Thieu Custers

Department: Food Non Food
Website: thieucusters.nl

BODYPONICS

WHAT
Research on what it takes to grow and season a salad with leftovers from the human body. Thieu Custers used his hair for soil, urine for fertiliser and sweat for salt.

HOW
With a greenhouse that brings hydroponics to the next level. The closed system uses the residues of his bodily functions — that normally go into the sewer or dustbin — to grow lettuce, radishes, chives and basil.

WHY
Instead of pouring our waste down the drain, why not use it to sustain life? Hair provides structure for roots, and urine contains indispensable phosphates that the earth is running out of. Harvesting this from our own body presents a sustainable solution: shunned waste is turned into a valuable commodity.

QUOTE
Our bodies are part of the cycle of energy, whether we like it or not.