3137 and Dr. Audrey-Flore Ngomsik are working together on the Studiotopia residency at Onassis Stegi

Half of the world’s habitable land is used for agriculture. How this land is managed impacts the levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, how biodiversity is preserved and if people have access to a nutritious diet. By making great strides in productivity, the industrial food system has managed largely to meet the demands of a growing global population. However, this approach to food production and the management of food by-products are endangering biodiversity and human health. It has become clear that this food system is no longer fit for the 21st century and that a new model is required. The project meets the common interests of Audrey-Flore Ngomsik and 3 137 collective’s practice and will focus on how the circular economy could be an answer to a more sustainable food system. It is developed around the notions of collaboration, sustainability, and consumption towards climate action and change. In this project we think, record, re-imagine, and plan our everyday eating habits changing towards a sustainable planet and in a try to become aware of our ecological footprint.

To understand what circular economy is, you need to know what we call the linear economy, and also what is the recycling economy. The linear economy is what we have been doing till now. Raw materials are collected, then transformed into products that are used until they are finally discarded as waste. Value is created in this economic system by producing and selling as many products as possible. The recycling economy consists in reducing pollution and conserving natural resources by systematically collecting, processing, and reusing waste. A circular economy follows the 3R approach: Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle. Resource use is minimized (Reduce). Reuse of products and parts is maximized (Reuse). And last but not least, raw materials are reused to a high standard (Recycle). In this system, value is created by focusing on value preservation. So, the circular economy requires much more than just recycling. It changes the way in which value is created and preserved, it changes production methods and business models.

Can we rethink how previous generations produced and reflect this experience in our contemporary and future production system?

The project started with a series of team meetings, discussing examples of commercial and cooperative businesses that follow circular economy principles. We looked at different policies taken at a city and/or country level, and gradually focused on thinking how policy measures that have been tested somewhere could be relevant to another place. Gradually, we focused on the Athenian context, where, as a glaring example, a program toward the recycling of biowaste started only in 2020. So, our work focused on how we can incorporate practices that support circular economy in the context of the urban space we live in, taking into account the existing recycling options.

To this end, we tried to see how and to what extent we can manage organic waste in our households. We created a “calendar” in order to record what organic materials we use more often and the quantities we consume weekly, which parts of these materials we actually use and which we discard, and in how much packaging our food comes. Based on this calendar, Audrey made a “cookbook” for the process of food waste which, following a zero waste approach, gave ideas on how to make products that will benefit our everyday diet and health, as well as our households.

After gathering all this information, we started experimenting, using the ingredients we have collected in the previous phase. With techniques such as extraction, magnetic separation, and encapsulation, we attempted to come up with new “products” out of the waste, testing out various designs and different ways to use them. From our daily “waste” we created a DIY pharmacy, perfumery, and delicatessen. We collected eggshells, banana and orange peels, we kept the “discarded” skin and pulp of apples, and we made magnesium capsules, which are very beneficial for human health, pectin to be used in cooking, fertilizers for our plants, and essentials oils.

At the same time, while thinking how the circular economy could be an answer to a more sustainable food system, we looked at the food business and market, which led us to the story of the food packaging. Our research brought us to think about the role of the supermarket in the production of waste. Therefore, we organized an intervention in a local supermarket on April 8. Seven people met at the supermarket with a goal to buy packaged products and leave the supermarket without packaging. Following this link you can see what happened.

Therefore, from the micro-scale of the house and the domain of consumption, we moved to that of the market, and we gradually started thinking of ways in which domestic habits of circular economy can be applied in the city. That is, how we can create an analogy between a household and the “public space,” the neighborhood, and connect home care with caring for the ecosystem.

The final product of the collaboration between Audrey-Flore Ngomsik and 3 137 takes the form of a mobile platform, a canteen or a grocery store on wheels, a performative sampler, a cleaning apparatus or a mobile advertising campaign. It works as a transmitter, a loudspeaker, a virus, a means to convey ideas and matter. We are interested in creating an experimental awareness campaign, a promise to commit, like people do with hobbies, habits, or political campaigns. This platform will visit various neighborhoods and spontaneously intervene in the public space, in an attempt to motivate every citizen and household.

It is a mechanism that suggests urban care rituals for the natural environment of the city and attempts to link individual routines and efforts to collective demands. Moreover, in a—not too distant—future dystopian scenario, it can serve as an urban survival guide. Knowing how to use and process raw materials as much as possible can be an essential means of resistance and survival.