Sleeping in a honeycomb hotel at festivals
13-3-2014
No more difficulties with tents at festivals, but sleep in this luxe honeycomb hotel called ‘B&Bee’. The honeycomb hotel consists of several boxes in the shape of hexagonal cylinders. The boxes can be stacked up to four floors and each box offers place for two persons. There is space for luggage, power supply and the honeycomb hotel is fire- and weatherproof. Developer Barbara Vanthorre got the idea for this hotel after a night out in Ghent and this summer they are testing the ‘B&Bee’ at various festivals in Ghent.
Amsterdam turns bread into energy
12-3-2014
Inhabitants of the Kolenkitwijk neighborhood in Amsterdam threw their bread on the streets because their religion prohibits throwing it away in the garbage bin. This caused a rat plague and other problems with unwanted animals. As a solution the government placed special bread dumpsters in the area. The bread from these dumpsters is used by Pink Pony Express for a national energy experiment in collaboration with micro-biologists. They developed it into a permanent bread digester that can process 10 kg bread into 3000 liter of biogas a day. To celebrate the opening there are three bread baking workshops in the neighborhood on Friday 14 March.
Slow food at the Milano Centrale station
11-3-2014
In the home of the slow food movement (northern Italy) Autogrill (from the resto stops) has opened Bistrot Milano Centrale in collaboration with the University of Gastronomic Sciences in Pollenzo. In the former 3rd class waiting room of the Central Station of Milan, one serves local traditional dishes, taking into account the seasons and as healthy as possible preparations, like the use of sourdough and of traditional maturing and ageing processes. The Bistrot Centrale is a vibrant ambience evoking a typical covered market, where high quality goes hand in hand, with food islands like a bakery, cafe, street food, wine bar and gourmet cuisine. The objective is to provide a sustainable venue, with a special focus on respect for the natural environment, local culture and economy, also through use of natural materials, the limiting of waste and the promotion of virtuous practice amongst the clientele as well.
Organic lifestyle festival EkoTown
28-2-2014
The first edition of the EkoTown festival will be organized at the ‘Amsterdamse Bos’ on 21 and 22 June. It is the first organic lifestyle festival in the Netherlands. The two day during festival is dedicated to a healthy organic lifestyle. The pop-up village has several plazas where visitors can join different activities such as boot camp classes, yoga, a debate about superfood and the future of our food. Various dishes can be tasted at the Taste Plaza, where also farmers and growers tell their story about the fruit and vegetables. Besides the various plazas there are also performances.
Leave a message to the farmers
19-2-2014
Consumers often do not know where their food comes from. Cisse Trading Co, a company that focuses on Fairtrade chocolate bakes and drinks, gives consumers the opportunity to send a message to the farmers. There is a QR-code at the packaging of the food that can be scanned by the customer. The consumer is linked to the Facebook page where they can leave a message to the farmers. So there is more transparency and it creates a connection between the farmer and the consumer who buys their products.
Temporary city in empty building
18-2-2014
Jaap Urban started a project to provide a temporary practical solution for one empty building in Groningen at the end of April or the beginning of May 2014. With the launch of tijdelijkestad.nl he motivates citizens and entrepreneurs to think along about the optimal use of a building for one week. Potential buildings can be suggested via the website, when one is found, the contents of the program and pop-up stores can be filled in. This can vary from temporary shops and sport facilities to restaurants and office space for entrepreneurs. Next that events and workshops will complement the program for the period.
Within three weeks a suitable building will be picked.
Hotel shabbyshabby
29-1-2014
From 23 May to 8 June 2014 the Hotel shabbyshabby project will take place in the context of the Theater der Welt 2014 festival in Mannheim, Germany. For this project creative geniuses, students of architecture and professionals have build the hotel room of their dreams, made from the city of Mannheim’s trash. The rooms have to consist of mostly used or recycled materials (except for the beds and bedclothes) and may cost maximum €250,-. Contestants can send in their designs until 31 January and will construct them in 20 groups at a purpose-built construction camp in the week before the event. With the project the festival organizers want to change the view of residents and visitors on Mannheim. The reception and breakfast room is centrally located at the National Theater, while the rooms are scattered across town.
Vending machine with salads
24-1-2014
We already have seen a number of vending machines, but mostly with unhealthy products. The vending machine of Farmers’s Fridge sells healthy, fresh packaged salads, fruits and breakfast. The company prepares the salads made of organic, local en fresh produce early in the morning and delivers the packed salads to the vending machines by 10AM. The unsold salads from the previous day will be donated to the local food bank. The vending machine has a touchscreen and is made of wood and recycled materials. Farmer’s Fridge currently has vending machines in the Chicago area.
Algae flour by Roquette
13-1-2014
Roquette developed flour based on algae. With this flour it’s possible to bake a brioche without eggs, butter or allergen. With the flour the brioche will contain 70% less fat than normal. During the FiE Innovation Award in Frankfurt this November the High Lipid Algal Flour by Roquette won the overall price for most innovate product and was category winner in the Bakery category. The flour is approved as ingredient by the EU and has the American GRAS-label (Generally Recognized As Safe). Roquette joined the ALGOHUB® research program for developers of ingredients based on micro-algae in 2008. Last year we’ve spotted egg-replacement ingredient ‘Beyond Eggs‘.
Kromkommer crowdfunding
13-1-2014
Around 5 – 10% of the Dutch vegetable and fruit produce is wasted because the products don’t fit the ‘common appearance’. Kromkommer wants to use these weird shaped vegetables and fruits for an alternative series of soups. Therefore Lisanne van Zwol, Jente de Vries and Chantal Engelen started a crowdfunding campaign to raise € 25. 000,- and produce the soups themselves. Their goal is to motivate 20.000 crazy vegetable heroes in 2014. According to the ladies, someone is already a vegetable hero after buying one of the soups, because the content would otherwise be wasted. The collected donations will be used for purchasing vegetables from growers, transportation to the factory, production of the soups and design and print of the labels. Donators can choose from a range of rewards like tickets to the launch event (€ 10,-), a visit to the factory or one of the growers and a fair amount of soup packages (€ 500,-).
In 2013 Kromkommer collaborated with hospitality industry wholesaler ‘Zegro’ to reduce waste. With their Kromkommer concept the ladies are nominated for the ‘Horecava Innovation Award’ 2014.
