May Your Rice Never Burn

Rice is the most important foodstuff for much of the world’s population. The rice agricultural waste however represents a major environmental challenge. Leftover rice straw is often burned which causes serious air pollution. For the May Your Rice Never Burn project by Atelier Luma and Estelle Julian, Maria Vidagañ, Silvia Caballero, with Henriette Waal as artistic leader, sought a way to use this leftover matter as a raw material for something new: a construction material for reinforcing dunes and coastal areas in Camargue, a wetland in the south of France where lots of rice is grown.

The project not only combats air pollution and soil degradation but also supports the local craft of weaving. Weavers share their knowledge of braiding and weaving through workshops with residents and others from the area. The introduction of this new ritual, from burning straw to reinforcing dikes, involves a new generation in protecting this vulnerable landscape. The project stimulates the circular economy and brings together environmental organizations, scientists, farmers, weavers and other regional players.