The AVF Workshop in Brussels was great. For the past few months, we have been working on-and-off on the white paper. We are starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Our white paper will look at Continue reading Singapore, Part 4: Citizen Farm
Few places have changed as quickly as Singapore. In the 1960s, the place was still covered in small villages (‘kampungs’). As people started getting moved to tower blocks (‘HDBs’), they brought some of their kampung habits with them. Some people Continue reading Singapore, Part 3: Growing It Yourself
One of the people I met in Singapore was Jeremy Ng, a pianist who makes a living sharing his music online. Jeremy and I both read the fantastic blog StartGainingMomentum, which is how we were introduced. When I met Jeremy, Continue reading Singapore, Part 2: Thoughts of a Greenhouse Grower
Singapore takes its food seriously. Anywhere you go, you can find great food: noodles, curries, dumplings, and so on – all under the price of a Big Mac. Singaporeans enjoy their food to the extent that “Have you eaten?” is Continue reading Singapore, Part 1: Lim Chu Kang
Reading is an important habit. When it comes to vertical farming, what does one read? A quick Google search gives just two books: Dr. Dickson Despommier’s classic, The Vertical Farm; and Plant Factory, by Dr. Toyoki Kozai, Dr. Genhua Niu, Continue reading What I Learned From Plant Factory
The systems approach is a powerful one. Different ideas from different disciplines can be plugged into a coherent structure, to test new combinations and look at how they can work. Professor Eldert van Henten highlighted this with examples of engineering Continue reading Farming in Space and Multicropping: an Unlikely Connection
What a fantastic two days. Last weekend, the first ever AVF Workshop took place in Brussels. There were people from all sorts of backgrounds – architects, agronomists, and even a caricature artist – all with a fervency for farming and Continue reading The Brussels Vertical Farming Workshop – A Summary
A few weeks ago, I was at Alexander Boedijn‘s MSc thesis presentation. For the past year, Alexander has been looking at energy flows within Amsterdam and how they can be used in urban rooftop horticulture. After the presentation, a classmate Continue reading Energy: The Elephant in the Room
Well, this is embarrassing. Only a post ago did I explain the circular economy, where loops can be closed and we can thrive on a finite amount of resources. But, as is often the case, imitating the principles of nature is more complicated Continue reading Putting the Circular Economy in Better Shape
Beneath the topics discussed, the main motive of the DIF and the Ellen MacArthur Foundation is to facilitate the transition to a circular economy. Sailing in her yacht, Ellen MacArthur came to the conclusion that our planet is just one Continue reading Understanding the Circular Economy