We All Eat is a mindfully-rooted, immersive workforce experience for at-risk Pittsburgh youth, aged 18-24, that explores future workforce possibilities while enhancing life skills through exposure to making, building, and growing.
We allow young adults to survey potential manufacturing and building interests and aptitudes through an introduction to wood and metal shops, using laser beams/CNC routers/3-D printers, welding, and more via Pittsburgh’s oldest makerspace, Hack Pittsburgh. Complementing this introduction, participants experience urban food production through both soilless and traditional methodology. The introduction to "making" through equipment use and process engagement that results in tangible outcomes allows participants to also build and make a range of items: from modular hydroponics systems to resin cast jewelry using single flowers grown in said system -- with financial sustainability in a trauma-informed environment the goal.
Our submission is the prototype of what we call "The InfiniteHerb," which is an artistic, modular, soilless food habitation system we hope to bring to market. The InfiniteHerb is a hydroponic food system for indoor, year round growing that is one example of our participants utilizing the skills they developed to impact the food system. The project combines CNC routing, laser etching, reclaiming Keurig cups (EWWWWWWWWW!!!!!), polymer clay, living fertilizer made from anaerobic digestion of local food waste, and hand-painting. The end result is an aesthetically pleasing system that takes most of the maintenance out of year-round edible growth.
See the living musical instrument and light show, converting the biodata of the plants into MIDI, OSC, and hence sound and image
Our project is a fledgling sociocratic cooperative. Which makes it extra cool.
We strive to ensure that We All Eat (and enjoy) local, chemical-free food.
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