ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
Amazon Aquaponics directly reduces deforestation and habitat loss by eliminating the need to clear new land for agriculture. Each floating system uses existing water surfaces, preserving soil structure and protecting surrounding vegetation. Its closed nutrient cycle prevents runoff and contamination, keeping rivers and wetlands clean.
By replacing hunting and forest clearing with sustainable food production, the project helps wildlife populations recover, contributing to biodiversity restoration in one of the world’s most critical ecosystems. The system operates with zero emissions and zero waste, using only natural, biodegradable materials such as bamboo and balsa wood that decompose harmlessly. This model represents a new form of renewable energy—powered by life itself, without fossil fuels, electricity, or mechanical systems. By providing reliable protein sources, Amazon Aquaponics eases pressure on local fauna, allowing biodiversity to regenerate.
SOCIAL AND HEALTH IMPACT
In Achuar communities, chronic child malnutrition and anaemia among women remain urgent challenges. Many children attend school without breakfast, and women face pregnancy and postpartum health risks due to nutrient deficiencies. Amazon Aquaponics addresses these realities by creating a stable, local source of fresh vegetables and protein, reducing dependence on hunting and external aid.
The system’s output, a combination of fish and nutritious plants, has already improved dietary diversity and strengthened the community’s Biocultural Strategy, a holistic framework that integrates nutrition, ecology, and culture.
Through a collaboration with the Pachamama Foundation, the initiative complements ongoing work in four Achuar communities, where 25 local men and women are trained as fish farmers.
By providing safe, continuous access to protein and micronutrients, crops and fish support maternal health and child development. It also reduces the time and energy spent hunting, alleviating one of the key pressures driving forest degradation.
Moreover, women-led operations raise system uptime and decision power, resulting in the increase of community resilience to climate and market shocks—framed under the UN’s “2026 — Women Farmers Year”.
By providing safe, continuous access to protein and micronutrients, crops and fish support maternal health and child development.
It also reduces the time and energy spent hunting, alleviating one of the key pressures driving forest degradation.
EDUCATIONAL IMPACT
Amazon Aquaponics can serve as a learning bridge between the Global North and South, demonstrating how knowledge can flow in both directions.
In Blackrock College (Dublin) and Atlantic College (Wales), we are in the process of developing aquaponics education through modules inspired by the Amazon model, developing prototypes the that can be shared with other schools.
Founder Paddy Shanahan’s work led to his selection at Atlantic College, where he studies the new Systems Transformation Pathway, co-developed with Cambridge University. The course focuses on changemaking, design thinking, and leadership—principles directly reflected in Amazon Aquaponics. His project contributes to the “Water” pillar of this global curriculum.
Online meetings connect students, aquaponic engineers, and Achuar farmers— to co-create and design growing systems – sharing data, troubleshooting challenges, and exchanging cultural insights. These sessions have created a living example of education as a lever of change, teaching young people that innovation can be both practical and ethical. They also elevate indigenous ecological wisdom as equal to scientific innovation, fostering respect for local knowledge within global education frameworks.
CULTURAL AND SYMBOLIC IMPACT
Perhaps the greatest achievement lies in the project’s symbolic power. It unites a teenager from Ireland, Indigenous people from the Amazon, and partners from across continents in a shared belief: that technology and tradition can coexist in service of life. Weekly calls between Dublin and the rainforest—translated through patchy satellite signals—have become a ritual of solidarity, learning, and mutual respect.
The project demonstrates that sustainability is not only technical but deeply cultural. It honors Indigenous autonomy while inspiring a new generation of global citizens to see environmental care as a shared responsibility. Amazon Aquaponics embodies the spirit of co-leadership, a partnership of equals where every participant learns, teaches, and transforms.
