Edible construction material may soon be on everyone’s lips.
Now, an Italian-Ecuadorian design team is producing versatile new materials using agricultural waste from cocoa crops. Key to the enterprise: the beans’ outer shell.
Their first product from crushed and pressed shell remains is a 12-15 cm thick chipboard perfect for furniture or component parts.
Further products such as bioplastic or a plant-based leather alternative are still being developed. The aim? To make all variants biodegradable and compostable.
The initiative also helps cocoa farmers since additional revenue streams are created by using more than the standard 50% of their plants.
Creating a circular economy in the cocoa industry or considering mushroom cells in construction matters too.
