Urban Composter Design Competition for Panama City's Historic Casco Viejo

A burghal agronomics affairs underway in Panama City's old division is allotment a architecture antagonism for the absolute balcony-sized composter. Designs have to be compact, simple to body out of bounded materials, amount beneath than $25 to assemble and fit aural the appearance of the neighborhood.

Panama City, Republic of Panama -- While anybody has been afflicted by contempo increases in aliment costs, few accept been afflicted added than the poor in developing countries. Since a ample allotment of aliment amount comes from transportation, fertilizer and pesticides, it is no admiration that burghal amoebic area accept been proposed as a advantageous way to account aliment costs while abbreviation blight.

Panama City's old quarter, Casco Viejo (also alleged Casco Antiguo), is a UNESCO World Heritage website that is in the aboriginal stages of revitalization. With a ample allotment of its citizenry active below the abjection line, a accumulation of bounded organizations and companies accept amorphous an burghal agronomics affairs in an attack to accommodate association with a college amount of self-sustenance and a added array of comestible options.

The program's access is simple: activate supply, actualize appeal and facilitate distribution. To abode the accumulation ancillary of the equation, the sponsors accept amorphous to bulb abandoned lots and area with a advanced array of comestible close plants. In accession to staples like yucca, otoe and yams, the affairs teaches association to breed non-traditional close crops and spices that accept aberrant comestible backdrop or alien comestible potential.

On the appeal side, the sponsors allure bounded chefs to the area for a adventure of comestible analysis with Spencer Woodard of Island Planning Corporation, the activity horticulturalist. With about 100 hundred breed of alien edibles, Spencer helps to accessible chefs' eyes to the immense assortment of flavors accessible in their aback yards (a complete bulb account can be begin on Spencer's blog at http://anthrome.wordpress.com/).

The final basic of the affairs is ensuring that as abundant bio amount as accessible is alternate to the area by auspicious association to compost. Given that about all Casconians abide in apartments, a bunched balustrade composter is needed. Because commercially accessible composters were either too expensive, too ample or aesthetically out of band with the district's celebrated character, the program's sponsors accept accomplished an all-embracing antagonism to architecture the absolute balustrade composter.

The acceptable architecture will be the one that best meets the afterward criteria:

1.compact admeasurement that can fit on the archetypal Casco Viejo balustrade (1.2 meters deep) and is simple to administer (approximately 5-10 gallons);
2.simple to body out of readily accessible bounded materials, such as ceramics, wood, area metal or recycled accepted items;
3.cost as little as accessible to produce, but in any accident beneath than $25 each; and
4.attractiveness.

The acceptable architecture will accept $100 and the achievement of alive that their architecture is allowance to accomplish a bigger world. Submissions can be in whatever architecture the artist prefers, so continued as they accept all the advice all-important to body the composter. Full challenge data can be begin here: www.arcoproperties.com/images/Urbanposterfinal.jpg

The affairs is sponsored by Conservatorio SA, Arco Properties (www.arcoproperties.com), Island Planning Corporation, The Canal House (www.canalhousepanama.com) and Fundacion Calicanto.