AWARD YEAR
2021
CATEGORY
Work
GOALS
No Poverty, Decent Work & Economic Growth, Sustainable Cities & Communities, Climate Action, Life On Land
KEYWORDS
sustainable agriculture, circular economy, low cost, soil health, cardboard
COUNTRY
Netherlands
DESIGNED BY
Thom Bindels & Teun Vogel
WEBSITE
https://ecosystemkickstarter.com/
Ecosystem Kickstarter
Cardboard frame shaped as honeycomb that can help small-scale farmers grow crops in degraded soil.
Ecosystem Kickstarter (Ecokick) is a foldable structure made from biodegradable cardboard fibres, applied on a slope and filled with local soil to function as a terracing structure. Inside the product are both pioneer seeds and nutrients added during the production process. The rooting systems have time to develop due to the short-term protection of the biodegradable structure in the vulnerable phase of vegetation development. When there is a sufficient rooting system, the cardboard decomposes and adds carbon to the soil. The anti-erosion function will be taken over by the new vegetation, improving water infiltration and soil structure to help the ecosystem get over the ecological threshold.
The new vegetation and agricultural waste can be used as biomass to produce new Ecokick products, stimulating a local and circular economy.
This product was first prototype in Netherlands, where the designer studied at the Design Academy Eindhoven, and later tasted in Uganda.