Waterborne farms are soon to be a reality with a new project launching in New York. The Swale farm will be installed on a 30 x 100 foot flat deck barge and is a mobile floating food forest built from repurposed shipping containers that will provide the public with free access to visit and pick its freshly grown produce.
Similar projects have been launched around the world including the utilisation of London’s disused tunnels
The project is not limited to growing food for the public, but prompts the discussion about fresh food as a free public service instead of an expensive commodity. Among the produce available to the public to pick will be raspberries, huckleberries, pawpaw, kale, beetroots, chard, arugula, leeks and artichokes.
Swale will predominantly use rainwater, but it will also make use of river water below and have the ability to feed 300 people per day for four days a week.
