The global pandemic has underscored the vulnerability of our food system, and the fragility of populations less connected to nutritious food. In the U.S. alone, more than 5.6% of the population lives in food deserts, concentrated in urban areas. The opportunity to empower communities to engage in productive agriculture, using insights and tools developed over two decades in controlled environment agriculture (CEA) is profound and would enable communities to grow nutrient-dense foods while also creating jobs, encouraging entrepreneurship, and growing local economies.

Konbit, a social entrepreneurship organization is a B Corp., a private, for-profit public benefit company. Under the driven leadership of its CEO, Sanjay Rajan, Konbit aspires to catalyze networks of community-centric social entrepreneur-farmers, starting with Native American lands. In these territories, the problem is even more acute, with endemic poverty being compounded by severely degraded soil incapable of supporting even small-scale agriculture. The innovative approach to establishing guild-based bio-intensive farming practices, including four-season food production, uses geodesic domes. The expected output will create nutrient-dense foods in connected communities, harness indigenous practices and crops now lost to industrial agriculture, and reduce waste footprint, while creating employment and occupational opportunities. The Company expects to offer this program across indigenous lands in North America.

Working with Larta Institute on their 2021-2022 USDA Phase I C-TABA award, Konbit is finalizing their commercialization plan, long-term strategic priorities, customer value proposition re-definition, pricing, and business modeling for their Phase II submission to USDA.

Konbit has found a solution to one of humanity’s greatest necessities, a way to fight hunger and poor nutrition. With so much of the world’s population still living in urban food deserts, Konbit is working one territory and one neighborhood at a time to help turn this around.