SUNDROP FARMS provides a unique solution for food and water security problems faced in agriculture. Where other organisations can only pay lip service to the dream of growing sustainably in the desert, the SUNDROP FARMS greenhouse in Port Augusta, South Australia currently produces 130,000kg of Tomatoes over 2,000sqm per year, using only seawater treated with solar power.

SUNDROP FARMS plan to construct a second $25m, 8ha greenhouse near the original site, which will produce 2.8m kg of tomatoes and 1.2m kg of capsicums per year. Relying on only 15% fossil fuels, the new site will save the equivalent of about 4.64m barrels of oil equivalent per year compared to a standard greenhouse in a similar location

SUNDROP FARMS’ amazing innovation is to integrate desalination technology with solar collectors, turbines and a supply of seawater. The heat required by the desalination technology is provided by solar collectors, and heated water can also be used to warm the greenhouse and drive turbines for power. The efficiency and self-suffiency of the system brings profits $170,000 greater per hectare per year compared to a standard greenhouse.

This system was developed over the past two years through an arduous but rewarding combination of in-house R&D and extensive remodeling with technology partners.

The SUNDROP FARMS system offers a variety of benefits to growers. The desalination process produces pure, distilled water, with no need for chemical treatments. The near total self-sufficiency of the greenhouses mean that fossil fuel needs and power costs are vastly reduced. SUNDROP FARMS greenhouses can be built on extremely cheap land, and in many cases can be built in areas previously thought entirely unsuitable for food production.

PHILIPP SAUMWEBER, managing director of SUNDROP FARMS, says ‘The Sundrop Farms system is something of which we are immensely proud. Where many organisations have developed theoretical models or concepts for this kind of sustainable growth, Sundrop Farms have already achieved tangible, financially viable and highly green results. As the company expands, we will demonstrate that our model provides not only a source of green production and jobs, but great financial returns as well.’

For more information please contact:

www.sundropfarms.com

Josh@markborkowski.co.uk

02031762700

 

Top cloud eCommerce platform Powa today announces the launch of mPowa, a revolutionary software/hardware package which will allow small businesses, travelling salespeople and other hard working Brits to turn their smartphones into card payment machines. Using a free credit card reader which plugs directly into their audio jack in conjunction with an app, business people can swipe customer credit cards and debit cards and take payments, just like that.

mPowa will breathe life into local business in Britain. Small businesses currently losing custom thanks to hefty parking charges, double yellow lines, or the allure of low-traffic out of town superstores can now deliver their wares door to door. Where once a butcher or farmers’ market salesman was tied to one location, using mPowa allows them to take their products directly to their customers without having to rely solely on cash payments.

Plumbers, roving salespeople and other domestic or travelling businesspeople can use mPowa to maximise customer convenience and, consequently, profit. Customers can pay with their card, receive instant receipts and generally deal with businesspeople operating on a travelling basis in the same way they would deal with a supermarket or national chain.

mPowa allows small business people to completely upgrade the way they work. It allows for the creation of customisable loyalty programs and detailed transaction spread sheets, as well as providing a wealth of customer data to use with their marketing system of choice. Personalised receipts and photo-recognition data allow business owners to know their loyal customers better than ever before- and keep them coming back.

mPowa is free to download, free to set up, and costs retailers just 0.25% per transaction. It allows them to take credit card and debit card payments of any kind on their iPhones, iPads, Android Phones, and Blackberry mobile devices.

mPowa’s 2012 launch will mark the first time a product of this type has been launched in the UK. The ingenious plug in card reader works with the free mPowa app that will be available in the smartphones’ marketplaces to allow sellers to process card transactions quickly and with no fuss, giving sellers and their customers a simple and reliable purchasing experience.

mPowa is highly secure – its level 1 PCI compliance puts it at the same level as a bank site – and security is further assured thanks to a number of ingenious identity verification measures. The precise location of each transaction is recorded by the app, making life near-impossible for fraudsters.

Dan Wagner, Serial entrepreneur and CEO of mPowa, said: ‘Since the financial crisis, all small business people have heard is doom and gloom. We hope to bring them some resounding good news going into 2012 with an easy to use technology that will make their businesses faster and significantly more attractive to customers.’

For more information please contact Josh at josh@borkowski.do or Patsy at patsy@borkowski.do on 020 3176 2700

www.mPowa.me

 

Jeremy Paxton, owner of stunning Gloucestershire vacation home development Lower Mill Estate, is so committed to the local environment- and his passion for helicopters- that he has trained as the UK’s first private airborne fire ranger. Jeremy decided to obtain the prestigious, “International Rescue”-style qualification when he realised that the beautiful local flora and fauna he and his team have worked so hard to protect and develop might face destruction if a forest fire were to strike.

The estate’s helicopter has been fitted with special fire fighting equipment to help in the struggle to protect Lower Mill’s 4000 species of wildlife, spread across the 650 acres it covers. Now, just as LME’s team of estate rangers and wildlife specialists have been able to keep tabs on all the moves and wriggles of its wildlife from the ground, if necessary Jeremy can swing into action and protect them from the air. The Tracy Brothers would have been proud.

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Think the only way to get close and personal with nature is to jet off to the savannah? Think again- book a break at luxury Cotswolds housing development Lower Mill Estate this autumn and you’ll have the chance to venture into the wilds on a unique British nature safari, yet never be more than a quick drive from the spa! You might be surprised at what you’ll see, too: with beavers, otters, badgers and all sorts of other creatures great and small roaming their 650 acres of countryside, the Lower Mill team are confident you’ll have the kind of stunning experience most people think they can’t get here in blighty.

Autumn is a busy time for the estate’s wildlife, who set to work gathering food, building homes and generally getting themselves ready for the harsh winter ahead. The beavers’ preparations are particularly enchanting. Preparing in case the lakes they inhabit freeze over, they set to work creating rafts of their favourite snack- leaves and bark from willow trees- then sinking them with stones: just like storing them in their own personal fridge! It’s a sight you’re not likely to come across anywhere else in Britain, and one most people don’t even know exists.

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Foxes rooting through the bins? Neighbours on a campaign to annoy? Maybe you should be moving out to Lower Mill Estate, the luxury Cotswolds housing development whose residents now share their space with families of playful otters thanks to a new conservation scheme.

Lower Mill is spearheading UK-wide otter conservation efforts by creating a revolutionary ‘disturbance zone’ within their communities. This gives just enough distance between the otters, residents and built environment to allow the otters to feel safe, while allowing locals to observe their reintroduction.

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This Christmas starts with the TV institution NOEL’S CHRISTMAS PRESENTS on Sky 1 HD and Twofour Productions are looking for people who truly deserve the Christmas present of a lifetime.

Maybe it’s someone who has given their life to help a charity, an individual or an underprivileged group. Do you know someone who has faced adversity, through personal circumstances, illness or loss and has been a selfless and inspiring example to others?

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