We are thrilled to introduce the Great Fen's Mobile Inspiration Hub (MIH)! This long-anticipated arrival is a tiny-house on wheels made with paludiculture materials. The first of its kind in the UK, it will be taken on tour to demonstrate how crops being grown in our wetter farming trials can be processed into sustainable materials that have practical uses in construction and design. We hope to engage more people with the importance of peatland restoration, offering a multi-sensory and accessible experience.  

The concept

In 2024, we invited contractors to tender for the fabrication of the MIH. This is a key step in the delivery stage of our National Lottery Heritage Fund Heritage Horizon project, Peatland Progress – A New Vision for the Fens. We wanted to produce a exhibit constructed in part or in whole of paludicultural materials (materials derived from crops grown at high water tables within a wetland system) with high sustainability credentials. 

We were delighted to award the project to Moor and More in Germany. They are fast becoming the experts in the design and delivery of paludi-tiny-houses, using the latest scientific findings and collaboration with the University of Greifswald. 

Our intention is that the MIH will be a unique setting to showcase sustainability and climate change mitigation options, connecting people with nature. It will also demonstrate the potential end uses of materials derived from paludiculture. It will promote the concept of paludiculture (wet farming) to Great Fen visitors, farmers, growers, landowners, scientists, and policy makers. The best way to understand is to see, touch and experience the real thing. This mobile resource will be a beautiful and inspiring outreach tool. 

Inside the Mobile Inspiration Hub

Inside the tiny-house, you'll discover plants such as reed, Typha (also know as bulrush/cattail), alder and grasses that have been transformed into functional solutions. Typha-based furniture is useful, beautiful and innovative. Reed-based acoustic-baffle lamps line the walls and the traditional use of reed as thatching is seen on the roof. Reeds also feature as insulation, alongside Typha and wet meadow grass. Alder is used for plywood walls, worktop and other surfaces. 

The space is multifunctional and equipped with electrical connections and infrared heating. 

Sustainability was considered through every layer, as Torsten Galke, Moore and More, explains. "During the construction of the tiny house, we used paludi materials wherever it was possible and made sense. Anywhere else, we tried to choose building materials that could guarantee function and sustainability. Since weight is a limiting factor, we chose spruce for the wood, as it is relatively light, flexible and stable. The spruce cladding is protected against water by a pollutant-free impregnation made of silicates, which makes the wooden look weathered and is superior to other paints due to its stability. The rainwater is guided downwards in a rain gutter via a pipe and can be collected for re-use." 

Helen Bailey, Great Fen Project Officer, said, “Britain now has its own paludi-tiny-house! We are so impressed with what Torsten and his team have achieved. This will be such a valuable tool to communicate the importance of protecting our peatlands, the process of paludiculture and the potential commercial uses of those crops. Thank you so much to everyone who was involved and to the National Lottery Heritage Fund for supporting this exciting project.”