Unfortunately today was our last day here in the Netherlands and a quite interesting one too. We started the day at 8:15 am where we traveled to the floating farm. This is the only floating farm in the world where cows get to live and graze in a small field. First we were given a presentation on the entire history of the floating farm and what it can do better compared to regular farms.
It was fascinating to learn that the idea started when Hurricane Sandy hit New York in 2012. One of the owners was in New York when it happened and noticed that after the storm there was no fresh food in grocery stores for a long period of time. This is where the floating farm idea came about. One of the main benefits of the floating farm here in Amsterdam is its location, being only a minute’s drive from main parts of Rotterdam. Here they are able to quickly deliver fresh products which the companies electric vehicles minimizing Co2 emissions. Along with the floating solar panels they are very big on sustainability. Much of the cow feed is created from food that is brought all over the city. This farm is also an innovation lab, in the lower levels of the farm they have started to try to grow their own plants. They use their grown basil in their basil cheese.
After a quick break we went over to a place called RDM. This used to be a shipyard where ships would get repaired. Now it’s an education and business center. The first part of our tour included a walk around the facilities available for students, for example a woodshop, composites lab etc… The second part of the tour and building was more a place for entrepreneurs. Here you could rent out a piece of square footage in the warehouse so you have a piece of land to pursue your start up. Here we saw many cool companies working on innovative projects. One of the places was where the designer of the floating farm worked. He has many other floating projects, one of which are floating houses. There was another company that was producing coral reefs. After partnering with another company in space they 3D printed these reefs, which could be made from sand, recycled cement, and more. It’s cool to see how these spaces are creating an open environment for new companies to grow and collaborate with other companies. The diversity of companies located here is unique too, from seeing the military to a company studying the effects of water. This helps companies get their concepts to consumers since it exposes it to other companies that can help each other and it becomes a cheaper alternative for companies which allows them to invest more money into more other areas.
It has been an awesome time here in the Netherlands and I’m sad to leave. This reminds me of a quote I once heard, “Don’t cry because it’s over. Smile because it happened.” I’m grateful to have spent almost two weeks with Dr. Bursic, Frank and all 23 other people. It has been an unforgettable experience so thank you to everyone. And for the last time. See ya