GRO Greenhouses
Helping farmers grow vegetables year-round and in a manner adaptive to changing climates.
Project Information
Project Status: Active
Start Date: 2014
End Date: Ongoing
Countries: Mozambique (L), Sierra Leone
Portable, expandable, and affordable
Agriculture accounts for more than half of Sierra Leone’s Gross Domestic Product, and two-thirds of the population is engaged in subsistence farming linked with poverty and malnourishment.
Although farming is a staple of the nation’s economy, most crops in Sierra Leone are grown largely under rain-fed conditions, making them significantly vulnerable to variable seasonality of rainfall. Vegetables in Sierra Leone are limited in both supply and variety and available only half of the year.
World Hope International (WHI), Pennsylvania State University’s Humanitarian Engineering and Social Entrepreneurship Program (PSU-HESE) and Lehigh University work with local partners to sell GRO Greenhouses in Sierra Leone, helping farmers grow vegetables year-round and in a manner that is adaptive to changing climates.
The project originally piloted in Mozambique, as well.
Project Goals
- Within the framework of a greenhouse, use innovative technology and market-driven approaches to alleviate poverty through agriculture
- Empower women and provide opportunities for youth as well as access to education
Expected Outcomes
- Improved water sustainability
- Improved food security
- Increase in farmers’ income
- Application as an educational development tool for school feeding projects in primary schools as well as secondary, tertiary, and technical vocational institutions
- Decreased migration of youth from rural areas
USAID’s 2014 “Innovation Awardee,” Securing Water for Food Grand Challenge for Development
In 2014, the GRO Greenhouse project was named an Innovation Awardee in the Securing Water for Food (SWIF) Grand Challenge for Development by the US Agency for International Development (USAID).
The challenge aims to identify and accelerate innovative technologies and market-driven approaches that improve water sustainability, ultimately helping to boost food security and alleviate poverty.
