NNN Movement & the First ECO Coin

On the 22nd of October 2015, during the third edition of the talk show Now Future, organized by Dutch Design Week and VPRO in Eindhoven, we officially launched the Next Nature Movement in The Netherlands.

To seal the beginning of the Next Nature Movement, director Koert van Mensvoort donated the first symbolic ECO coin - a currency for nature ecology value - to Age of Wonderland fellow Yoyo Yogasmana for his work in Indonesia, preserving more than 130 existing rice varieties without any use of insecticides.

Why an ECO coin? Imagine we had a special currency for environmental value. Then people who add value to the environment can earn ECOs. Would the rain forest still be destroyed if we could pay people to let the trees stand? The ECO coin is an alternative currency to express environmental value. This is how we connect economy and ecology.

Illustrious speakers joined us at the Now Future talk show to extrapolate current developments and sketch scenarios for the future. Experimental Architecture Professor Rachel Armstrong; innovative fashion designer Pauline van Dongen; speculative designer Agi Haines; Volvo's technical specialist in autonomous cars Erik Coelingh; and design talents Govert Flint, Felix Ros and Bruna Goveia.

During the event we served one of the never-seen-before recipes featured in The In Vitro Meat Cookbook: the meat flavored ice cream. What about a scoop of Polar Bear, Dragon, Choco Panda, Meat Fruit or Bacon? The most patriots could prove their love for The Netherlands by eating King Willem-Alexander's muscle tissues turned into ice cream, how would it taste like?

Additionally, it is now possible to upgrade yourself from a reader to a member of Next Nature Network. From 25 euro you can support our projects and receive a yearly inspirational gift in return.

Traditional nature organizations have a too romantic image of unspoiled nature. As movement we'd like to encourage you to look at nature in a different way. People usually see nature and technology as opposites, but we’re living in a time where technology is so omnipresent that it has become a nature of its own. The first NNN ambassadors, including astronaut André Kuipers, popular philosopher Bas Haring and designer Daan Roosegaarde, and many fellows have already given their support. Join us!