Innovation of the year: the Groasis Waterboxx

Deforestation and over-farming will force the migration of 50 million people by 2017, says the United Nations. But the Groasis Waterboxx could make those people's lands fertile again. And it's nothing more than an exceptionally well-designed bucket.

How does it work? Simply put a seedling into the Waterboxx, and fill its evaporation-proof base — just once — with 15 litres of water. The Waterboxx does the rest. At night, it cools faster than the air, collecting condensation to supplement those 15 litres. Every day, the Waterboxx drips about three spoonfuls of water into the soil, sustaining the plant while encouraging its roots to grow deeper in search of more water. After a year, the farmer lifts the box off the plant and reuses it. Each Waterboxx will last 10 years. It is cheap enough to be used in very poor countries.

In tests in the Sahara, 88 per cent of Waterboxx-grown trees survived, compared to 10 per cent of trees with traditional cultivation. But its inventor, Pieter Hoff, still isn't satisfied. "I'm working on a biodegradable version that decomposes to feed the plant, too," he told Popular Mechanics.