Modular Floating Farms
Te Fatu Vai"The Heart of Water"
Overview
Te Fatu Vai is Tuvalu's floating food system—a modular, solar-integrated farming platform that floats gently on the lagoon while feeding the people. Named "The Heart of Water," each Te Fatu Vai cluster honors the relationship between land, sea, and life. It transforms the ocean into a place of nourishment, ceremony, and care.
Each cluster is made of one central hexagon and six surrounding grow pods, creating a ring of resilience. The design allows it to move with the tides, survive tropical storms, and serve up to 75 people per unit with daily greens, herbs, and sacred crops.
Key Features
“Designed to float, built to nourish, sacred by nature.”
Floating Design
Made from marine-grade barrels and recycled platforms, each unit is anchored to the lagoon bed and flexes gently with waves to avoid damage.
Rain Capture & Storage
Rainwater is collected from angled canopy wings and stored in central tanks for irrigation.
Grow Space
Each pod supports compact raised garden beds with vertical trellises and low-profile crops suited to sun, salt, and heat.
Guardian Monitoring
Each unit is linked to the Guardian system for monitoring soil moisture, pump timing, nutrient cycles, and maintenance alerts.
Solar Integration
Solar panels provide energy for water pumps, Guardian sensors, and optional LED grow lights.
Coral Cradle
A submerged reef crown below the central hex encourages coral propagation and lagoon biodiversity.
Adaptation & Local Customization
Te Fatu Vai is a reference design, not a fixed blueprint. Every island, village, or steward team may adapt it—adjusting layout, crop mix, materials, or features based on site needs, climate realities, and cultural practices. Some may scale it smaller for tight lagoons; others may expand the number of pods or integrate traditional fishing weirs or canoe docks.
Guardian and Arbor support localized management and provide real-time data to guide modifications. Communities are encouraged to modify, remix, and ritualize the design—ensuring each farm becomes truly theirs, shaped by ancestral wisdom and present-day needs.
Ritual & Stewardship
Te Fatu Vai is not just a farm—it is a floating covenant. It is cared for like a canoe, a shrine, or a child. Every harvest is logged. Every storm it weathers is remembered. And every youth who tends it grows up with a new story of food, strength, and responsibility.
Its design is open-source and offered freely to other Pacific islands and climate-threatened communities through the Civic Commons License. What floats in Tuvalu today may help feed the world tomorrow.
Estimated Monthly Calorie Yield by Crop Type
(Example Distribution)
Crop | Area (m²) | Yield (kg/m²/month) | Calories/kg | Monthly kcal |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Sweet Potato | 30 m² | ~1.5 | 86 | 3,870 kcal |
Cassava | 20 m² | ~1.0 | 160 | 3,200 kcal |
Taro | 15 m² | ~1.2 | 142 | 2,556 kcal |
Peanuts | 10 m² | ~0.8 | 567 | 4,536 kcal |
Pigeon Pea | 10 m² | ~0.7 | 343 | 2,401 kcal |
Plantains | 2 trees | ~2.5 kg/tree/month | 122 | 610 kcal |
Greens + Okra (vertical) | 10 m² | — | — | supplemental |
Misc rotation (beans, etc.) | 10 m² | 1 | ~70 | 700 kcal |
Reuse Pavilion Integration
Te Fatu Vai farms are directly linked to the Reuse Pavilion’s Veggie Market—a community-based distribution hub where surplus harvests are weighed, tagged, and made available to families at low or no cost. Youth stewards transport baskets of greens and herbs from each farm to the Pavilion, where produce is sorted and placed in clearly labeled bins for community pickup or exchange.
Guardian tracks flow data and freshness, while Arbor terminals at the Pavilion allow families to see what’s available, leave recipe notes, or provide feedback. During seasonal ceremonies, vegetables from Te Fatu Vai are featured in communal meals and sold alongside seedlings and compost bags made from the same farms’ waste—creating a complete circular loop of nourishment, reuse, and local pride.
Specifications & Dimensions
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Primary Decking: Composite decking (PVC or wood-poly mix),UV-rated, water-impervious.
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Overall Span (tip to tip): ~18 meters (across grow pod edges)
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Central Platform (hexagon): 6 meters flat-to-flat, 5 meters corner-to-corner
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Central Platform Grow Area: ~25 m² usable planting and canopy space
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Each Grow Pod: 3 meters wide × 6 meters long
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Total Grow Area (all pods + center): ~128 m²
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Draft (Depth Below Waterline): ~0.6–0.8 meters
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Above-Water Height: ~1.5 meters (includes railing and solar canopy)
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Solar Array: 6–8 panels (400W each), ~2.4–3.2 kW total
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Water Storage: 600–1000 liters (central tank, gravity-fed)
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Flotation System: HDPE barrels with sealed 200-liter buoyancy units, secured with marine-grade ratchet straps.
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Weight (dry/wet): ~1,000–1,700 kg per cluster depending on water retention and planting
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Design Life: 10–15 years with routine re-sealing and annual checks
