Special Prize
Sargablock / Special Prize
BlueGreen México
Description
It is a 100% organic block, composed of 40% sargassum and 60% organic material
Detailed explanation of the submitted project or idea.
Thus, the ‘Sargablock’ nation, with the construction of a house, I saw in the sargassum an opportunity to grow its gardening business since 2015, when the beaches of the southeastern Mexican state of Quintana Roo received the first massive landslides of this macroalgae.
The first years I used the sargassum as fertilizer and sold it to my clients in small quantities, but with the passage of time and seeing that each day the quantity that reached the coast was increasing, I began to carry out the first tests to make one of his childhood dreams.
I just wanted to have a little adobe house, one that I built with my own hands, that’s why I built it within the nursery’s land and even designed a smaller one for the “aluxes”, the Mayan elves who, according to tradition, take care of the milpas and the grounds.
But my project attracted so much attention that I decided to listen to advice and began to process all the permits to patent the first block of sargassum.
I used sargassum as the main raw material, and from there all the composting can be done, all the organic matter to achieve what is now the ‘sargablock’, the first block of sargassum (for construction) in the world, patented since 2018
Casa Angelita, as I called the first sargassum house in honor of my mother, is made with blocks of this algae that are made with raw materials by hand.
It can have a durability, in ideal conditions, with its finishes and everything, of up to 120 years. Casa Angelita is composed of 20 tons of sargassum.
There are 20 tons equivalent to 2 thousand 150 blocks of sargassum.
Beyond the possibility of creating sources of employment and making use of sargassum, which is now seen as one of the great environmental problems facing the entire region, I consider that it is a strong call from nature to protect our seas.
“That we raise awareness, this is happening with the beaches, the sea is very wise and is telling us something. This contamination that we have done for many years, is taking care, it is taking care of what we have”
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Comments from Judges
Lingchih Yang
FabCafe Toulouse Co-founder
Special Prize
The ecosystem has lost its balance due to our neglect in the past. Now, we need to deal with the mistakes that we have made. Meanwhile, we have a chance to think about how to live harmoniously with other creatures and the natural world as our ancestors did in the past.
Since 2015, the Blue Green Mexico Company has tried to find a solution to turn the thing which is harmful to their living area into something useful. The sargassum block is an impressive invention. This invention reduces the quantity of sargassum (toxic), creates job opportunities (local economic impact), improves the life quality of low-income families (social issue), and decreases the impact on the environment (durability of the product). With these reasons, we are pleased to give the Special Prize to the Sargablock project.
Sargassum is a massive growth on the tropical coast. The harmful algae bloom damages fragile coast and coral ecosystems. The experience of the Blue Green Mexico company might inspire other places that face the same algae problem to invent different products that adopt local needs. I look forward to having an exchange with them to understand their R&D process, the difficulties and prospectives.
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