Mexico, Oscar’s challenge: hydroponic fodder

The life of the guests of Casa San Benito, in Mexico, flows following the daily rhythms dictated by the rehabilitation programs. Each is busy with their own activities; each makes available to others what they know how to do. Talents are valued, skills are shared . The LiberarSè – Refuge of Hope project supported by AMU seeks to address the strong inequalities in the social fabric that in Mexico favor unemployment and marginalization, also through reciprocity . The story of Oscar, and his challenge in the use of hydroponic fodder, is an example. At Casa San Benito Oscar takes care of the rabbit breeding. But the cost of the feed is constantly increasing. It was necessary to find an alternative solution to their purchase, even if necessary. So Oscar proposed implementing a small hydroponic green fodder module – a cultivation technique outside of the soil – to alternate and perhaps gradually replace the use of industrialized feed with that obtained from the vegetal biomass of corn and wheat. This type of fodder has significant advantages: high digestibility and better nutritional quality. Perfect therefore for the rabbits of the San Benito Farm. Oscar’s idea is currently in an experimental phase. The test module uses 15 trays inserted into a metal structure that Rubèn, a young blacksmith guest of Casa San Benito, has built with recycled materials. Each tray can produce from 8 to 10 kilograms of fodder and its production cycle varies from 12 to 15 days. It is an economic and profitable production, in fact it requires only water and seeds. For Oscar, raising rabbits with this feed is a challenge: “I feel happy and grateful to have been able to put at the service of everyone an experience and knowledge that I had since school, years ago”. And he adds proudly: “Here talents are not wasted, but made useful for others”. In the next few weeks, the first kilos of hydroponic fodder will be “tasted” by a part of the rabbit farm, and then a gradual replacement will be carried out, under the supervision of specialized zootechnical personnel.