Our Story
Emerald Aquaponics grew from a shared belief that food production can be smarter, more efficient, and more connected to natural rhythms. We design and build aquaponic, hydroponic and water-based growing systems for education, research, commercial production, community projects, NGOs and international development work, turning sustainable concepts into practical, high-performance infrastructure.
Charles and Kedar’s partnership began long before Emerald Aquaponics. Both are musicians, and their shared history playing in bands together shaped the creative rhythm of their work — listening, improvising, adapting and building something greater than either person could create alone. Today, that same collaborative instinct runs through Emerald Aquaponics.
By integrating aquatic biology with advanced system design, we create recirculating ecosystems that conserve water, reduce waste, and strengthen local food resilience. Our mission is to make sustainable food production a visible, practical reality across Ireland and beyond.
OUR MISSION
Emerald Aquaponics creates systems that conserve water, reduce waste, and teach ecological literacy.
We design and build aquaponic, hydroponic, and water-based growing systems that support local food resilience and make sustainable production visible and practical. Our work bridges education, research, and commercial production, ensuring that innovative food systems are understandable, engaging, and deeply useful for schools, NGOs, and community projects worldwide.
From urban rooftops to international development sites, we partner with educators and producers to advance food resilience through sustainable agriculture and water-efficient design.
Meet the Founders
Charles Carr
Charles Carr is the co-founder of Emerald Aquaponics, where he brings decades of experience in aquaculture, aquatic systems, regenerative growing and ecological design. His work is rooted in a deep understanding of living systems — fish, plants, microbes, water, soil, biodiversity and people all working together as part of one connected whole.
Since 1996, Charles has worked across aquaculture, aquarium systems, recirculating water infrastructure, biodynamic farming and aquaponic design. Through years of practical experimentation and professional system development, he has built a rare combination of technical knowledge and ecological intuition. He understands not only how water moves through a system, but how life responds inside it.
Charles’ background includes work with Seahorse Aquariums and a wide range of aquatic and growing systems, from controlled environments to regenerative land-based projects. His approach is practical, observant and systems-led. Rather than seeing aquaponics as a collection of tanks, pumps and pipes, he sees it as a living relationship between water quality, fish health, nutrient cycling, plant growth and human use.
Alongside his technical work, Charles is also the founder of The Bullaun Ark, a regenerative biodynamic farm and market garden in County Galway. The farm is a living example of no-dig growing, chemical-free production, biodiversity restoration, rare crops, edible flowers and practical ecological food production. It gives Emerald Aquaponics a strong land-based foundation, linking water-based growing systems with soil health, habitat creation and regenerative farming.
Charles is also a musician, and his creative background forms part of the working rhythm behind Emerald Aquaponics. His long friendship and collaboration with Kedar Friis-Lawrence began through music before developing into aquaponics, system building and food production. That shared creative history gives their work a natural sense of collaboration, listening and adaptation.
Within Emerald Aquaponics, Charles leads much of the biological and technical thinking behind the company’s systems. He brings the deep aquaculture, farming and ecological knowledge that allows each project to be designed as more than infrastructure. For Charles, a good system should be productive, resilient, educational and alive — a working example of how food production can support natural cycles rather than work against them.
Kedar Friis-Lawrence
Kedar Friis-Lawrence is the co-founder of Emerald Aquaponics, where he works across system build, design, project development, installation and communication. His focus is on turning ambitious ideas into working physical systems that people can use, understand and enjoy being around.
Kedar brings a deliberately varied background to the company. Before focusing fully on aquaponics and regenerative food systems, he spent years in music and performance, playing in bands, rehearsing, recording and performing live. That experience gave him a strong sense of timing, presence and communication, as well as the ability to listen closely, adapt quickly and respond when things change.
Alongside music, Kedar has worked across retail, wholesale and independent business in highly practical, hands-on roles. His experience includes shop-floor retail, bespoke and custom suiting, toy shops, wig shops, accessories and specialist consumer products. Across these different settings, he developed a strong understanding of how people move through spaces, what draws their attention, how products are presented, and how small details can make something feel either inviting or confusing.
This mix of music, retail and independent business now shapes the way Kedar approaches aquaponics. For him, a system has to do more than function biologically. It has to make sense to the people using it. It should be clear to read, engaging to look at and easy to navigate, whether it is in a school corridor, a rooftop greenhouse, a community space or a commercial site.
Within Emerald Aquaponics, Kedar often acts as the bridge between concept and installation. He helps translate ideas and designs into physical layouts, builds, demonstrations and client-facing systems that teachers, students, growers and visitors can understand, maintain and learn from. He pays close attention to how tanks, grow beds, pipes, access points, signage and surrounding space come together so the whole system feels approachable rather than intimidating.
Kedar is particularly interested in urban and local food resilience. His wider vision is a future where rooftops, warehouses, schools, community buildings and underused spaces become productive ecosystems, helping people see and participate in food production as part of everyday life.
The Partnership Behind Emerald
Charles Carr and Kedar Friis-Lawrence’s partnership began long before Emerald Aquaponics. Both are musicians, and their shared history playing in bands together shaped the creative rhythm of their work — listening, improvising, adapting and building something greater than either person could create alone. Today, that same collaborative instinct runs through Emerald Aquaponics. Charles brings deep aquaculture, farming and biological systems knowledge; Kedar brings build experience, business instinct, communication and a practical eye for how people interact with systems. Together, they design food-production infrastructure that is technically strong, visually engaging and rooted in real-world use.
Land-Based Roots
The Bullaun Ark
The Bullaun Ark is Charles Carr’s regenerative biodynamic farm and market garden in County Galway. It grounds Emerald Aquaponics in real land-based regenerative agriculture, serving as the soil-based foundation and living laboratory for our water-based work. It is our sanctuary for testing integrated food systems and ensuring our technical designs remain rooted in practical biological knowledge.