Is the cigar plant from the pond the new gold for a sustainable future?

Among the tall reeds on a meadow in Assendelft, Tim and Harko are preparing for the first round of mowing. On the menu today is reed (known for the thatched roofs) and reed cigars (recognizable by the cigar-shaped head).

Not much later, Abco de Buck arrives, an agronomist who says he has a good understanding of agricultural plants. In particular the cattail. Once a year, the researcher from Nibbixwoud goes out in search of swampy meadows full of the specific crop, popularly known as the cigar plant.

Is the cattail a miracle plant? A loud laugh follows: “Well, at least you can do a lot of things with it. That’s for sure.” A special property of the plant is that it grows under (very) wet conditions. And according to De Buck, that is quite new in agriculture. At least, this science has been known for a long time, but its use is new.

The so-called cigar plant can offer a solution specifically for North Holland and its wet peat soil. In the province the ground is often so swampy that grass can no longer grow. In contrast to the cattail: that crop grows pre-eminently in wet areas.

De Buck: “Centuries ago we used what nature had to offer us. Nowadays modern agriculture moves over the land with large tractors and machines, so the land must be dry. But that is no longer the case everywhere and is also not sustainable for very long.”

De Buck has been researching the specific crop for years, which he calls an ‘all-rounder’. This cleans the water and provides structure to the often boggy soil. In addition, the bottom of the stems edible. These are so tasty that they are on the menus of some star restaurants. When the reed is harvested, it can also be produced into various sustainable building products such as insulation material and wood.

And specifically for the latter, according to De Buck, there is a gap in the market. Because in the transition to sustainable construction, timber construction is on the rise. Wood is used more often in the construction of houses, instead of concrete. Wood that grows in forests and that can sometimes take years.

This is different with the cattail. You can harvest this crop every year. Every spring it grows fresh and fruity from the ground, after which you can mow it. Pressing the reed into wood creates a perfect indoor material, according to De Buck. And an additional advantage: according to him, it also looks nice: “Every now and then you even see the silhouette of a cigar in the wood. It is the new gold.”

But if this ‘miracle crop’ has so many benefits, why don’t we use it much more? De Buck: “I sometimes wonder that too. You see it more often with brilliant inventions: that takes some time.” Yet, according to the agricultural scientist, we are on the threshold of this sustainable transition. There is increasing interest in using the circular crop in construction production.

Also notes architect and circular designer Jeroen van Mechelen. He is convinced that materials such as cattail are the sustainable future. According to Van Mechelen, the choice for natural building materials is not that difficult: “Do you want a healthy house that will last a long time? Or do you want a cheap house that will cause problems?” He therefore underlines De Buck’s message, which labels the crop as the new gold.

In the meadow in Assendelft, mowing is finished again after a few hours. A large truck full of reed stalks drives off the site. On to the production factory where the large mass will be produced into insulation material and wooden planks. And Abco’s task is also over for today. He takes the cattail samples home where he continues his research behind the computer. All for that one goal and in the hope that ‘his’ all-rounder will become the raw material of the future.