Green Economy Forum Application Due on September 8 (GreenPod on Board!)

Buddies Without Borders Online Forums are about connecting classrooms with real-world challenges. The AquaAlliance Forum generated nine Water Crises Awareness Campaigns which are being considered by schools in 20+ countries.

Now we are ready to train our eyes on Green Jobs in the Green Economy. What kind of jobs do we want to prepare ourselves for in the years to come? The deadline to submit your application is September 8.

One of the sectors we want to focus on is AgriTech. We are extremely excited to have Deepack Rajmohan from GreenPod Labs join us as one of the Green Businesses to lead the way for this Forum:

"GreenPod Labs, an India-based agricultural biotechnology startup focused on tackling food loss problems in developing countries. By learning how fruits and vegetables naturally resist pest and fungal pathogens, GreenPod Labs showcases how learning from nature can solve both climate and societal problems. As the 2022 Ray of Hope Prize recipient, GreenPod Labs will receive $100,000 in support of their groundbreaking work.

About a third of all food produced goes to waste, and in countries like India, much of that waste occurs on the farm or during storage and transport of the food. GreenPod Labs’ product line works without the need for cold storage by integrating a deep understanding of crop physiology, effectively communicating with crops to activate their built-in defense mechanisms. Their product can extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables by 40 to 60% at ambient temperature and conditions. By focusing on markets in India and sub-Saharan Africa, this solution has the ability to solve some of the largest environmental and social challenges.

The GreenPod Labs team consists of 17 innovators passionate about solving the food waste and food loss problem and has over 30 years of combined research and operational experience in agriculture and food biotechnology. When plants get infected by abiotic or biotic stress, they release unique volatile compounds that act as signal molecules to activate the defense mechanism in the neighboring plant to protect itself. Each plant has a unique composition of these compounds for different stresses, and the biomimicry behind GreenPod Labs’ solution replicates the unique plant volatile fingerprint for each crop to protect the fruits and vegetables after harvest.

GreenPod Labs has commercially launched three products so far in India, working with over 150 customers. They’re unique targeting for specific plants, cost-effective and easy-to-adopt approach, and plant-based chemistry sets them apart from competitors." ~ Biomimicry Institute