"There are many people in the city who don't even know the difference between hay and grass"

Philipp Rüegg

20.6.2016

Translation: machine translated

Is it possible to be self-sufficient in the city? Two ZHdK students have dared to experiment and describe their experiences with keeping chickens, picking plants and growing coffee.

For four weeks, you can marvel at the trailers for the various ZHdK students' theses in the digitec shop in Zurich. Franca Frey and Seraina Mandra are also among the Bachelor graduates. Their project revolves around nutrition in the urban jungle. They wanted to find out whether and how people can feed themselves in the city. I spoke to them about animal husbandry, food waste and coffee cultivation.

Where did the idea come from?

Franca: We both had the same expectations for our Bachelor's thesis. We wanted to do something meaningful where you can also see a process and not just a product - something sustainable.

Were you already sensitive to nutritional issues beforehand?

Seraina: I'm a bit of a food hippie. Not so self-sufficient, but it's important to me to live sustainably. I already pay a lot of attention to cosmetics and the like.

Are you both vegetarians?

S: (nods)
F: Not me. But sustainability is important to me. Also with electricity, not just with food.

Do you think this topic is particularly important to your generation?

S: I think it's a topic with every generation, but it wears off. You're all about it at first, but then you stop again. At our age, you still put a lot of effort into it, but a few years later you're past that phase.

What was the purpose of your work?

F: To create awareness and show that you don't have to move to the countryside, but that you can live like this in the city too. An amazing amount is possible in the city.

S: It was important that not only we do experiments, but that others are also inspired: "Hey, I could try that too."

How practicable should the whole thing be?

S: We always started with an extreme case. We then thought: It's impossible to go fishing. It's impossible to have chickens. But you quickly realise that a lot of things aren't that difficult.

What was the most special thing you tried?

F: There were quite a few things. Collecting was certainly special. What natural plants are there in the city, which ones can you harvest, where do they grow, which ones are poisonous? That was very exciting. In March, when it was still cold, there were already a lot of things. That was very nice. And then preparing something with what you've collected and making others happy was a highlight for both of us.
I'm not a vegetarian. But as I already eat fish and meat, I wanted to go all the way. What is it like to catch a fish? How much time does it take? What does it mean to hold a fish in your hand and hit it on the head and cut its throat? That was my challenge and everyone who eats fish and meat should have done it at least once. It was a difficult but impressive experience for me.

S: The farm was very exciting. We spent two days on a Demeter farm. You can see what it takes to make milk. We also went to the abattoir. The farmers had extreme respect for the animals and the environment. It was great to see. Milking was also amazing. You imagine it very differently and then you think, if it looks like this on Demeter farms, what does it look like on normal farms?

But ultimately you wanted to see what is possible in the city. Where were there also clear boundaries?

S: Anything with animals. We wouldn't recommend keeping animals. Of course, it depends on where you live. If you have a large garden, you can easily keep chickens. But the effort involved multiplies enormously. You can forget about milk. Meat is also almost impossible. You can go fishing, but otherwise animal husbandry is practically impossible.

How self-sufficient can you be in the city?

S: Vegan is possible. However, it almost becomes a full-time job to be self-sufficient. I would recommend it more as a supplement so that you appreciate your food more again.

F: You can also see it as a nice hobby. If you have a small garden, you have to water it in the evening and research what the plants need on the internet. They don't just grow like that! It's time-consuming, but it's also a big plus. You realise much more how long something takes. We both grew up in the countryside. We know a bit about it, but there are many people in the city who don't even know how milk is made or what the difference is between hay and grass.

What doesn't work at all?

F: Coffee is the least feasible. Theoretically, it can be grown. But it takes years just to grow enough. Nevertheless, it was nice to see that it can be done. Someone is doing it in a tropical centre in Bern. But I don't think the coffee is the best (laughs).

S: We also reached our own limits. Killing fish was still possible. But slaughtering a chicken, that was going too far. It would have been perverse to kill a chicken just for our bachelor's thesis.

The worst moment was when I woke up one morning, it was sometime in March and the snow had crushed the chicken enclosure. The chickens were clucking like crazy. So I went out into the cold barefoot, shovelled the snow away and put the fence back up. The chickens only came out of the coop for a short time, looked at the snow and then disappeared straight back into the warm coop (laughs).

What did you remember about the project?

F: I still have a little garden and will continue to do so.

S: Yes, that will stay with me as well. I would love to have chickens, but it's like having a child - a very uncomplicated child, but still. The respect for food has remained. I now appreciate it much more when I eat something with egg, for example. I also try to eat far fewer animal products. The production effort is simply huge.

F: Food waste is also still blatant. We're already familiar with it, but it's just perverse how much is thrown away. You also have to be aware of this in the city or see it with your own eyes.

What tips do you have for people who want to do something for the environment?

S: Food waste. Everyone does it. We do it too. You just have to keep reminding yourself of it.

F: Everyone can do something. Even with the plastic bags. You can simply put them in a rucksack. And if everyone does that regularly, it already helps a bit.

S: Picking wild plants is also a simple experiment. It doesn't take long, doesn't require any effort and is a lot of fun, and you'll see the city from a completely new perspective afterwards.

Here are the trailers of the ZHdK final projects

Philipp Rüegg

Senior Editor

Philipp.Rueegg@digitecgalaxus.ch

Being the game and gadget geek that I am, working at digitec and Galaxus makes me feel like a kid in a candy shop – but it does take its toll on my wallet. I enjoy tinkering with my PC in Tim Taylor fashion and talking about games on my podcast http://www.onemorelevel.ch. To satisfy my need for speed, I get on my full suspension mountain bike and set out to find some nice trails. My thirst for culture is quenched by deep conversations over a couple of cold ones at the mostly frustrating games of FC Winterthur. more

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