Mongolian Greenhouse

In the Summer of 2010 M-CAM team members Dr. David Martin and Ken Dabkowski traveled with Ts. Enkhtuya and a team from the Mongolia National Business Incubator Federation to Dalanzadgad, Mongolia to visit the South Gobi Desert. During the course of their travels, they were able to interact with local Mongolia agricultural workers who expressed their desire to extend the growing season for tree seedling and vegetables.

It was not long before they realized how The Global Innovation Commons could be valued and utilized within the country of Mongolia.

Dr. Martin and Ken Dabkowski identified a pathway for aligning the desires of Mongolian farmers with the country's abundant resource of glass. By doing so, they were able to develop a highly valuable green technology; for the country- by melting down glass bottles to create greenhouses enabling Mongolian farmers to extend their growing season.

By taking an Integral Trade view and assessing the abundance around them, they realized the area had not only recycled glass, but that the Hasu Shivert Resort, the location for the greenhouse, had an abundance of hills, hot springs, knowledge, geothermal heating, as well as so much more.

After returning from their initial trip, the network for the project began expanding as Ken Dabkowski contacted Bill Hess, a local glass engineer from Afton, VA. Soon after, the project caught the interest of the University of Virginia, more specifically the Jefferson Public Citizens Group.

In Fall of 2010, Mr. Dabkowski attended Professor Robert Swap’s University of Virginia course entitled, “Development on the Ground”. This course allowed students to assemble and collaborate on globally imperative projects. Mr. Dabkowski introduced this group of students to the Mongolia greenhouse challenge, which ignited enthusiasm and interest. The group applied for a Jefferson’s Public Citizens Grant that was approved and awarded in February of 2011.

In Spring 2011, various glass samples were shipped from Mongolia to Charlottesville, Virginia to test. Under the direction and guidance of Mr. Hess, the students had the opportunity to participate in melting and testing glass samples as well as welding a test model. The group tested glass-smelting technology and finalized their future plans which included traveling to Mongolia in June 2011 to build a life-sized, functional greenhouse.

In the month of June, the team was in Mongolia, building the first functional greenhouse using the resources around them including recycled glass and beetle infested lumber. The project moved along rather smoothly over the month time period.

Upon arrival, the team spent their first working day at the local market purchasing tools for greenhouse construction. After building the base using rock and concrete, mixed in an old bathtub, and using beetle infested lumber for the wall structure support, the kilns, which were shipped from the United States, arrived in Ulaanbaatar and the team began glass testing and using the glass bottles to create walls for the structure.

After a month of intensive collaboration between the Jefferson Public Citizens program at the University of Virginia, Professor Bob Swap from the University of Virginia, M-CAM, Mongolia Innovation Commons Partners (M-ICP), The Mongolian Academy of Sciences, The Economic Policy and Competitiveness Research Center of Mongolia, Elbegdorj Institute (EBI) Think Tank, Hasu Shivert Resort, and Mongolian National Business Incubator Federation (MNBIF), finished greenhouse used cut beetle infested lumber for the wall structure and various designs for the wall filler including coal ash insulation.

To view the Original Greenhouse Challenge. http://www.globalinnovationcommons.org/discover/challenge/arkhangai-gree...