During our first full day in Rotterdam, we visited Floating Farm, a self-sufficient dairy farm on the water in Rotterdam port. First we were given a presentation that gave an overview of the farm. They explained that the founders were in New York City during Hurricane Sandy, and experienced the food distribution issues. If a floating farm had existed here, it could’ve been very useful in supplying food to people.The goal of the farm is to bring healthy food close to the city, be transparent about their farming process, provide educational resources to students who don’t typically can’t visit farms due to living in a city, and to be circular and self-sufficient.

We then took a tour of the farm itself. The lower part of the farm has a vertical farm that grows microgreens. This part of the farm was very sustainable because being vertical saves water, makes good use of space, and eliminates the need for pesticides. Additionally the grow lights were 100% solar powered. Then, we went to the dairy part of the farm and saw all the cows. They were super cute of course, but it was also very interesting hearing about the system. There’s an automatic milking robot that scans chips in the cows to determine whether or not they need to be milked. Additionally, there’s a machine that turns manure into resources and urine into water used for the pasture. The pasture is accessed through a bridge that the cows can cross, so they do absolutely have green space, even if it isn’t evident by my photos. We finished this visit by tasting various cheeses and milks that they produced here. They were so good that I had to buy some to take back home!

Later in the day, we went to RDM, which is a space that used to be a shipyard, but is now used for engineering companies (mostly startups) as an office space, as well as being an educational center for nearby universities. They currently have 27 businesses in RDM, and it was interesting hearing about a few of them. They explained that they don’t focus on having the largest or most successful sounding businesses, but rather businesses that have a focus on sustainability and work towards a better future. The space itself was very cool, and it would definitely be a very unique place to work in.

I ended my day by going to the Rotterdam city center, where I got very delicious spaghetti and meatballs at an Italian restaurant!