Research and Development

Levo is an innovation focused organization, it is in our mission. It is not common for a “non-profit” organization to have a well funded R&D department which is capable of creating new innovations and discoveries. But at Levo that is not the case because we recognize that we are working to solve the world’s biggest problems, and to do that we need to invest in creating new approaches to old problems. Levo has a research and product development team made up of industry experts and aspiring engineers, industrial designers, and scientists.

Fruiting Vegetables in non-Circulating Hydroponics

Levo is currently experimenting at the Connecticut Agriculture Research Station the potential of using simple “kratky” hydroponics to grow large fruiting plants such as tomatoes and peppers. The kratky method uses no circulation, and can be done with a small 5 gallon pail. Usually, Levo uses only greens like lettuce in these pails, because refilling the bucket risks drowning the plant’s roots. So Levo is working to create protocols to grow higher value fruiting plants. If Levo can create protocols for this method that are effective, it creates the possibility to cut the cost of hydroponic farming even further and drastically expand Levo’s ability to impact communities around the world.

Organic Hydroponic Fertilizer

A question Levo gets on a regular basis is whether or not our systems are organic. The answer is no because the fertilizer we use is not organic. This is largely an advantage, as it lowers the risk of contamination from organic fertilizer and allows for precise nutrient management, but it comes with two major downsides.

First, it is hard to find in many areas of the world, meaning Levo has to ship it in from the United States and it is common for the fertilizer not to make it to its destination.

Second, it is not made from sustainable materials. Levo is working therefore on an organic and locally sourced fertilizer that can be used to operate hydroponics. Levo’s product development team expects a viable fertilizer to be in circulation in the next 18 months thanks to a recent grant from the Connecticut Department of Agriculture.

Water Circulation in Babylon Systems

Levo International utilizes simplified hydroponics in both Haiti and the United States. Our systems, unlike traditional commercial hydroponics are focused on sacrificing some of the efficiency for lowering the cost of operating the system. In Haiti, that means the systems are hand-circulated, and in the United States they run on solar powered timers. This allows for someone to operate the systems without having access to power, but likely diminishes the yield. Levo is working to determine exactly how much yield is lost and aims to find the sweet spot where the loss of yield is marginal and inputs are as low as possible.

Intellectual Property

Levo is working with a team of volunteer industrial designers and engineers to create a new model of hydroponics based off the Victory Garden design. Levo’s product development team believes that this new design will improve plant density and reduce clogging of the roots. Testing of this design began in August 2021, and patent filing will occur in October, 2021.