The Carxofa Prat production leaves more than 16,000 tonnes of usable green matter in the fields of El Prat every year which are usually burned, damaging the topsoil and emitting more than 500 tonnes of CO2eq.
ex·tĕrra project revalues the discarded leaves of the plant by creating new bio-based materials that are designed to be inserted into an artisanal production circuit with the aim of generating networks, creating value and fostering a strong bond between people and their territory.
Local
Spain
Barcelona
Prat de Llobregat
Sant Boi de Llobregat
Mainly rural
It refers to a physical transformation of the built environment (hard investment)
ex·tĕrra means "coming from the earth", and is a proof of the possibilities offered by the wrongly named residues in shaping a more sustainable future. The discarded leaves and stems of the Carxofa Prat plant (a species of artichoke typical of the territory of Prat de Llobregat) is revalued by creating new bio-based materials that do not compete with food production nor requires other added components, and promotes a more conscious and sustainable interaction with reality. The choice of this raw material for the development of the project derives from the cultural importance it has in the social imaginary as the Carxofa Prat is an endogenous product, while at the same time fosters the reduction of consumption of other resources and raw materials.
Every year, 480 hectares of this plant are cultivated in the Agricultural Park; at the end of the season most of the plant is discarded, generating a large mass of usable organic matter in the field (more than 16,000 tonnes) that is usually discarded or burnt, which in turn has an impact on the environment through the damage of the topsoil, the generation of smoke and polluting emissions that are harmful to health and the emission of more than 500 tonnes of CO2eq.
The “Paper Carxofa” and the ink derived from its manufacture seek to move away from the inexpressive and ubiquitous industrial language. These materials are inserted into an artisanal production circuit with the aim of generating networks that connect actors, create value and foster a strong bond between people and their territory, involving farmers, young people and artisans in the process.
The project has been developed on the basis of returning value to the territory from the experience generated in the people: it integrates the experience of transforming the Carxofa Prat plant into sheets of paper as a training activity for young people from Prat that are in vulnerable situations, giving a chance of inclusion in the working world.
Bio-based material
Sustainability
Circular economy
Waste recovery
Symbolic content
Raw material choice: the raw material chosen to work with is derived from renewable natural resources, is abundant in the territory and has no other use at present, so it is discarded at the end of the season. Prioritizing the use of a material that is available in abundance makes it possible to reduce the consumption of other raw materials that may have a greater environmental impact.
Circularity: the potential amount of waste that could be reintroduced into the chain converted into a valuable resource is about 16,600 tonnes of usable green matter. The liquid that is released from the cooking process to make Paper Carxofa is transformed into a second material in ink format, which ensures that there is no waste derived from the process and reduces the risk of environmental impact to a minimum.
Carbon footprint reduction: 516,708 Kg Co2eq emission avoided by not burning the plants in the field. These data refer only to the hectares cultivated with Carxofa Prat in the Agricultural Park in one year. Avoiding the burning of biomass also protects the soil from deterioration by fire, preserves the biodiversity of the topsoil, and maintains air quality without smoke.
Low energy required: during the whole process, little energy is used: the raw material is dried in the sun; the firing process can be greatly optimized with just a few resources; the handmade production of paper makes it possible to control the use of water and reuse it as it is not polluted or wasted in the process (water is used but not consumed); the drying of the material is done in the air, without the need for an external heat source.
Systemic approach: creating a material is just a path that leads to transform the system. All actors involved in the value chain and all the processes take place within a radius of less than 70km, so it is considered as Km0. The system was evaluated to make sure that the project does not compromise food production and that it gives value to rural and artisanal fields.
Spiritual dimension: giving value to the symbolic content that matter can bring in the interrelationship between the human and the non-human. Our whole reality is traversed by the materials which we come into contact with on a daily basis. I believe that allowing matter to express itself in an honest way plays in favour of sustainability, because it promotes in humans a kind of interaction with reality that is more sensitive.
