My father
Farmer & decision-maker
Age: Approximately 75About
My father owns five acres of land that, when this journey began, was empty — no crops, no water source, no access road. He wanted to turn it into a working farm growing commercial crops like areca nut, coconut, cardamom and black pepper, and build a steady income from it over time.
Goals
- Turn empty, undeveloped land into a productive commercial farm that earns income
- Operate every irrigation valve from one place
- Avoid repeated trips across the land to start and stop the water jets
- Keep the four-hour daily irrigation routine affordable
Motivation
Building something lasting from nothing — independence in running the farm himself, and income that outlives the years of investment it took to get there.
Pain points
The land had nothing growing on it and no way to support crops — no water, no road, no flat ground. Later, once the irrigation system was in place, running it meant walking to scattered valves across five acres every single day.
Design need
A way to plan and sequence a multi-year buildout of an empty plot, and a single accessible place to operate the irrigation gate valves once the system was running.
