4,672 people have liked the page as it was created a few years ago. The team member took the initiative to rename and rebrand the page for the Mega Project.
Mega Project Takeaways
It is not easy to start a business from scratch but having a good team can make it relatively easier and ease some burden.
Learning
Working in teams, effective teamwork, new skills (making posts/designs, managing social media accounts).
Challenges
Too many options available to choose in the beginning, Loss of team members causing increase in workload, finding someone for interview, increasing social media reach, communicating with different teams in the project.
Appreciations
All team members for timely work, Social media team for making great and engaging posts, Subial Aslam Khan for compiling the DIY Kit, Muhammad Shoaib Khan for being a flexible team player.
Suggestions
At the end, we would like to add that people love buying and making hydroponic gardens but sometimes they make mistakes due to the following reasons:
- Lack of knowledge — not knowing how things should be or what you need to do.
- Lack of discipline — not implementing the knowledge or not taking the time or putting forth the effort.
- Lack of ability — need more first-hand experience, or perhaps do not have the necessary hydroponic gardening equipment or supplies.
To avoid these mistakes, one can simply follow the few steps below:
- Know what equipment is needed and why.
- Know the nutritional requirements of the plants.
- Know the light/photoperiod requirements of plants.
- Use a professional three-part hydroponic nutrient product.
- Do not use additional nutrient additives the first time.
- Have a written plan/feeding schedule before starting.
- Have all necessary equipment and nutrients before starting.
- Garden indoors when it is 55F or less outdoors (or use AC).