We had such a fun day on 5/11! Today was our first full day in Rotterdam, so of course we had to start by seeing the seaport because it is the largest in Europe. We arrive and the first thing we go to see are the cows.
That’s right, on the port of Rotterdam floats a fully operational dairy farm. Below deck they US solar-powered UV lights to grow sprouts for the cows to eat. This is supplemented by inedible organic material produced by other nearby farms (eg: cornhusks and orange peels) as well as locally sourced grass clippings. This is all processed on the barge into the cows’ feed mix. Also on the barge rain and saltwater are purified for the cows to drink, the dairy is processed into milk and cheese products, and manure and urine are treated as to not pollute the ecosystem in the port waters. This creates a circular economy on the dairy farm because little to no waste leaves the boat. Every byproduct of dairy farming that could be used is used to sustain the operation with minimal impact on the nearby environment.
The Floating Farm was started after the owners watched New York City struggle to bring food to its residents after a hurricane made supply routes impassable. They wanted to bring the source of food into cities. With limited space to work with in an urban environment, they came up with the idea to put farms on the water. Thus, Floating Farm was born. This is sustainable from an urban design point of view because it combats urban sprawl. With limited land area in city centers, the US tends to grow physically outwards. This makes city residents dependent on cars to traverse long distances even just around town, which emits a lot of greenhouse gasses and accelerates climate change. However, by innovating ways to make use of wasted space, such as unused surfaces area of a seaport, city residents are able to access more places without the use of a car. It was just a short walk from the Floating Farm to a variety of residences and restaurants and businesses clearly in view.
After seeing the cows, we took a water taxi to a place where innovative ideas like Floating Farm come to be: RDM. RDM is built out of what used to be the largest ship building yard in the world. To modernize and preserve its history since it no longer builds ships, the Port of Rotterdam now uses the space as the technical education center for a nearby college and rents spaces to startups who are focused on developing a sustainable technology with maritime applications. There have been many successful businesses to come from RDM, such as Coastruction, who is able to use sand to 3D print structures for coral to latch on to. RDM speaks to Dutch innovation and where the Netherlands sees itself in the future. By investing in young people and young businesses, the Netherlands is cultivating a culture and economy of innovation and sustainability.
