Tokyo based product designer Chaozhi Lin has unveiled two self-sustaining compost systems that double as planters – KAGURA and the Sustainable Family Farm. Both planters are designed to reduce food waste by composting while providing an indoor garden. However, KAGURA is smaller and includes a light fixture, while the Sustainable Family Farm features a fun family app.
KAGURA’s system consists of three main parts:
- A container for food waste,
- An elevated light fixture,
- and three soil pots for plants.



The food waste container on the planter’s left-hand side turns your leftover food scraps into compost for fertilizing the soil contained in the three pots. Composting is a process used to break down organic matter and fertilize the soil, providing energy for plants to grow and thrive.
The slim, aesthetically pleasing light fixture is elevated above the garden pots, providing beneficial light-energy to the plants. This system is entirely self-sustaining and sized to fit into any kitchen, living space, or even a windowsill.


Chaozhi Lin was inspired to create self-sustaining, indoor compost/planters to help “keep food from entering landfills” and to empower people “to cultivate their own small vegetable garden.” Solutions to reduce food waste is much needed, as food is responsible for 46.2% of flammable waste.
The Sustainable Family Farm turns gardening into a fun activity (if it wasn’t fun already) with a companion app, which treats gardening as a game, showing the plant growth stages as “levels.”


Environmentally conscious living is challenging in urban spaces, as there’s less yard space to make outdoor gardens and community gardens are rare. KAGURA and the Sustainable Family Farm solves this problem, enabling anyone to have their own self-sustaining indoor garden no matter where they live.









