The Better Wetter project aims for a healthier and more sustainable water system in the peat meadow area in Northeast Friesland. They have various projects and various test fields on which they are experimenting with growing cattail. This wet cultivation could be a new part of the revenue model for farmers in wet areas.
Cattail as insulation
Construction group Dijkstra Draisma, among others, is involved in the use of cattail in construction. Coen Verboom of Dijkstra Draisma calculated that from one hectare of cattails, about twenty to forty homes can be provided with insulation material. They recently bought 10 hectares of peat area to be able to use it for processing into insulation material.
Preventing subsidence
Current water management in agricultural areas is mainly aimed at keeping water levels low. However, climate change will only make the soil wetter. The subsidence in peat lands and the depletion of raw materials by current agriculture mean that this method of soil management is not future-proof. To this end, new forms of water management are being investigated in the Better Wetter program.