A RIBBLE Valley man is heading to earthquake-hit Nepal to help communities produce their own food.

Cal Hudson, from Queen Street in Whalley, is flying to the Himalayan nation in September to spend three months building a large, sustainable aquaponics system to feed people in the Kopila Valley.

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Aquaponics is a combination of aquaculture (fish growing) and hydroponics (growing plants without soil) in a self-contained system which recreates the natural relationship between plants and wildlife.

Fish and plants develop side-by-side and can be harvested to produce a healthy diet. The former St Augustine’s and Clitheroe Royal Grammar School pupil became interested in the scheme after a game of cards.

Cal, who is currently teaching English in South Korea, along with friends Canadian Jenessa Loewen, Argentinian Carla Bononi and American Robert Goldberg, founded The Life Aquaponic organisation in January, his first major project.

He said: “My aquaponics adventure started in South Korea, during a casual conversation after a poker game. Carla was telling me all about Maggie Doyne’s amazing work with the BlinkNow Foundation, and had decided that she wanted to build an aquaponics system for the Kopila Valley School in Nepal. She gave me a five-minute crash course ithat blew my mind.”

“ The system grows six times more per square foot than traditional farming, allowing any surplus vegetables and fish to be sold for extra income.

The group’s second goal is to integrate aquaponics into the Kopila Valley Schools’ curriculum.

Cal said: “Our experience with students made us sure that the best way to truly leave a legacy in developing communities is not through the deployment of aquaponic systems, but by teaching the community how to build, adapt, and maintain aquaponics.”

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1475250437/sustainable-aquaponics-systems-in-surkhet-nepal