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WORTH Partnership Project
News article7 June 2018European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency

FIRST CALL PARTNERSHIP INTERVIEW: LLANOS DOMENCH + DRIES BOVIJN

SPAIN + BELGIUM, 2017

FIRST CALL PARTNERSHIP INTERVIEW: LLANOS DOMENCH + DRIES BOVIJN

Through the WORTH Partnership Project the unique duo was formed between María De Los Llanos Doménech López, a artificial grass specialist focused on urban-gardening and Dries Bovijn, a product designer for both software and hardware products with experience in leading design teams and started his own company last year.

The partnership is developing an indoor vertical garden to allow people to grow their own plants and vegetables in their homes as decoration elements. We interviewed the pair to find out more about their project and how they have found a place for nature within innovation and technology.

In your opinion, why has urban farming grown in the past years?
Llanos Doménech: Concerns about eating healthier and to further control what we put into our bodies regarding farming, we are more aware of our environment and how important is to sync with nature and switch off our minds from all those hours we invest in using digital devices.

Dries Bovijn: It’s a mix of a few things. More People have chosen to become vegetarian, mostly because we don’t know where our food comes from, and the same is happening with plants. People care about the environmental footprint they leave behind. On the other hand, in a busy world, people just love to take care of plants and see something grow from seed. It is a very humane effect.

How is the Bloom and Terra project sustainable in comparison to its ‘throw away device’ competitors?
Llanos Doménech: The materials we use are of high quality, it is a product that could last a lifetime. Furthermore, Terra is intended to be produced by locals in Alicante, Spain.

Dries Bovijn: Since the start of Mother, we defined that any product we will make will have to be able to last a lifetime and that’s quite a big promise! From material selection, to design for replacement to design for sustainability, it is a very big challenge we added on top of all the other challenges we are facing.

How do you think your industry sector will grow in the coming years and why?
Llanos Doménech: We need to take care of nature, as we are now aware of the consequences of our actions. Growing plants on our own is a way to palliate urban pollution. This market will grow because there’s no alternative! We need greener cities and we have reduced spaces to do it, vertical gardens are a smart solution.

Dries Bovijn: LED technology changes a lot. You do not need big bulbs anymore to grow or cultivate plants indoors. Many entrepreneurs are figuring out how to create business around the new technology. The same is happening with hydroponic systems (systems without soil) the big universities have made big advancements, thanks to research, which was originally intended for space. On the other hand, as we mentioned, we have the big ongoing trend for people to do more farming themselves, as it will be easier and easier to do.

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Worth News