Innovation and operations

Projects around C.HARGH

Environmental protection:

Climate change and factory farming go hand in hand and not only pose a threat to our food security, but are the driver of water scarcity and its availability and are a danger for biological diversity worldwide. They are one of the main causes of environmental disasters. The production and consumption of animal products is one of the main factors in climate change!

Click here for the project against factory farming and environmental protection. The sustainable and effective link between food production and environmental protection are our concern and the only alternative!

Empyreum:

Sustainable and future-oriented living combined with innovative work and participation opportunities. C.HARGH combines economic efficiency with the Empyreum community project on its site and thus offers a strong integration between community, leisure, life and development. Click here for the Empyreum Project.

Aquaponics and plant breeding at the C.HARGH Center

A hydroponics and aquaponics system is operated in the center, which, in addition to the cultivation of fish, crayfish and feed and energy plants, also ensures the cultivation of hemp and many other plants, such as berries, herbs, salads and much more.

The special thing about “conventional agriculture” in this concept is the combination of fish farming and plant breeding on a vertical level in order to breed fish and plants on several floors under artificial lighting. In a closed cycle in which the fish produce the nutrients for the plants and plants in turn also serve as food for the fish, a separate ecosystem is created that creates a productive cycle in the circulatory system. Algae and duckweed are specifically integrated as feed for fish farming. This method allows the yield per hectare to be increased enormously, as it can be harvested several times a year and more dimensionally is worked and harvested under well-controlled and monitored conditions.

Aquaponics will accommodate various animal and plant genera, the “useful stock”. Among other things:

Fish etc. “Inside”: Tilapia, other tropical perch, catfish and showfish such as goldfish, crayfish, saline crabs, feed algae.

Fish etc. Greenhouse: carp, tench, trout, zander, crayfish. On the south side of the construction, algae are being grown on the outer wall using transparent pipes, which serve as fish and crab food.

Growing areas and types: There are different ways of growing plants in aquaponics.

In so-called “ebb/flood systems”, the growing area is regularly flooded with water and drained so that the plants can get the necessary amount of nutrients and water. This is possible using a simple siphon technique. Another option is to let the roots of the plants grow directly in water that flows through the growing tanks/areas, with the plants growing in a substrate pot that does not come into direct contact with the water, but rather the roots in the water grow. This technology has already been well tested and is already in industrial use. Another option is to let the useful water flow through a pipe system with holes for the plants. The pipes can be arranged both horizontally and vertically, the water automatically always flows downwards, so that you can work vertically from the ground and the number of plants per square meter can be multiplied, in contrast to conventional cultivation on ground level . This cane cultivation technique has already proven itself for salads and herbs, but also for strawberries, and is used successfully, at least in small private use.

Low-growing plants such as lettuces can also be grown quite easily on several levels under artificial lighting; modern LED technology with low waste heat makes this possible easily and cost-effectively.

This aquaponics concept is already being used successfully commercially in the USA, among others. This means that a multiple of the yield per square meter is possible as in normal field cultivation.

Another successful aquaponics project can be found near Waren an der Müritz. There, around 8 tonnes of tomatoes and 18 tonnes of fish are produced, processed and sold every year in an approx. 500m2 greenhouse and 27,000l fish tank.

Plant breeding and hemp production

In addition to many varieties of cannabis for research, processing, sales and breeding, various other plants are grown, harvested and bred all year round in the form of permaculture.

Soft fruits such as Andean berries, blackberries, blueberries, strawberries, and possibly other berries as well as legumes, herbs, tomatoes, cucumbers and salads are produced for food production and self-sufficiency. The aquaponics breeding system is also used to research the cultivation of tubers and root vegetables.

C.HARGH will also breed threatened German/European crayfish species for species preservation and release into the wild, as well as breed non-threatened species. Recycling of materials is a focus of sustainability and is carried out at the center through materials research. Example materials include the exoskeletons of deceased animals for 3D printing.

Year-round harvesting of hemp indoors is made possible through cuttings from mother plants and seeds. To do this, the plants are sent to flower at a staggered time in each flowering room and a monthly harvest is achieved in the cycle. Depending on the variety, the cycle varies due to the different total flowering times, which are optimized through trials and tests in the center research facility.