Close to nature: the aesthetics of the material have proved to be widely accepted by those who have come into contact with it: people perceive a connection with "the natural", given from the stimulation of all the senses. The stimulus generated by the Carxofa Prat paper has been tested, with surprising results: the participants have indicated that the material stimulates the taste even without having eaten it, and this is due to the perfume, the tactile texture, the colour and the visual texture of the material, which together make up an innovative experience in close relationship with nature.
Land-linked: the community where this project was ideated has a strong connection with their agricultural roots, especially with the locally produced artichoke -the famous Carxofa Prat. This product is considered almost an emblem that symbolises the territory, and a great opportunity was found to generate a material that had an identity and that promoted the link with the land. Endogenous products convey symbolic components as they express a link to the land, reinforcing the connection to nature and the sense of belonging to the place.
On the other hand, the revaluation of craftsmanship as a valid productive process for design has great potential for reconnecting with the territory, adds value to local production and is in line with the objectives of the circular economy.
The project has been developed on the basis of returning value to the territory. Consequently, a workshop has been designed, in which to integrate the experience of the artisanal transformation of the Carxofa Prat plant into sheets of paper as a training activity for young people in vulnerable situations in El Prat.
The focus of this proposal is on the social impact and the potential for job placement of the people who are accompanied by Saó Prat Association, a socio-educational organization with the aim of accompanying children, young people and their families in vulnerability.
The workshop offers:
• Training activities and experiences aimed at dignifying the future of young people at risk of social exclusion by promoting the creation of local jobs and thus their inclusion in the labour market.
• Learning of paper production’s craft skills.
• Training in new sustainable materials for the recovery of local agricultural waste.
• Opportunity to bring young people closer to the value of the Prat's countryside and territory.
The system proposal envisages that the workshops would be the first intervention, to then be able to grow towards the installation of a studio that effectively offers employment to the participants and can be self-sustained with the materials produced.
The project aims to have a positive economic impact for producers by increasing the economic yield of the cultivated plants. From a Carxofa Prat plant, 10/15 artichokes can be extracted, but the leaves are discarded because they have no commercial value. This project gives value to this discarded part and allows farmers to increase the income from their fields.
The popularity of the Carxofa Prat product is so great that every year it brings with it the “Artichoke Festival”, an event that is held in different towns in Barcelona and the surrounding area during the harvesting season. In this context, the material "Paper Carxofa", coming from the local land and created in connection with the local people, brings another layer to the message in the printed communication in relation to the event, operating on a symbolic and spiritual level. The ex·tĕrra project, through the Carxofa Paper, invites to connect with the roots, with the land, and thus reinforces the intrinsic power of the material to evoke nature.
On the other hand, the Barcelona area has a long-standing paper tradition. Institutions such as the Molí Paperer de Capellades strive every day to give visibility to the artisan work that has centuries of experience in the art of paper production. The ex·tĕrra project embraces this ancestral know-how and makes it the protagonist, highlighting the characteristics that make it unique. The intrinsic expressiveness of the material is reinforced by the imperfection inherent in the handcrafted production process, and moves away from the standardized, inexpressive and ubiquitous industrial language.
The project had the collaboration of several actors without whom it would not have been possible to carry it out:
Artichoke grower (local): he was the first ally of the project. He contributed with his knowledge of the local product and its importance in relation to the territory. He was the supplier of the raw material for the first prototypes and currently collaborates as a link between the ex·tĕrra project and other actors in the field of agriculture and food that can be key for the commercial insertion of the material.
Capellades Paper Mill (regional): It has been dedicated to the manufacture of handmade paper since the 18th century. It is located in the region of l'Anoia: due to its hydrographic characteristics, many mills have been installed, forming a territorial identity and a strong connection with the surrounding villages. The collaboration with the Paper Mill allowed to increase the quality of the result and to reinforce its expressiveness. The handcrafted production gave the project the capacity to be scalable to go beyond the experimental domestic sphere, and to approach a more developed state.
