Honorable Mention

According to the FAO (2020) 2.9 million people suffer from some type of food insecurity in Chile. Added to this is the fact that 700 million people could be displaced by water scarcity by 2030 (SDG, 2019), currently, Chile is the only nation in Latin America that will experience an “extremely high” level of water stress by the year 2040 (WRI, 2019). Water scarcity directly affects people’s access to food considering that desertification affects 7 million people and 72% of the national territory (CONAF, 2016). Therefore, food security is and will be a priority in the arid zones of the country.

The research raised the following question: How to provide arable land to arid areas? For this, the use of Tenso-textiles structures from the area was considered, which allows simple production, easy transfer, and installation. These textiles allow water to be captured from the air and directed to crop baskets installed in the same textile structure. This structure is hung to separate it from the heat of the ground and allow greater interaction of people with food. Its design is inspired by the fog catchers of the Chilean town of Punta Patache, located in the north of the country (Camanchaca).

The intended impact of AIR GARDENS is to increase access to food in arid areas of the country, which are not only considered extreme areas but also urban areas that today suffer the effects of drought and whose soils are deteriorated or limited in cultivable areas. and in this way increase the interaction spaces of the communities in green areas capable of generating new products, experiences, and services in the area.