What if we could pick our very own fruits and vegetables next to the local subway station? That's what this young company is aiming for. Co-founded in 2016 by engineer Paul Rousselin and combining short circuits, social links, and ecology, Cueillette Urbaine plants community gardens for businesses whose employees can then harvest the fruits (and vegetables!) all year round. In these green oases, organic waste is collected in compost bins that in turn produce natural fertilizer.
The company offers another novel service: large urban farms that use eco-friendly methods like aeroponics and aquaponics, all while adapting conventional agriculture to urban ecosystems. In fact, they're already active in a dozen different locations and developing more projects with Paris City Hall. Indeed, Cueillette Urbaine sees the future through green-tinted glasses.
It looks a bit like a flying saucer, at 70 cm diameter, it spins on itself. Family startup Sauréa is behind this revolutionary invention: a solar engine that can run for twenty years without wearing out or consuming electricity. Plus, it doesn't contain any toxic materials, which is more than can be said for batteries or lightbulbs. The idea comes straight from the rural Yonne region, near Auxerre, where engineer (French article missing a space) Gilles Cosy and his wife Isabelle Gallet-Coty have (another missing space) created an engine that directly converts solar energy to mechanical energy, the first of its kind in the world. And it only took twelve years of research.
The device is already being used in Africa to power water pumps and agricultural irrigation systems, replacing older models that were costly and had shorter life spans. Sauréa's just getting started: they're working on making the engine stronger so that it can be used to power ventilation systems, sprinklers, and public fountains.
Released last year by engineers Emmanuel Watrinet, Julien Janson, and Simon Létourneau, Carbo can help users reduce their impact on the environment. Its algorithm securely cross-references information on subscribers' bank balance with databases from the Agency for ecological transition and the European Commission, to evaluate our lifestyle's carbon footprint. Carbo also provides advice for reducing our emissions: products that can be replaced with more eco-friendly ones, green businesses, and more.
For the founders, the democratization of data and the app's fun and educational interface are key in encouraging individual good deeds on a daily basis. The application also supports other environmental initiatives aiming to reduce emissions, like Maï Aisha in Malawi, who are replacing traditional carbon ovens with locally made, eco-friendly ones.