Saó Prat Association (local): a non-profit socio-educational entity, declared of public utility, founded in 2004 in El Prat de Llobregat with the aim of accompanying children, young people and their families in vulnerable situations. Together with Saó Prat and other institutions, ex·tĕrra is part of the REcarxofa't project for the reuse of the Prat artichoke, to generate creative solutions and revolutionise the territory by applying the circular economy to innovative products designed for people, the community, the town council and the producers.
Bridepalla, Santa Carxofa, Espai Puntal, Anna Gran, Amparo Jovaní (local): small businesses, start-ups, restaurants, artists and graphic designers are other actors involved in the project. They accompanied the prototyping and testing process, providing insights to nurture the project from different areas.
Design and Sustainability: industrial designer Carolina Galeazzi, specialised in Sustainable Design, and material design enthusiast, as the owner of the project ex·tĕrra. I designed the system and worked as a link between the different actors.
Agricultural knowledge: artichoke grower Germán Farinetes contributed with knowledge of the raw material and provided the leaves and stems of the plants for the development of the project.
Ancestral papermaking techniques, including knowledge of the chemistry of how to work with the fibres: Victoria Rabal, from the Capellades Paper Mill, provided experience in papermaking and the mill's facilities to carry it out.
Education and integration: Berta López, from the Saó Prat Association, was part of the team in charge of designing the training workshop for young people at risk of social exclusion. In the future, she will accompany the team to put the workshop into practice.
In general, emerging projects that base their actions on the creation of bio-based materials do not take into account the environmental or social impact of the project, but rather assume that by creating a bio-based material or by recovering waste, it can already be considered sustainable. Within the field, there are cases where the impact of other secondary components is not taken into account, biodegradability is spoken of without certainty, and various supplies from unsustainable sources, often maize or potatoes, are used as the base components of the materials.
The materials of the ex-terra project, the artichoke’s paper and artichoke’s ink, differ from other bio-based materials by moving beyond the exploration phase and approaching an imminent market insertion, as they are derived from an easily scalable and marketable process and system, are not based on edible ingredients and do not use other components that may have an impact on other phases.
On the other hand, it is unusual for a material to be connected to the identity of a territory. “Paper Carxofa”, on the other hand, focuses on the symbolic rather than the functional aspect, because it seeks to generate a different connection with the material. Normally, technical performance is prioritised in order to adapt to the usual modes of consumption, but ex·tĕrra prioritises expressiveness and sustainability, so that the modes of consumption adapt to it.
The ex·tĕrra project was designed under a systemic approach, which means that it was based on the perception of the context and the involved stakeholders, for the analysis, understanding and development of actions, which allowed for a broader vision of the scope of the design at different levels and scales. Being located in Barcelona, this system made sense thanks to the revaluation of the residue of the Carxofa Prat plant as an endogenous product with a strong identity character. However, in other localities, the connection with the territory can occur through other elements, and it is there where the system could be applied by reformulating the processes and generating a new network of actors involved, where each and every one is a fundamental part.
Climate change: the impact on the carbon footprint related to the origin of the raw materials was addressed, as the material used in the project ex·tĕrra comes from renewable natural sources, is abundant in the territory and has no other use at present so it is considered a waste. By using this waste, not only is it given a second life, but it is also prevented from being burned and releasing tons of Co2eq. This material is locally sourced, further reducing the carbon footprint related to its transportation.
Loss of ancestral knowledge: the industrialisation process of recent centuries has allowed mankind to make great advances in all areas of knowledge, but it has also led to the loss of knowledge and know-how of the crafts. Through the ex·tĕrra project, value is given to the ancestral knowledge of handmade paper making and agricultural work, both crafts at risk of disappearing.
Disconnection from nature: one of the starting hypotheses of the project is that materials carry a very powerful symbolic charge, and that since industrialisation we have experienced an abrupt limitation of the materialities with which we relate in our daily lives. Ex-tĕrra arises from the premise that materials created from biological elements possess an intrinsic expressiveness that makes us link them - consciously or unconsciously - with the natural, and form an innovative experience in close relationship with nature.
