Ridaa Manuel with learners from Pelican Park High School, where hydroponic farming is promoting sustainable food production, practical skills and new opportunities for the school community. Image: Nathan Adams/UWC

At Pelican Park High School, a solar-powered vertical hydroponic system, backed by Islamic Relief and built with UWC expertise, is growing crops, future farmers and food for families in need.

The farm is growing upwards. Rows of lettuce, kale, spinach, rocket, parsley and strawberries rise from vertical towers, grown without soil and powered by the sun.

For UWC project manager Ridaa Manuel, the system is the result of a personal journey. A mechanical engineer, he has travelled through Africa and seen first-hand how many people struggle to access food, water and energy. "What you see here is a manifestation of that vision," he says. "The skills needed were here, but it only works when people come together."

That coming together is a partnership between UWC, Islamic Relief South Africa and the school. Islamic Relief funded the project, while UWC brought its science and engineering expertise to design and install the system. For Manuel, the aim is lasting change rather than a once-off handout: "We're giving people a system."

"We believe it's the future of farming," Manuel says. Solar panels generate electricity, which is stored in a battery that powers a pump. The pump draws water and nutrients from a reservoir and runs them continuously through the system, recycling the same water again and again. Because the plants are fed all the time, Manuel says they grow up to five times faster, using 90% less water than conventional farming.

Spinach growing in a solar-powered hydroponic system at Pelican Park High School, supporting sustainable food production and hands-on learning for learners. Image: Nathan Adams/UWC

With no soil and no grid connection needed, the system can run almost anywhere. "It's off-grid farming," Manuel says. "You can use it in any yard, wherever you are." Growing vertically also means more nutritious food in a smaller space. And because it runs on solar power and feeds water and nutrients straight to the plants through pipes, it is net-zero farming, with no greenhouse gas emissions and no damage to the land.

The school already had strong foundations. Its roughly 120 Agricultural Sciences learners in Grades 10 to 12 have achieved a 100% pass rate for four years running, and the vertical system adds space for about 600 more crops, with 48 plants in each two-metre unit. For farm manager Clifford Caesar, the subject opens doors well beyond farming. "Most students become entrepreneurs," he says.

The harvest reaches beyond the classroom. Produce supports the school's feeding scheme and is sold at community market days every six weeks. Twelve women identified by Islamic Relief, who care for orphans and at-risk children, benefit directly, and surplus food goes to others in need.

For Manuel, the real harvest is people. "The workforce of the future will be these students, who go out into the communities and do this, and provide food and water across Africa," he says.