Mumbai chefs are lining up to source their leafy greens from Kisano, a new vertical, hydroponic farm. Its founders are hoping that so will you
With their baby steps in farming, brothers and co-founders of Kisano, Brian and Benjamin Zehr want to reduce the world's carbon footprint. "The problem we're trying to solve is: how do we feed the next billion people without destroying the environment?" says Brian. Their solution was Kisano, a vertical, hydroponic farm, a 5,000 sqft space outside of Aurangabad, which uses one per cent of the land and five per cent of the water as field agriculture. If a regular farmer can grow five heads of lettuce in a one square foot field, Kisano can grow 20 heads vertically.
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"But the difference is, I have 13 growing cycles in a year versus one outdoors," says Brian. "So, it's actually 260 heads of lettuce per square foot versus five. Our produce is better for people and for the planet."
Benjamin and Brian Zehr
Kisano has been launched with good intentions, and even more importantly, sound technology. Brian, 29, did his undergrad from the University of Illinois in plant molecular biology and is a former consultant for ag-tech and biotech, while Benjamin, 25, studied agriculture and international development at Cornell University.
"I can confidently say we've built the most high-tech and sophisticated indoor facility," says Brian, who fields most of the questions. The two spent all of last year on R&D, and hope to patent their tech in the future. "We worked with global partners to accelerate our tech development. Hydroponic technology has been around for 20 years. The challenge for us was, how do we bring that indoors? And, how do we make it more land-efficient?"
Hydroponic, which means soil-less technology, feeds the water, salts and minerals to a plant directly to its roots. But Kisano goes a step further, by using climate control sensors to customise recipes for each plant. "Just like a person would go to a nutritionist and get a customised plan, each plant is also different and requires a unique recipe. We're gathering thousands of data points every day, which is helping us rapidly improve our technology." As an example, he cites, "We grow our basil to maximise its aromatic compounds, so the essential oils are really strong. It's all about helping plants achieve their natural potential."
The well-oiled sales pitch has certainly worked on the chefs of Olive, Sequel, The Nutcracker and Slink & Bardot. Chef Alexis Gielbaum, Slink & Bardot, says, "I had worked with other hydroponic farms in the past and often felt that the produce was 'watered down' in terms of taste. Working with Brian and Benjamin, I actually came around to appreciating the sustainability and consistency of hydroponics." Vanika Choudhary, Sequel, says, "At Kisano, the produce is harvested fresh and they don't spray any pesticides, ensuring it tastes great."
Kisano produces 10 tonnes of leafy greens in a year, and currently has over 50 crop types in its pilot facility, which include 15 types of lettuce; kale such as purple, curly and heirloom; Swiss chard; bok choy; and mustard greens. Its green thumb extends to culinary herbs, such as basil, rosemary and sage, and tomato varieties such as grape, heirloom, oxheart and French marmande. When we ask him how he plans to feed a billion people with oxheart tomato, he says, "In the short term, we're focused on rare varieties. As we perfect the technology, we'll be able to bring more and more crops indoors."
For now, the bourgeois can order the discovery box on the website (www.kisano.in) for '500. What works in Kisano's favour is that it's the heyday of clean eating. "More and more people want to know where their food is coming from, and they're very conscious about the health and environment." And, you couldn't get greens more squeaky clean than these.
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