Milan Voorhorst

This week approximately thirty students, including me, were disconnected from society by living on the island of Texel for a week. The project was about a sustainable Texel in the year 2065. We worked on different subjects within this topic for about six weeks in advance. For me it was hard to know what to expect because my view on this week was a bit vague. There were some lectures during the…

a forecast of the transition to a sustainable personal life on Texel in 2065 (have a look at the video/visuals) a general overview of the sustainable island in 2065, and possible transition pathways (report) an impression of  the development of island tourism 2015-2065 (view the documentary)

Lastly we visited the Novalishoeve, a care farm. This biological dynamical farm has a 100% closed loop system, which means they produce everything they need for the animals themselves (hay  for the cows and all the waste of the foods was given to the pigs).  This is one of the farms that supplies the Spar, and he does that for ‘Spar-prices’ because he believes it should be available for the local…

We visited the restaurant ‘het Kompas’ as this is the first restaurant that started using locally grown foods. We asked him how it’s possible for him to survive as an restaurant and he said it can be difficult because it is more expensive. A lot of restaurants are underselling themselves to get customers, but most of them haven’t made any profit in five to ten years. We asked him about a food…

The butcher of the spar only worked with local products, meat from lambs, cows, etc. from nearby farms. He said the meat is more expensive as someone from the mainland has to come over to check the quality of the meat. However it is still bought by the locals (as it’s still cheaper than BIO-meat). We should pay attention to the possible devaluation of the ‘Echt Texels Produkt’ brand as it’s…

We interviewed one of the cashiers from the spar in Den Hoorn, we consider her to be a typical resident of the island. She was actually resistant to the idea of only eating and using locally produced foods. She didn’t like to cook or spend time on cooking, in fact she said: ‘Give me some canned food and I’ll add some potatoes to it.’ She also pointed out that people like to have a choice when it…

During the field research we found some local initiatives towards distributing of locally grown foods; such as people selling potatoes and other vegetables grown in their gardens. They have a small stall in their garden with a tube system in which people can place the money needed to buy these foods. This shows a high level of trust.

Last night I slept four hours. Nowadays this is no problem, where it was fifty years ago. I get up and feel full of energy and fresh to start the day. I do not feel any hunger, because I ate in my sleep. It was delicious. What shall I do today? I have so much spare time since all those wonderful technologies, I hardly know what to do all day. For fun I keep some cattle to provide me from some…

  5.2.     Discuss expectations and potential tensions with other sub-systems within sustainable Texel.  Accommodate community Expectations This sub system focusses on the tourism of the island. Our research has shown that tourists visit the island to not only enjoy and experience the nature, but also because of the food. The Cuisine of Texel. We expect that this trend will not be harmed by…

5.1.     Write conclusions about the sub-system analysis and design. In our research we detached 4 different actors in the process with other interests, influences and goals. I think in the conclusion we could shortly answer the following questions to describe the analysis: A) the Local consumer What is the interest of this actor in the subsystem? The local consumer, the residents of Texel, are…

Content 2.1                      Literature study - 3            2.2                      Description of daily life in the current system - 5 2.3                      Description of daily life  in the future system - 8 2.4                      What needs to change? - 11 2.5                      Bibliography - 13   2.1           Literature study Designing for presence: Introduce and discuss ideas…

Content 1.1                      Literature study - 3 1.2                      Socio-technological analysis of the current system - 5 1.3                      Socio-technological System in future - 12 1.4                      The sustainability challenge of Texel - 14 1.5                      Bibliography - 15    1.1           Literature study In today’s society, technology plays a very large…

“Urtica de Vijfsprong” is a combined agricultural company with a health facility. Both the functions have more or less the same ‘importance’ in the business. The health company provides healthcare for people with all different indications. They have support and can work on the farm. The farm performs biodynamic agriculture, which is a way of organic farming but with an anthroposophical basis.

I want to talk about Monsanto, an agrochemical company who makes GMO’s (Genetically Modified Organisms). Monsanto makes new seeds and patents it, nothing criminal so far. They sell those seeds to farmers, but the seeds are modified in such a way that they do not reproduce themselves every season, so farmers are bound to buy new seeds every year. Why wouldn’t farmers buy their seeds somewhere else?