Sales and further processing products include the flowers, leaves, seeds, cuttings and other extracted substances from the entire plant. Extracted substances such as resin for the medical sector, oils and, through further chemical processing steps, distillates and isolates of cannabinoids and terpenes can generate good returns and make the center interesting for investment. The cannabinoid and CBD market represent a major buyer of Center's own production. Self-made raw materials for further processing and refinement as well as end products such as oils, tinctures, waxes, resins, creams and others are produced and marketed.

The medical market for pain treatment is growing at a double-digit rate every year and the European pharmaceutical industry is currently purchasing on a very large scale worldwide. Because there is too little material available for further processing in Europe and beyond Europe. With C.HARGH, a large supplier will emerge that can reliably provide at least 10-25 tons per year for further processing. The Asian market, especially with its cancer treatment, is also being developed.

Betriebsaltag im Zentrum

Buildings and production

To grow hemp indoors, different spaces with different environmental conditions are created depending on the vegetation phase and genetics. Mother plants, cuttings, plants in the growth phase and “automatic genetics” are provided with up to 20 hours of light. Plants in the flowering phase receive approximately 12 hours of light and other environmental values. In addition to the lighting duration, the nutrient content and PH value of the planting substrate and water, the air humidity and temperature, the temperature can also, depending on the cultivation method, be taken into account, the planting substrate as an equivalent to the roots of the plants. Many products after the harvest can also be further distributed, such as hemp and its stems, which are now in great demand in the building materials trade. The internal insulation is made with a product called hempcrete and is made with hemp blocks instead of glass or rock wool. All you need is the dry hemp stalk and some plaster, which can then be cut to size as the blocks are needed.

Tours are offered within the facility to give customers and interested parties an insight into the operation and the concept. Restaurants will be created in two areas that only work with internal products.

The fish area where the fish and crabs live can be walked through and is set up like a huge aquarium.

There will be at least one enclosed space that serves as an aquarium and two-story acrylic glass tubes in between that visitors and staff can walk through. Tables, chairs and relaxation areas are set up on the left and right sides. Anyone who wants to eat can sit at a table and be served food and drinks. If you prefer to watch the animals, you can retreat to one of the relaxation areas, sit on one of the sofas and enjoy the underwater.

Above the aquarium there are 5-9 floors for plant cultivation. Depending on the overall height specified by the authorities. Part of the facility is used for administration and cannot be visited.

A greenhouse will be built on the roof in which a restaurant will be housed, which will contribute to the atmosphere and experience, including raised beds and plant cultivation. The goal is to create an environment of amazement and experience in which people enjoy eating, working and learning. It is certainly interesting for the children to see how the plants live in symbiosis with each other and how the herbs, vegetables, fruits and berries are harvested directly from the raised bed and go into food.

A floor is also planned for poultry farming. What is important is the possibility of access to daylight and into open areas outside the building.

A floor is also planned for poultry farming. What is important is the possibility of access to daylight and into open areas outside the building.

The facility is planned over an area of ​​approximately 100 - 150 hectares of land. The size of the pure aquaponics will be around 75% of the property and the cost of the building will be around 150-170 million euros and the interior will be around 50 million euros. The aquarium equipment and the acrylic glass cost around 10 million euros and the greenhouse restaurant around 15 million euros. Poultry farming costs around 2 million euros

Regardless of the building, there should be space for a small collection of tiny houses that will be integrated into the Empyreum project. A small collection of around 30 houses in an alternative house community. Depending on the location and topography, connections are laid for water, hot water supply and wastewater.

The community facility is planned as living space for employees and the local population, including infrastructure and offices. Suppliers and external processing can be accommodated and located in the center.

Support C.HARGH now!

C.HARGH wird in Bingöl entstehen. Eine Stadt in einer Region der Türkei, die für Ihre extrem saubere und hohe Luft Qualität bekannt ist. Die Region ist sehr fruchtbar und gut als Kur- und Heil- Region geeignet.