Avec Farm From a Box, cette américaine révolutionne le secteur de l’agriculture. Interview d’une entrepreneure à succès.
You were invited to talk about the nutritional crisis during the Women’s Forum. Do you think It’s gonna be the number 1 issue in the future decades?
Brandi DeCarli : Absolutely. Food is something that connects us all, and is also directly tied to environmental issues, societal trends and political stability and economic growth. Few things are AS interconnected and core to our global wellbeing as our food system. The nutritional crisis is only going to be amplified with climate change. We must start addressing some of these challenges in our distribution gaps, production methods, and consumption trends or we are really going to have a significant food crisis on our hands.
How do you fix that huge problem with your company Farm from a box?
Brandi DeCarli : Every single person should have access to healthy, nutrient-rich food that is produced in a way that benefits the land and actively regenerates life. Our goal is to revolutionize local food production and enable communities around the world to grow their own nutritious food with clean technology. Over the years, industrialized agriculture has severely degraded our soil, put a massive strain on our natural resources, and decreased the nutritional value of our food. The food that is grown is often shipped great distances over complex distribution channels that leave access gaps between communities. We need a way to produce more nutritious, sustainably grown food locally in a cost effective, scalable way.
This is where Farm from a Box comes in- we created a deliverable infrastructure to strengthen local food production at the community level. It is basically a tricked-out shipping container that comes equipped with all of the technology needed to start and maintain a 3-6-acre planted farm. Designed to conserve water, save energy, and help build a healthy soil, Farm from a Box can reconnect people with healthy, nutritious food grown with clean technology.
Did you always imagine yourself as an entrepreneur or did Farm from a box emerge as you wanted to fix a particular problem?
Brandi DeCarli : No, I didn’t imagine myself as an entrepreneur, but my family would likely say I’ve always had the idealism and stubborn grit to become one. For me, it really emerged as seeing a problem and knowing we could do better, and really being unwilling to accept the status quo.
What kind of population/ client/community do you want to target?
Brandi DeCarli : Right now, our primary focus is on the US market, and particularly individual commercial growers, family producers, and businesses that are wanting to grow their own fresh, local food. We also have community-based growers that use our system as a way to turn previously unproductive land into local food hubs. In addition to our work in the US, we have also been applying our solution in remote communities that completely lack the infrastructure to support reliable crop growth.
One example is a project we did in Western Tanzania, where we collaborated with the United Nations World Food Programme to improve the nutritional intake and incomes of smallholder farmers. Using our deliverable farm system, we were able to help local farmers produce high quality nutrient-rich food for their own consumption and for market sales. What previously was a group of individual farmers struggling with rainfed agriculture, is now a community owned agribusiness- and that is a model that we absolutely want to scale out to other regions.
Did you always feel involved in sustainability?
What do you do as a citizen and entrepreneur to commit yourself every day?
Brandi DeCarli : One step before the other and just keep going. When building a company there are a lot of highs and lows, and sometimes it the best thing to do is take a moment and remember WHY I’m doing this. It can be so easy to lose contact with the WHY when dealing with all of the everyday tasks that face you as an entrepreneur and founder. We have to be brave enough to take the risks needed to build something truly innovative and impactful.
So a part of the commitment to that goal, also means I need to commit to myself and make sure I remain fueled to keep going. Those everyday acts of morning meditation, connecting with people throughout my day, doing my part as a citizen to make the right choices and avoid single use plastics, support local farmers through my own food purchases, compost in my kitchen… sometimes the little things can also make a world of difference.
You are also convinced that we need technology to solve the climate crisis?
Brandi DeCarli : Technology can be one of our greatest allies in solving the climate crisis. And I believe that we have the knowledge and ability to solve it right now. If you look at the work that Paul Hawken has down with Project Drawdown, there are so many things that can be right now to quickly and easily deploy climate solutions. Directing technological solutions to address challenges around emissions, waste, fossil fuels, production systems, even down to how we can start sequestering carbon into our urban areas… technology can make a huge impact in solving our climate crisis.
What would be your advice toward the youth who feels concerned about climate change?
Brandi DeCarli : Honestly, the youth of today are such a force in driving not only awareness of the problems we are facing but pushing for solutions and accountability. And they have to be- it’s their future that is at stake. My only advice is to keep going, be even more vocal- they are making changes happen and are driving this revolution towards a more sustainable future. Get your friends involved, parents, demand accountability and remember that as consumers they have the power to change “business-as-usual.” Be willing to build unlikely coalitions, because collective action is how we will change the systems that are currently in place. And obviously, never, ever give up.
Paulina Jonquères d’Oriola
