A Small Change To The Current WFP Container Designs Can Have A Huge Impact

We think the key to creating lasting development is eradicating hunger. We have shaped a plan to do just that and to set the stage for a progressive future in developing countries.

The basic plan:

We have a patent pending container design that doubles as a resource container and a building material. Resources (water, food, oil, and etc.) can be shipped to the people that need them with this container.

Once the people have used the resources the containers will be bought back and collected for three reasons:

1st : To keep the containers from being thrown away and becoming locked up within dumps.

2nd : To collect a mass amount of containers in one area to build large community aeroponic greenhouses or AGs.

3rd : To further aid people in need by giving them cash for the containers. Think of a "Cash for Gold" type organization only it's "Cash for Containers".

The AGs can be constructed almost anywhere and the community it serves can participate in a work-for-food program. This process can continue until there are enough AGs to create a surplus of food for all of the communities around the world.

The comprehensive plan:

The WFP shipped 2.1 million metric tons of food last year, 20% of which came from developed nations. If the WFP mandated that developed nations ship their food, 420,000 metric tons worth, within these containers the amount of containers being shipped would be enormous. For simplicity I decided to use the weight of water to calculate how many containers it would take to ship 420,000 metric tons of food. If each container can hold 8 liters and each liter of water weighs 1 kilogram then 52.5 million containers would be shipped in a year. 52.5 million containers isn’t necessary to start but that demonstrates that a small portion of the food that is sent as aid can also send a massive amount of containers.

A plastic container manufacturer can manufacture the containers. A happy medium will have to be found between the plastic container manufacturer (they want a high selling price), the WFP (they want a low purchase price) and us (we want a high royalty percentage).

Once the food has been used the containers will need to be bought back. We will use the money we have made from the container design royalties to start an organization around where the containers were shipped to to buy back the containers. Once enough containers have been gathered large community AGs can be built from the containers. Aeroponics will be the growing method of choice because it uses up to 60% less water and up to 90% less fertilizer than normal farming practices while producing bigger and higher quality yields all year around. The WFP workers along with local people can construct the AGs without needing anything more than their own hands. Additional building materials will need to be brought in to complete the AGs such as plastic manual atomizing sprayers (for watering the plants), plastic roof supports, clear plastic tarp roofing and plastic piping, all of which will be purchased by us.

The WFP may need to supply the AGs with water, fertilizer and seeds for a time depending upon what resources are available near the AGs. People can work in the AGs under a work-for-food program. This process will continue until enough AGs are made to create a surplus of food in an area. Once the cycle of hunger is broken and development begins the WFP can move on to other areas in need and repeat this plan.

As development progresses people will need to buy things other than food. The AGs can switch from the work-for-food program to working for money. To keep the AGs running efficiently a company will need to be in control of the AGs. The same organization that we used to purchase the containers will be the one that transforms the way the AGs do business to keep up with the development going on around them.

Reasons why this plan should happen:

We have read through the WFP’s “WFP Strategic Plan 2008 – 2011”, the FAO’s “World Food and Agriculture in Review 2009”, and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation website and discovered that they all suggest reasons why this plan is a great fit for short and long term goals in developing countries.

1st : In the “WFP Strategic Plan 2008 – 2011” under section 3 it is said that, "Economic shocks such as soaring food and fuel prices are diminishing the purchasing power of some of the most vulnerable households, exposing many millions to greater desperation and hunger. In many regions climate change contributes to the destruction of livelihoods, reduces agricultural yields and threatens lives pushing ever more people into desperation."

The AGs are a great solution to all of these problems. The price of food is reduced greatly because there are little or no costs from transportation, pesticides, washing, and fertilizer not to mention the amount of water used can be reduced by over half. The climate has little or no effect because that is what greenhouses are created for, controlling the environment. These two major obstacles can be easily overcome by the AGs.

2nd : In the FAO’s “World Food and Agriculture in Review 2009” it is said that, “The urban poor are likely to be particularly affected as urban areas are linked more directly to world markets and may suffer more directly from declining export demand and reduced foreign direct investment.” In the “WFP Strategic Plan 2008 – 2011” it is said that, “10. This Strategic Plan is based on WFP’s core principles whereby its activities, including emergency interventions, shall be: (4) as targeted and connected as possible to the needs of the most vulnerable and to national government priorities, programmes and strategies;”

The urban poor are the most vulnerable people in the world as stated by the FAO and the WFP said that they want to concentrate their help on the most vulnerable people. This plan will work best if it centered around the urban poor because there will be large communities of people that are ready and willing to work at the AGs. Building, running and supplying the AGs will be easy because everything is at one location not to mention divvying out the food will be simplified if the people can come directly to the AGs.

3rd : Information we found on the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation website stated that 275 million people living on less than $1 a day do not live in rural areas. We think that we should use a small portion of the people living in urban areas as a test group. If this plan is successful we can expand the breadth of our operation. As time goes on others will see the benefit of the AGs and move from their rural farms into large communities. This might be how things have to be in order to change the destinies of these people. The way people farm might have to change completely.

