The Gourd Project
I grew up with this gourd toy and when I saw an instagram post describing this project, I immediately knew I had to learn more. Gourds are very popular in East Asia. We have instruments made of them, they show up in fantasy novels, and they are well-loved children’s toys. This company, however, saw their potential and turned them into beautiful, eco-friendly containers.
From the homepage of The Gourd Project:
"We are in an urgent need to shift our current cradle-to-grave paradigm. Take-away cups and packaging are a standard of everyday life but they produce an incredible amount of waste that ends up in landfills and contaminates our precious waterways and landscapes" (The gourd project).
"For the last few years, CRÈME / Jun Aizaki Architecture & Design has been exploring a way to bypass this waste cycle through a biodegradable molded gourd. We call it 'The Gourd Project'. Along the exploration that this thought intitiated, CRÈME identified gourds as a fast growing plant that bears robust fruits each season, developing a strong outer skin, and fibery inner flesh. Once dried, gourds have traditionally been used by ancestors as receptacles like cups. CRÈME explored this centuries-old craft, using molds to grow gourds into functional shapes, such as cups and flasks to create sustainable, renewable, and compostable products without waste" (The gourd project).
In their design statement, they referenced a common (and cute) fruit business phenomenon:
“'In Japan watermelons are grown in little boxes so that they become square. It looks quirky and weird, but it makes them easy to stack and transport. The idea is giving nature a little bit of a nudge to form it into shapes that would be more functional.'— Jun Aizaki, the principal of CRÈME" (The gourd project).
On their growing process:
"Aside from the sustainable benefits of the The Gourd Project, the 3D printed mold allows us to create a deliberate aesthetic that can be both beautiful and functional. Through many studies and prototypes, we have developed a set of pieces that mimic the silhouette of a classic faceted glass cup and a carafe with a lip detail" (The gourd project).
Their molds:
"Even though the practice of molding gourds has been around for centuries, there are complications to mass producing a consistent product with an organic material. We started our experiment growing a few gourds outside in our backyard and eventually found a farm to take on a larger batch. However, there are a variety of factors that cannot be controlled in an outdoor environment, such as humidity, pests, weather, and flooding. We would like to explore growing gourds in a controlled setting to limit these external factors and see if we can produce a more consistent product" (The gourd project).
I think this idea is super cool and pretty genius. Not only are their molds reusable, but there is the potential of using recycled 3D printer filament as well. Like they said, packaging is an incredibly wasteful industry with most products designed to be thrown away after just one use. Gourds meet many of the requirements of packaging. They are waterproof, durable, and easy to hold. I like the drive to turn back to knowledge we already have. Think back to before plastic existed. What did people use? And how might we incorporate that into the modern world? Another great thing about this idea is that I think people are more likely to hang on to these gourds. Of course, you could put them in the ground as they are biodegradable. But, because of how insanely cool and visually pleasing they are, I can see how people would be more inclined to take care of them.
No generative artificial intelligence (AI) was used in the writing of this work.
References
The gourd project. The Gourd Project. (n.d.). https://www.thegourdproject.com/
