Closing the loop is what vertical farms should help us do. More specifically, vertical farms can be organs within their surroundings, turning nutrient-containing waste into high-value produce. One of the ways I am exploring this idea is by participating in Continue reading Recovering Nutrients: Environmental Technology and Attitudes
Last week, Nederlandse Vereniging Techniek in de Landbouw (Dutch association for technology in agriculture, NVTL) organised their annual Studiedag, a day filled with interesting tours and talks by people at the forefront of agricultural technology. This was an opportunity not Continue reading NVTL Studiedag
It’s over a week ago since Aquafarm 2018 ended. My last article was a quick overview of what I saw there. This article will go into more depth about some of the talks that gave me some new ideas. Peter Continue reading Aquafarm 2018: Some Highlights
Just got back from Aquafarm 2018 in Pordenone, Italy. It was wonderful. Here’s a quick recap of my experience of these few days. The Beginning: Wednesday, February 14 Wednesday afternoon the adventure started. I met Zjef Van Acker at Charleroi Continue reading Aquafarm, Aquafarm, Aquafarm: My Experience
It’s February, and Wageningen University’s Greenhouse Challenge has officially started. For the next few months, teams all over the world will be designing an urban farming system for the Bijlmerbajes, a former prison complex near Amsterdam (what is it with Continue reading Energy in Greenhouses
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
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