Sowing the seeds of change
Sowing the seeds of change
- April 8, 2015
- With her gardening kit startup, senior Stella Liu hopes to motivate people to grow their own food
Stella Liu wanted to solve a problem. She knew that her peers were passionate about
local organic food and curious about growing their own fruits and vegetables. But
many of them had no gardening experience, lived in apartments or were intimidated
by massive home improvement stores, with their endless options for soil, fertilizer
and tools.
That’s where OneSeed comes in. It’s a subscription-based gardening kit that arrives on the doorstep with
three plants in a handcrafted redwood planter. Each season, new seedlings are delivered
so that subscribers can exercise their green thumb year-round. Online videos supplement
the experience, and salad recipes are provided for enjoying the fruits of one’s labor.
“My vision for OneSeed is that everyone with a windowsill, balcony or backyard can
have their own garden,” says Liu, a fourth-year international studies[BROKEN LINK] major at UC Irvine. She hopes to motivate people to start growing their own food
and to connect with where their food comes from.
Liu unveiled the idea in November 2014 at Startup Weekend Orange County. The Google-sponsored
challenge brings together students and professionals to form fledgling companies in
54 hours. Liu was one of 20 participants with proposals – and one of eight who prevailed.
She assembled a team of pros (a civil engineer, two website developers, one business
analyst, a Web designer, a startup expert and a photographer) to refine her concept
and create a website.
“Our goal was to build a product that could really impact the world,” Liu says.
The inspiration for the project came from an alternative spring break trip in 2012
to the village of Mastatal, Costa Rica. UCI’s global sustainability and cultural immersion
program in the Central American nation annually brings 16 students to an environmental
learning center specializing in organic farming and sustainable development.
Participants experience open-air living, farm-to-table organic meals, composting toilets,
outdoor showers, and rural daily life. “I became really interested in sustainable
food systems in the context of climate change and food insecurity,” Liu says.
OneSeed fits squarely into the model of social entrepreneurship. It’s a for-profit
venture that seeks to have a positive effect on the environment and society. Some
of its earnings are used to help start community gardens in food-insecure neighborhoods
so that low-income families will have access to fresh, healthy produce.
A member of UCI’s Campuswide Honors Program, Liu is also involved with humanitarian
projects on campus. She’s collaborating on a weeklong “Break the Silence” event starting Monday, April 27, to raise awareness of forced migration, displacement
and refugee populations. Liu came up with the idea during a solo backpacking trip
to Cambodia.
But on most weekends, she can be found at farmers markets in Irvine and Costa Mesa,
promoting OneSeed. It’s a labor of love, although she recognizes that the odds are
stacked against her.
“They say that nine out of 10 startups fail,” Liu notes. “But my motto is to enjoy
the journey over the destination. If OneSeed succeeds, that’s great. If it fails,
that’s OK too. It’s the people I’ve met along the way, the lessons I learned, and
the opportunity to put an idea into action that made this experience worthwhile.”
-Laura Rico, University Communications
-photo by Jocelyn Lee, University Communications
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