News / LettUs Grow
Brislington startup launches vertical farming trial in prison
An aeroponic container farm has been dropped into a UK prison as part of a strategy to aid rehabilitation.
Brislington-based startup LettUs Grow is behind the government-backed project at HM Prison Hewell that is the first of its kind and aims to empower prisoners and help them develop new skills to reintegrate back into society.
Inmates will be introduced to indoor farming practices to gain experience in a fast-growing industry and train in horticulture, with the aim of helping them secure full-time employment upon release.
Skills learned will include plant husbandry, how aeroponics works, how to use a farm management software platform and indoor farm standard operating procedures, as well as HACCP and Food Safety.
While the core aim of the aeroponic container, known as Drop & Grow, is training, the salad, vegetables and herbs produced within the micro farm will also be incorporated into meals in the prison.
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Billy Rodgers, growing specialist and partner support manager at LettUs Grow, said: “We’re offering an extra level of support, on top of the usual training, for this project by putting together growing plans, managing consumables like seeds or fertiliser, and delivering at regular intervals throughout the year.
“The aim is to take pressure off site managers and make running the farm as easy as possible by creating a structure to follow. This means they can focus on what’s most important: upskilling, empowering and rehabilitating the prisoners.”
An aeroponic container farm has been dropped into a UK prison as part of a strategy to aid rehabilitation – photo: LettUs Grow
Only 17 per cent of prisoners manage to secure a job in the first year of release and the aim is for this vertical farming trial to feed into a rehabilitation strategy designed to improve this figure and help former prisoners secure employment.
Ralph Lubowski, the governor of HMP, said: “I am delighted to partner with LettUs Grow in this fantastic initiative, which will give our prisoners the opportunity, confidence and training to turn their lives around.
“Vertical farming is an innovative, emerging industry and this partnership highlights our commitment to ensuring that prisoners are skilled up to find work on release.”
Main photo: LettUs Grow
Read more: The Brislington team that has developed a way to grow plants with sound
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