kombucha leather
The lead image is by Suzanne Lee (watch her TED talk)
- biomaterial means a regenerative material created by living organisms, as contrasted with materials that must be mined or extracted, or require high energy inputs from fossil fuels
- kombucha is a symbiotic community of bacteria and yeast
- kombucha leather is the dried form of the thickened layer that forms over fermenting liquid kombucha
Design goals
- grow microbial leather that can be sewn or moulded in ways analogous to leather, parchment or homemade paper
- improve our production techniques to gain greater control over the attributes of the final material
- test enhancements of the microbial leather such as coloring or waterproofing
Project background
Artists and designers are exploring the potential of microbial leather as a sustainable alternative to the ethically and environmentally problematic use of animal-sourced leather. Parsons Sustainable Systems is helping to advance this research.
Questions
Questions can be either frequently asked questions, or "next step" challenges we're looking to solve.
| Title | Author | Updated | Likes | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| How durable is kombucha leather? | @lait422 | over 6 years ago | 0 | 0 |
| How can I waterproof kombucha leather? | @lait422 | over 6 years ago | 1 | 2 |
| What kinds of surface design / decoration can i apply to kombucha leather? | @liz | almost 7 years ago | 0 | 0 |
| How do I dye kombucha leather? | @liz | almost 7 years ago | 0 | 3 |
| What are some techniques for drying kombucha leather? | @liz | almost 7 years ago | 0 | 0 |
| How can i manipulate kombucha leather? | @liz | almost 7 years ago | 0 | 1 |
| Does it matter what kind of tea i use to grow kombucha? | @liz | almost 7 years ago | 0 | 2 |
Activities
Activities show how to use this project, step by step.
| Purpose | Category | Status | Author | Time | Difficulty | Replications |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Using a home-made Spectrometer to test kombucha readiness | - | - | @mkoistinen | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
| Grow kombucha leather (Parsons Healthy Materials Lab) | - | - | @liz | - | - | 0 replications: Try it » |
| Grow kombucha leather | - | - | @liz | - | - | 1 replications: Try it » |
Activities should include a materials list, costs and a step-by-step guide to construction with photos. Learn what makes a good activity here.