Using less energy and emit less carbon dioxide, that’s what it is all about in sustainable development. But did you ever consider your energy consumption while using the computer and browsing the internet? Website servers use energy as well and is reading from your computer really more sustainable than printing it? Computers and internet are used all over the world and contribute significantly to…

Pathway 1 Define initial point, 2015 The consumers buy most of their products at the supermarkets, sometimes more directly from the farmer themselves, but only if they know him/her well or live nearby. The farmers and fishermen sell their products at big markets and distribution centres. These are then transported to factories or distribution centres of retailers/supermarkets. On the island, to…

  VISION We aim to design a system that makes food independency of the Texel community possible. We learned in the lecture of Antoine Maarten from Urgenda that Texel has nowadays a very strong relation with the mainland and is very depending on the supplies and the services of the mainland. Therefore a lot of transport takes place between the mainland and Texel. A transaction towards a more self

4.1.    Introduce and discuss ideas and concepts from literature , in order to apply in the following sections.(also discuss what these terms could mean for Texel)   Eline Maya Melchior Milan Sustainability Transitions The transition of a process from an unsustainable to a sustainable process. Sustainability transitions can be defined as the process needed to go from an…

    Eline Maya Melchior Milan Sustainability Transitions The transition of a process from an unsustainable to a sustainable process. Sustainability transitions can be defined as the process needed to go from an unsustainable process to a sustainable one. Undergoing a change towards a system that will allow for a 100% self-sufficient Texel with regards to food, secured as well…

4. Design pathways     Eline Maya Melchior Milan Sustainability Transitions The transition of a process from an unsustainable to a sustainable process. Sustainability transitions can be defined as the process needed to go from an unsustainable process to a sustainable one. Undergoing a change towards a system that will allow for a 100% self-sufficient Texel with regards to…

4. Design pathways 4.1.       Eline Maya Melchior Milan Sustainability Transitions The transition of a process from an unsustainable to a sustainable process. Sustainability transitions can be defined as the process needed to go from an unsustainable process to a sustainable one. Undergoing a change towards a system that will allow for a 100% self-sufficient Texel with regards…

The celebration of   Sinterklaas’   birthday could be a lot more sustainable. I know what you are thinking: “Not another negative statement about Sinterklaas ! First,   Sinterklaas   was a racist, now he is unsustainable? Leave him alone, this is tradition! Do not spoil this kid’s feast!” Let’s discuss the celebration. This is how it started: The festivity started around the fifteenth century…

3.3.    Analyse what current developments are going on the desired direction; and which not? A) The local consumer and D) the tourist industry The trends described in the former paragraph are in line with the development we pictured to reach the 100% self sufficiency of the island. We think it’s important to focus on a (social) change amongst the consumers. In order to create a 100% self…

3.2.    Description and analysis of actual relevant trends, initiatives, etc. in the current sub-system.   A) The local consumer and D) the tourist industry To engage the local consumer in the sub-system ‘Feed Texel’ the following initiatives are currently established on the island (the list might not be complete). These vary from brands to raise awareness, to special food related events.   Texel…

3.1 Literature study Designing for presence: Introduce and discuss ideas and concepts from literature, in order to apply in the following sections. This week started with a discussion about the new literatures concepts. In order to understand the concepts we started with defining them separately from each other: Eline Maya Melchior Milan Public Engagement Public engagement…

When discussing sustainability, the phrase people, planet, prosperity   is often used   (also PPP or the triple bottom line). This should   point out   the importance of social, environmental and financial properties of sustainable development.   The idea of this phrase is that sustainable   development only can happen when all three pillars are considered. Is this saying always true? I do not…

Today I went to a second-hand store. I visited this shop earlier but today I noticed the popularity and growth of it. However, several sources state that in the last two years more and more thrift shops are going bankrupt. They blame it on economic growth after the crisis. In my personal social environment, second hand goods but especially clothes are still a little controversial. People think…

Nowadays everything is green. Green house, green food, green label, green etc. Is this all there is to tell about sustainability? In my opinion not, and think it is time to go beyond the term green and make sustainability more widespread and prevent the sustainable thought going into a niche. Two weeks ago Arjan Lubach made a statement in his TV show “Zondag met Lubach” (2015) about meat…