Today we had our last day in Rotterdam, and more importantly The Netherlands, before leaving tomorrow morning. We started out by visiting a floating farm that was founded in order to find a better solution to feeding the community while combatting climate change. Extreme temperatures and rain events are becoming more common, which makes farming more difficult to regulate and be productive. When confronted with this problem, the founders of the Floating Farm came up with a plan for a sustainable structure that would be home to 30 (now 26) cows and that produces goods that are then sold.
This structure is based on 2 poles that are drilled into the bottom of the harbor in order to stabilize the whole structure that is placed on top. This configuration allows the platform to rise and fall as the water moves with the tide. There are three levels: the cows are on the top level, the production facilities for dairy products and cow feed is in the middle, and the cheese “cellar” and vegetable growing experiments are in the basement below water level. Although the cows have their stable on the platform, they have a connecting bridge that allows them to leave as they please to roam on land. In the stable, computers automate the feeding of the cows, which is tracked using the chips in their necklaces.
There are many aspects to this farm that are sustainable. For one, the cows eat a mixture of the typical grass and then local food returns from supermarkets and beer grain. This allows for a circular economy, as the farm gets food from the city and then provides food products made on the farm. There are many solar panels that power 65% of the entire farm and a rain water collection system that filters it to be drinking water for the cows. One of the more innovative solutions that they came up with was to make the farm produce zero-ammonia, which is a common byproduct of farming. They do this by recycling and reusing the cow manure with the use of a robot, which then separates and filters them to make a water from the urine and a fertilizer pellet from the feces. It was such an interesting experience to be able to learn about this new farming technique that is attempting to come up with alternatives to century long practices that have adverse effects on the environment.
The next stop of our day was at RDM, which is located in the former largest port in the world and is home to two schools, Rotterdam University of Applied Sciences and Technical College of Rotterdam. Located in the old warehouses used for shipbuilding, the two schools have their own spaces that allow the students to work on various projects and provides materials and people to advise. This idea came from the Port Authority not wanting the former port to be taken over by various adolescent activities. After purchasing the area, they garnered interest in the space and found the schools. It became a space for innovative business that are given the chance to run their business on a small plot in a warehouse while also providing students the space to share knowledge and work to protect the future of the port.
These innovative businesses have the opportunity to rent a plot that is laid out in one of the warehouses, which allows for a strong community to develop while also allowing a startup company to get on its feet. One of the businesses that we learned about was called Coastruction, which creates 3D prints of bases for coral reefs using sand. It is made with a local material, which allows for the organisms nearby to recognize it and grow on it. The founder was trying to become fully sustainable but ran into the problem of using cement as part of the material, in addition to sand. The solution to this came when a company provided a material that was made from ground up olivine, which traps CO2 while imitating the role of cement in the coral bases. This solution has allowed the founder to move towards `100% sustainability!
We finished our last day with our final program closing dinner at a nearby restaurant called Bazar. Our meal was made up of some sort of kebab, meat in my case, with a type of stew and then was served with rice, potatoes, a yogurt sauce, and a tabouleh salad. After dinner, we were served an extravagant dessert with Indonesian layer cake, ice cream, chocolate mousse, and fruit. This meal was a fun way to experience a different kind of meal and end such an amazing two weeks. After dinner, the entire group got together for some karaoke as a final closing to the fun we had together!
As I embark on the next part of my journey, I am reflecting on this experience as a whole. I am so grateful for this opportunity to explore a new country and make long lasting connections while learning how sustainability is tackled in a different place. I will forever cherish the past two weeks that we spent in The Netherlands, and am excited to see how I can incorporate what I have learned in my day-to-day life. Thank you for following along on my journey!