8 ms·
I have troubles in computing the BOM (Bill Of Materials) of such a thing. 1) a container 2) a tin shed leaning on it on one side 3) a small plastic? nursery/
by jaclaz 10y ago
I have troubles in computing the BOM (Bill Of Materials) of such a thing.
1) a container
2) a tin shed leaning on it on one side
3) a small plastic? nursery/seeding house on the other side
4) a 3 Kwh solar plant (including batteries, etc.)
5) a bunch of pumps (and I presume pipes) for drip irrigation
6) web connectivity
7) possibly a bunch of hand farming tools
do not sum up to costs that justify the US$ 50,000/60,000 sell price, maybe I am missing something very relevant?
And - though admittedly I am not an agriculture expert - the 150 people feeding out of 1 hectare sounds like an extremely tall story to me, I would think more at around 10/15 people per acre (in a proper, fertile piece of land with good climate).
- atourgates 10y agoI was trying to do the math here too. Here's what I came up with. 1) Shipping Container - ~$2,000 2) Tin Shed - Maybe another ~$1,000 3) Hoop Greenhouse - ~$400 [1] 4) 3Kwh Solar Plant with Batteries - ~$8,500 [2] 5) 2 Acre Drip Irrigation System - ~$3,000 [3] 6) WiFi Access - $1,000 (I have no idea what hardware/capabilities they're delivering here, but it seems like that's a safe number) 7) A Bunch of Hand Farming Tools - $1,000 (Another guesstimate) 8) A 1,000 gallon water storage tank - ~$700 [4] So that takes us to about $17,600. Let's add another $5,000 for preparation, packaging, research and educational materials. Let's add another $5,000 for stuff that's more expensive than my guesstimates, and remove nothing for the article's claimed efficiencies that makes this so much more cost-effective than buying a la carte. That still only puts us at $28,000, so either there's something I'm totally missing here, or this is total BS. [1] http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/product/16-foot-wide-cold-frame/cold-frames http://www.greenhousemegastore.com/product/16-foot-wide-cold... [2] http://www.bimblesolar.com/3kwcomplete-sunny-island http://www.bimblesolar.com/3kwcomplete-sunny-island [3] https://www.berryhilldrip.com/Kit-Pro-2-This-Complete-Kit-will-includes-all-the-essentials-for-a-2-ACRE-crop-using-a-Pond-or-River..html https://www.berryhilldrip.com/Kit-Pro-2-This-Complete-Kit-wi... [4] http://www.plastic-mart.com/category/9/plastic-water-tanks http://www.plastic-mart.com/category/9/plastic-water-tanks
- RyJones 10y agowhere are you getting WWT containers for $2k? Last one I was involved in was about $8k for WWT + shipping and picking, which was about another $2k with some minimal site prep (pea gravel and railroad ties). Prices were slightly lower to buy them in Seattle instead of the closest port, but the lower purchase price was offset by the much larger shipping costs
- netcraft 10y agoI imagine theyre cheaper away from the coasts. Here in Memphis, TN you can get CWO for cheaper than that, including delivery https://westerncontainersales.com/shipping-container-prices/memphis-shipping-container/ https://westerncontainersales.com/shipping-container-prices/...
- RyJones 10y agoInteresting. An 8x45 WWT is indeed ~$2k on that site, and CWO is only marginally more. Thanks. Guess I should have looked for prices in SLC - $6k would pay for a lot of shipping
- jartelt 10y agoIt's common to include a profit margin in pricing. Apple makes an iPhone for <$300 and sells it for >$600.
- chrissnell 10y agoI see a Davis Instruments weather station there, too. Another $600.
- jonstokes 10y agoI think there is a thread above this one that nails the discrepancy: the target market here isn't poor Ethiopian villages. Rather, the target market is NGOs and governments who have funding to buy overpriced but cool stuff that looks like it will Make A Difference. So you make something that's ostensibly targeted at poor rural villagers, and sell it to some deep-pocketed do-gooder entity at a huge markup.