4th : In the FAO’s “World Food and Agriculture in Review 2009” it is said that, “In the present situation of severe hardship and future risks and uncertainties, efforts are required in at least four directions. It is necessary to address the immediate impact of the crisis through appropriate safety nets and social programmes to protect the poor and food-insecure. There is a need to step up investment in agriculture with the dual purpose of stimulating sustainable productivity increases to expand supply and of exploiting the potential of agriculture to contribute to economic development and poverty alleviation in the LDCs. In this regard, high prices also represent an opportunity for agricultural producers and imply higher returns to investments in the agriculture sector, whether public or private. The fact that hunger was increasing even before the food and economic crises suggests that technical solutions are insufficient. To lift themselves out of hunger, the food insecure need control over resources, access to opportunities and improved governance at the local, national and international levels based on right-to-food principles. Finally, it is necessary to strengthen the international trading system in order to prevent measures implemented to protect domestic populations from destabilizing international markets and penalizing other countries.”

This might be the most the most powerful reason why this plan should happen. This plan addresses all four directions; first, the containers provide immediate relief in a couple of ways. They contain resources for people to use for initial relief and the AGs will have an obligation to the communities they serve to see the hungry as their priority. Second, the AGs are a sustainable solution because they produce low cost high quality food anywhere and all year around. After a surplus of food is created the food can be shipped to other markets being marked up to that markets prices and sold for a high profit. The high profits will allow for high paychecks to be paid to the workers speeding up development. Third, having the AGs right next to them, people in urban areas will have access to the best food prices. A rule that will govern all AGs is that the local community comes first. After the community is fed surplus food is shipped to more lucrative markets. Also, as the communities develop they will eventually have a much higher GDI allowing for local price increases. Fourth, with the AGs run by one organization price control over food will be easier than leaving it up to fluctuating international markets.

5th : Massive greenhouses have been used before to turn poor areas into wealthy ones. This example talks about hydroponics instead of aeroponics but the point is that it can and has been done. "In many parts of the world, but especially in the province of Almeria, Spain, hydroponic growing methods have changed the way farmers operate. And in the process, Almeria has been transformed from the poorest province of Spain into one of the ten most affluent!", wrote Bruce Schundler.

Other benefits of the containers:

The containers can contain multiple resources at once by dividing its interior into sections. For example, water, rice, oil, and other resources can be put inside one container making it easier to give a person all the rations they need at once.

The design of the container makes shipping easy because they naturally lock together.

The containers can be filled with many different types of resources such as: water, food, crop seeds, animal feed, fertilizer, pesticides, oil, gasoline, medical supplies, and etc.

The containers can be turned into manual atomizing sprayers by replacing its original cap with a modified cap. The modified cap will have a manual pump, hose, and atomizing nozzle.

The containers can be used to contain the roots of growing plants. Simple modifications to the existing design, flipping the container upside down and drilling holes in the bottom of the container (where plant roots will grow into) and drilling a hole in the side of the container (for the atomizing nozzle to spray into), is all that it takes to create the containers needed for growing plants. Excess water can drain out of where the caps originally screwed into the container and then fall into a trough that carries the excess water into a collection container.

If the containers are no longer needed they can be collected up from their built location and shipped off to be recycled or reused somewhere else.

Important: The design of the containers has changed since the patent was sent to the USPTO. The caps of the containers can now be used to further secure the containers together by keeping the containers from moving vertically. This new design doesn’t require any extra parts. I am working on getting drawings to demonstrate the principal.

Description: A resource container that can be used as a building material

We made this invention because in developing countries and disaster areas there is a lack of basic resources (food, water, oil, fertilizer, pesticides, crop seeds, livestock feed, medical supplies, and etc.) and usable building material. We think there needs to be a simple and inexpensive way to get the basic resources and usable building materials to these areas in one package.

The invention is a means to contain a resource within a container until the resource is removed from the said container. Once said resource has been removed the said container can be filled with sand, dirt, rocks, or etc. to then be used as a building material with insulating capabilities.

The invention consists of:

1) cap(s)

2) container

3) securing protrusion(s)

4) securing recess(es)

5) handle(s)

6) resource divider

The parts of the invention are to accomplish the following:

The 1) cap(s) screw onto or into the 2) container to seal said container's contents inside of said container.

The 2) container is used to contain resources until the resources are removed. Once the resources have been removed the 2) container can be filled with sand, dirt, rocks, or etc. and then can be used as a building material with insulating capabilities.

The 3) securing protrusion(s) protrude out from a 2) container and fit tightly into another 2) container's 4) securing recess(es) which secures the respective 2) containers together.

The 5) handle(s) are used to aid in the transportation the containers.

The 6) resource divider is a barrier that is within the 2) container that separates different resources from each other allowing the 2) container to contain multiple types of resources at once.

The invention can be manufactured in a factory by using molds.

Fig. 1: shows a ¾ elevated view one container

Fig. 2: shows a ¾ drop view one container

Fig. 3: shows a ¾ elevated view of multiple stacked containers


If this plan is could end the daily suffering of anyone then it is worth attempting. Let us know what you think.