SLIPPERY ROCK — Uganda, a landlocked county in East Africa, is poor and doesn't have many natural resources.

But a group of people here think they can provide Ugandan farmers with an aquaponics system that will allow them to improve their quality of lie.

Aquaponics is a high-efficiency farming practice where fish and crops are grown side by side.

It was first practiced by ancient civilizations, but more recently academics have developed systems to be used in countries with different growing and economic conditions.

Students working at Slippery Rock University's Sustainable Enterprise Accelerator are working on a system that will be ideal for the conditions of Uganda — an impoverished nation in East Africa.

A group of people will travel to Lukaya, Uganda, hopefully next year, to put the system in the hands of farmers.

The venture is a partnership between the SEA, Slippery Rock Rotary Club and Seed Aquaponics, a Pittsburgh-based company that specializes in developing aquaponics systems.

An anonymous donor gave $6,500 through the SRU Foundation, which supplied training and materials for the venture to get started.

Ken Bennett, president of Slippery Rock Rotary, said water, electricity and proper medical care are scarce in Uganda.

Bennett is familiar with Uganda, particularly the Lukaya area, from spending time there.

“It was ravaged by AIDS, one of the worst areas in the world,” he said.

“A combination of factors has led it to be in need of development, water is particularly in need.”

The Rotary club also has been working with Rotary International and Real Partners Uganda, another nonprofit organization, to construct a school there called the Mustard Seed Academy.

The aquaponics system will be a startup venture for Ugandan farmers. Once they get started, it is meant to be self-sustaining and able to grow.

“If we can build up the economy through opportunities like this, slowly and surely the people are better off and they are making money,” Bennett said.

This summer a group of six interns at SEA have been researching Uganda and working on the design with help from Colleen Beck, executive director of Seed Aquaponics.

Chamindu Abeywickrema, a student from Sri Lanka, said the group has been learning about the government, history, educations, health standards, economics and environment of Uganda.

Another group of students will build a prototype at SRU this fall. Despite the temperate weather of the area, the plan is to replicate the conditions of Uganda, SEA Managing Director John Golden said.

The design will be a closed-loop system with three parts: a fish tank stocked with tilapia, a filter and a tank where crops will grow.

The manure from the fish is transferred from their tank to the plant tank where it provides nutrients for the plants.

Tilapia were chosen because they can live in the hot climate of Uganda and also eat mosquito larva, which could help reduced the spread of malaria.

The plants will likely be spinach or Swiss chard, which can grow in water and are nutritious.

It will be advantageous for Uganda because it is efficient, Beck said.

Aquaponics typically uses 90 percent less water than traditional agriculture and the crops grow twice as fast.

The system is also less dependent on weather and is not susceptible to flooding, she said.