Agriculture in Brabant is facing a major challenge. Change is necessary for a healthy future. Janke van Dijk (23) from Helenaveen decided to completely change her future. She now grows cattails in De Peel. The plants grow well on wet soil and you can make excellent insulation material from them. Perfect for building with biological materials.
Janke van Dijk grew up among blueberries. But when she had to choose a specialization for her education in horticulture and arable farming, she decided to look outside the box. It became the direction of ‘wet cultivation’. “I just knew it would have something to do with water.”
“Potatoes and corn don’t grow in the water.”
She started working with cattails for the water board De Dommel. “That means that streams and rivers meander through the landscape more. But potatoes and corn don’t grow in the water, do they. That’s why cattails came into the picture as a possible crop.”
The plant that most people only know from the ditch side has many advantages. They grow in that place because there is a lot of nitrogen in the soil there. The plant can use that to grow, but it also purifies the water. “Watschap De Dommel also uses the plant for water purification. The water, which is already almost pure, still goes through a natural purification with cattails. This makes the water even cleaner.”
“You will have to look at alternatives.”
De Peel, where Janke lives, can make good use of wet cultivation. The water level has to go up. This has major consequences for farmers who currently have grassland or maize. “If you want to stay in this area, especially on lower grounds, you will have to look at other options.” And so there are, according to Janke.
The cattail can be used for multiple purposes. “It is also good for nature management. The plants can be used to buffer water and retain water. What many people will not know: you can also eat them! The root of the cattail tastes like asparagus. The leaves can be eat it as a salad. Even the flowers are edible.”
“It is very suitable for the construction of tiny houses.”
But Janke mainly wants to grow cattails for insulation material. It can be used as cavity wall insulation. As a replacement for the tempex granules that are much less environmentally friendly. You can also press cattails into insulation boards. “You can easily build with that, for example tiny houses. If you break it down again, you can very easily recycle the sheet material.”
As far as Janke is concerned, this could just be a crop of the future. Especially in Peel. “Now you see signs with: ‘Aviko fries grow here’. Then it can also read: ‘New houses grow here’.
“Today’s youth also sees that we have to do things differently. But you do need help with that.” Innovation house De Peel helps with this. They have brought all parties together: farmers, construction workers and the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. “The knowledge is there, but someone has to be there to coordinate it. The Innovation House does that for us.”
“This really is the future.”
Janke sees a bright future. “Test projects have already shown that it is possible. Now we are still waiting for official certification. And then your house will no longer be insulated with Styrofoam but with cattails. We don’t know exactly how long it will take, but it will come. This is really the future.”