Converting Organic Waste Into Food

Hello there!

My name is Saad Ringa, and I'm a midlife farmer .
I was introduced to gardening around a decade ago and it’s been quite a journey.
In just a few years, I learned how to grow healthy food responsibly, and discovered many new passions. I convinced myself (and the city) I should have chickens in my backyard. I later earned my certificate in Permaculture Design through a class with Geoff Lawton.



My concern for environmental issues and passion for growing food became too big to ignore. This led me to give up my corporate career and start an urban farm specializing in microgreens, Culinary Confetti .
I’m proud to be part of the local food movement, and I’m ready to expand my farming to “move food” in another way!

I'm thrilled to share this project with you. I hope you will be just as excited as I am.

Converting Organic Waste Into Food

Modern societies produce a lot of organic waste. This waste is usually sent away to be buried in landfills. What if we could convert all the waste back to food? We can close the cycle!

By using Black Soldier Fly Larvae (BSFL), we are converting waste into high protein feed for chickens, fish, and other livestock. The process also produces a rich compost and liquid fertilizer.

Current Production

We have been experimenting with BSFL for six years now. Up until last year, we have been harvesting about 15 lbs per month during the wild BSF season, which is from June to October. The larvae were fed to our small flock of chickens. This year, we were able to produce up to 85 lbs per month, with the first harvest in mid May. We accomplished this by saving larvae from the previous year and starting the season in a small greenhouse-type setup. We diverted more than 2,500 lbs of organic material from the landfill and our gardens benefited from loads of compost and liquid fertilizer.



Scaling Up

Time has come to kick things into production mode. We are so excited to start diverting large amounts of waste from landfills and converting it into high quality products people can use!

Here are our monthly production goals:
-Harvesting 1,000 pounds of larvae.
-Producing 200 pounds of quality compost.
-Producing 20 gallons of nutritious liquid fertilizer.
-Diverting 8,000 pounds of waste from the landfill.
We plan on reaching these goals by May 2017, and we’re counting on your contribution to help us get there.

How We’ll Get There

This year’s wild BSF season is coming to an end. We will be moving our production to a greenhouse-type environment as soon as possible, and turning it into a year-round operation.



Our estimated total cost for this project is $7200.
Greenhouse Material and Installation: $3800
-Ground preparation, lumber, roofing material, insulation, glass, hardware, gravel, cement...
Climate Control: $600
-Fans for circulation, heating equipment, humidity regulation devices, thermostat and controller...
Production Equipment: $1500
-Shelving, feeding troughs, compost sifters, larvae separators, egg incubators, fertilizer reservoir/plumbing, storage containers...
Hauling Equipment: $1300
-Utility trailer/hitch, dolly, waste receptacles, tarps, straps…

We have the skills, the experience, and the motivation to succeed in Black Soldier Fly farming. We are proud to launch a business that provides so many environmental benefits. We ask you to join us by contributing to this campaign. There are many rewards to choose from or you may simply enter your desired amount. Please note that the delivery estimate for the rewards is May 15.

Thank you and please spread the word.