The Nettle Project

Introduction

In a time where our connection to the origin and creation of our everyday products is lost, The Nettle Project explores how design can re-root us in our local bioregion.
The bioregion lets us ground in our ‘lifeplace’, and enjoy the wonders of our direct surroundings. The focus on the stinging nettle—a resilient, native plant that is often overlooked—is an investigation of its hidden ecological, economic, and cultural potential. From textile to tea, from soil health to social meaning, this project reframes nettles from weeds to a vital, local resource in creating regenerative systems.
In his thesis, Iepe looks at the principles of bioregionalism, and connects them with rediscovering native resources and valuing local ecosystems as sources of identity, resilient sustainability, and economic innovation. In the startup Nettle Project a business case is developed where the stinging nettle is valued for its ecological value, and as a multipurpose economical viable crop. The multi-valorization of the plant within de boundaries of the ecosystem is the research question in the project, but also central to this business case.

Thesis: Bioregional Approach

Your bioregion is the unique area you live in, shaped by its natural characteristics like watersheds, geology, climate, unique plant and animal communities, etc. It is the area that can sustain both human and non-human life, shaped by its unique human culture. The bioregional movement seeks to reconnect people with the place they live in, give it an identity and understand the care their place needs. Seeing the world through connected bioregions makes living in harmony with nature tangible. If every individual would live in harmony with their ecosystem, humanity as a whole would live in balance with nature. This perspective shifts our focus: Instead of grasping global complexities, we can act within our own local region. In this way, a bioregion is not just a physical place but also an area of consciousness. Currently most of our products are made, and our waste is processed, beyond our consciousness. If these processes were brought closer, we would better see the impact of our choices. But how could we bring these processes, the production and waste processing, within our consciousness?

Application

The Nettle Project aims to use local resources for local products, created in local production processes. Currently it consists of three parties: Nieuwe Bodem, who uses the nettle leaves and seeds to create tea.
Achilles and the Tortoise, who uses the nettle fibers to create fashion apparel.
The Nettle Project, that converts the nettle stems into spinnable fibers.
Together the parties are also looking into the possibilities for the other resource streams to make it a zero waste production, and create a profitable business case.
In the project the focus is on the whole product value chain, and making it as local and as sustainable as possible. Currently Nieuwe Bodem grows the nettle plants without the usage of chemicals and without watering. There they are harvested for tea in spring for the tealeaves. During summer the plants are harvested again for their seeds and stems. The stems are then processed by the Nettle Project into spinnable fibers. These fibers are then used by Achilles and the Tortoise to create regional fashion. Other product streams are currently looked into, tests are conducted for building materials, softdrinks and kombucha.