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Netherlands-based designer Kyran Knauf has created a tabletop device that allows users to breed and harvest crickets as an alternative protein source.
Called Crikorama, the machine can host a continuous cycle of approximately 3o crickets through their lifecycles before they are harvested and eaten as a “sustainable” replacement for meat.
“I generally have two passions, which are food and well-designed products,” Knauf told Dezeen. “I was looking into the data of how we could feed ourselves more sustainably, regarding meat, especially.”
“It’s a bit of the ‘farm to fork’ idea where individuals buy or produce their food at home. And the reason why crickets is that they’re super efficient in transforming feed into protein.”
Knauf explained that it takes approximately 45 to 60 crickets to replace the protein found in a meat-based dish, such as a steak.
If we were to replace cricket protein with just one meat-based meal out of the three or so most omnivores eat in a week, it would have a “huge impact” on reducing the resources used to produce meat, which requires water, land and energy.
According to Knauf, the Crikorama approach would conserve 104,000 litres of water and 200 square metres of land annually per user, and five to six kilograms of CO2 emissions per meal.
The machine was created for home kitchens, restaurants, farms and educational purposes and is small enough to be plugged in and placed on a countertop.
It is 3D-printed using Polylactic Acid (PLA) and acrylic and assembled with nuts and bolts.
A centralized acrylic compartment holds space for the growing adult crickets, with integrated heating pads and air ventilation.
Knauf added green LED lights to the space as studies show it makes the crickets “feel more relaxed”, according to the designer.
A small tray filled with soil sits in one corner, which is where the female crickets will lay their eggs.
A bright orange drawer at the base of the machine is for harvesting and storing adult crickets, which can be held in the freezer before being eaten.
“The whole idea is that the machine is something fun to have at home,” said Knauf. “It’s a bit like those old espresso machines made of metal. They make a statement in the kitchen. If you love or hate coffee, they all look great.”
The designer explained caring for the crickets is “easy” and would require about ten minutes weekly, as they only need to be fed and given water.
Knauf, who debuted the machine at Dutch Design Week 2023, said it was “quite a success” although visitors were more receptive to ingesting the crickets in powder form, something the designer has taken into consideration for the next iteration of the design.
He hopes to start producing and deploying Crikorama in February 2024, with a price point set at under $300 (£236).
“The philosophy is that you buy your independence,” said Knauf. “I think that’s a big thing that you see a lot in my work, is this buying independence, which means you get the necessary resources to be more off-grid. Not necessarily to have a hippie or anti-system approach, but more that this is how we will need to live in the future.”
Crikorama was recently nominated for the Green Concept Award, which is aimed at young designers, researchers, students and start-ups seeking to further develop sustainable concepts and products.
London-based designer Leyu Li also presented a conceptual product at Dutch Design Week that splices lab-grown meat with vegetables in an attempt to explore the future of protein production.
The photography is courtesy Kyran Knauf unless otherwise stated.
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