Building a FoodRoof in One Week

Abstract

The theoretical background and even the shopping list of required materials may be complete and ready this doesn’t mean the construction of the FoodRoof is easy. We set ourselves a target of ‘one-week, one-roof’. Within a week all materials needed to be purchased, tools needed to become available, the materials needed to be transported to the house and on to the roof and the system needed to be constructed. Without the help from local architect Marcelo Mourão, we wouldn’t have been able to achieve the result. When the only available drill wasn’t suitable, Marcelo brought his own, when the fish needed to be bought from outside the city Marcelo arranged the purchase and transport. When we were short on clay balls, Marcelo knew the flower stall where they provided us with 700 l. Meanwhile, two graduates constructed the system on the roof. The manual proved to be an excellent help explaining to the installer, local residents and shop owners what was needed and how things should be constructed. When the system was nearly ready, there was no water available in the favela to fill the tanks.