Iris
With 36 students of the Technical university of Delft from different faculties and different countries we are invited to design a more sustainable Texel. When hearing the assignment everyone was immediately eager. All the engineers in the making were super excited and immediately wanted to start designing innovations and sustainable adjustments for the island. You might think wow thatâs a unique opportunity for Texel and its inhabitants, but there is one problem and thatâs that the âtexelaarsâ donât like changes.
You canât change anything, because they like how it is right now. They donât want you to build sustainable houses, because they like their houses like they are. If youâre a mainlander and you want to live on Texel, you can be kicked off from the island, because they only want real âtexelaarsâ. Only tourist are allowed, because the âtexelaarsâ are dependent on them. Tourism is there income. Even their language is very ancient. âTesselsâ dialect spoken in a large part of the island is very similar to medieval Dutch. The Dutch ij and ui sound like ie en uu. âTesselaars are living (weune) in a huus and that huus protected from the sea by a diek. Other features of the Tessels dialect is his omission from ge- before past participles (dat hei'k deen - I did that) and pronouncing sk- in places where Dutch sch has listed (skĂ©Ă©p = sheep).
Nevertheless, they have determined that the island needs to be self-sufficient in 2020. In order to achieve this, transitions are needed and changes has to made. Luckily we have Marc van Rijsselberghe one of the few pioneers of the island. He is collaboration with the mainlanders, to make Texel step by step more sustainable. He is the owner of the âzelfpluktuinâ and one of the initiators in the research on saline agriculture. In the âzelfpluktuinâ you can Pick your own fruit, vegetables and flowers straight from the gardenâ. Fresher and healthier is not possible! After picking you can quietly relax on the terrace and there is even children's playground with an excavators. How beautiful and naturally can it be. Still all the other farmers wonât follow.
Marc van Rijsselberghe should in my opinion be an inspiration for all the many conservative âTexelaarsâ. In order to achieve the goal of self-sufficiency the conservative âTexelaarsâ should think the same like he does and collaborate with the mainlanders. They should receive us, 36 engineers in making with all our sustainable ideas and innovations, with open arms, collaborate with us. Weâre excited and you? Letâs make changes together!
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