2024 Galleries
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Galleries // 2024 Spark:Fall/Winter Student // Lombriz Nadando - Wastewater Treatment
Lombriz Nadando - Wastewater Treatment
Winner - Silver
Competition: Spark:Fall/Winter Student
Designer: Felix Ke Chen
Design Type: Product & industrial, Sustainable Design
Company / Organization / School: Imperial College London / RCA / UAL
Website: http://felixchen.net
Team Members: Felix Ke Chen & Ivy Cheung（London College of Communication, UAL)
Lombriz Nadando (swimming earthworm) is an innovative and cost-effective wastewater treatment system designed specifically for small coffee farms. It uses earthworms in a vermifiltration process to treat wastewater, which is rich in sugars and acids from coffee washing processes, while simultaneously composting solid waste, such as coffee pulp. This dual-purpose system addresses two significant environmental issues: water pollution and soil contamination at coffee origins. The system is modular and scalable, making it adaptable to farms of varying sizes. Its design utilises local materials, gravity-fed filtration, and requires minimal maintenance, ensuring affordability and accessibility for resource-limited farmers. By converting organic waste into nutrient-rich compost, it prevents the anaerobic conditions that threaten local aquatic ecosystems, promotes sustainable and organic agriculture, improves soil health, and protects biodiversity. The project has been successfully prototyped on a small farm in Cauca, Colombia, validating its performance in real world conditions. Tests have shown that it effectively improves water quality by reducing organic pollutants and balancing pH levels, while accelerating composting processes. Lombriz Nadando empowers small coffee farmers to adopt sustainable practices that benefit both the environment and their livelihoods.
