Hello! Welcome back to the final day of the blog. I’m actually writing this the morning after our last day in the Netherlands in the airport because we were given permission to wait until today.
So, yesterday morning we left the hostel at around 8 am to start our day off. First we went to one of the world’s first floating farms, aptly named the Floating Farm.
We stared with a brief presentation on the farm, particularly with a focus on its self sufficiency and waste reduction. The farm houses 32 cows and completely powers itself using solar panels on the water. Everything is located on the float on the water where they collect rainwater from the roof, feed the cows produce from farmers and grocery stores that would otherwise be thrown away, and have a vertical farm on the float to grow specific plants. They also produce cheese from the cows on the float, and they even harvest the cows manure and turn it into a solid fodder that is distributed to other farmers.
The float has three levels. Cows on the top, milk pasteurization and manure recycling in the middle, and vertical farming and cheese making on the bottom. We were unfortunately only able to view the middle level because their systems were having some problems.
Floating farms are expected to become increasingly common in our ever changing world. As population density increases and water levels rise, it’s important we start to make use of floating things on the water. The self sufficiency of the farm also helps to maintain a sustainable environment, which is a large focus of our trip.
After the floating farm we had some free time, and a few of us headed to the Markthal for lunch. While there we decided to visit the Cube Houses, which are a unique set of apartments in Rotterdam. We even got to tour one of them, and it was fun to see, but looks really impractical to live in.
After that we met back up with the group and headed for our visit at RDM Rotterdam. RDM used to be a huge shipyard after the Second World War, but has since gone bankrupt. The port authority bought it and renovated the space into an innovation center.
We split up into business and engineering students and took two separate tours of the place. First we walked through part of it that is used by students at the Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences. One day a week at the university, engineering students take a break from their in classroom learning to spend a day at RDM working on hands on projects. They have a materials lab, a prototyping lab, and a wood working lab, among other things. This part of the university is all about concept, the students create designs and prototypes to present to costumers.
The shipyard is giant, and the port authority has also turned part of it into an area where companies and entrepreneurs can rent a cheap square of warehouse and work on a project, so long as you have an idea for an innovation that benefits maritime life in some way.
We took a walk through that warehouse and saw a lot of entrepreneurial companies project, and it was really awesome. The entire warehouse is about taking a concept and creating something marketable and useful to a costumer. Some of my favorites were the Urban Reefs, which is a company that 3D prints bio based habitats to place in urban settings that facilitate natural life. I also really liked seeing the company that is working on perfecting metal 3D printing. (I’m a huge 3D printing fan)
After that we went back to the hostel for a couple of hours before heading back out to our final dinner. We had reservations on a boat restaurant, and it was absolutely lovely. We hung out as a group that night before going to bed, and it was bittersweet. This trip has been incredible but so exhausting, and I know I’ll miss it.
Thank you so much for reading this blog, I’m signing off for the last time!