Citizen Kelp

Category: Citizen Kelp

  • Book notes: Let my people go surfing. Yvon Chouinard.

    Patagonia mission is “to use business to inspire and implement solutions to the environment crisis”

    “Perfection is not when there’s nothing left to add, but when there is no longer anything to take away.” (Saint Exupéry)

    MBA management, Management By Absence.

    I love the idea of a physical catalogue!

    Mission statement: make the best product.

    • Is it functional ?
    • Is it multifunctional? “Beware of any enterprise that requires new clothes” (Thoreau)
    • Is it durable?
    • Can it be repaired? Be an owner, not a consumer.
    • Is it as simple as possible?
    • Is the product line simple?
    • Is it an innovation or an invention?
    • Is it a global design?
    • Is it easy to care for or clean?
    • Does it have added value?
    • Is it authentic?
    • Is it beautiful?
    • Are we just chasing fashion?
    • Are we designing for our core consumers?
    • Does it cause unnecessary harm? Not everyone wants to change the world, but we want to be the company to feel like home for those who do.

    Environmental philosophy

    • Lead an examined life
    • Clean up your own act
    • Do our penance
    • Support civil democracy
    • Do good
    • Influence other companies

    How they deal with pickets: pay $10 per day to planned parenthood for every picketeer outside of their shop. ❤️

  • Thoughts for myself: Solar Punk

    Solar punk is a literary and art movement that envision and work towards actualising a sustainable future connected with nature and community.

    The maker is the hero

    “Solar” for the clean energy and the optimism, opposed to the climate doomerism

    “Punk” for counter cultural, post capitalism and decolonial

    “Pessimism is a mood, optimism is a will.”

    In the same family than Green Punk and Hope Punk, it proposes radical hope.

    It’s the the opposite of Steam Punk, Grimdark and Cyberpunk, but like them talks about art and environment.

    It’s a rebellion against a rebellion. A dystopia fatigue.

    Solar Pink sees individuality as progressivism, but with a strong scaffolding of community.

    The word was first mentioned in a 2008 article about wind-powered cargo ship. To this day we are not sure who invented the word.

    Things to look up: Olivia Louise, Adam Flynn, Afrofuturism, Bright green environmentalism

    Themes of solar punk:

    • Renewable energy
    • Refusing pessimism
    • Sustainable technology
    • Racial and gender equality

    Examples of solar punk

    • Bosco verticale in Milan
    • Wakanda
    • Ghibli’s castle in the sky, Nausicaa
    • Games: numeaera, solar punk 2050, fully automated

  • Inspiration: Lokamade

    Malaysian solar punk

    It’s been on my board for 10 years.

    I love the light and the look and the bits of green everywhere

  • Thoughts for myself: large system ecology

    The more I progress in microbiome science the more I think diversity is not the key value, resilience is.

    But I encounter more and more stories of stable systems, and niche ecosystems.

    Stable systems

    It’s a bit the same than quantic states when you think about it. (Idea from the Science of Myths)

    That could be translated by: what quantity of energy do you need to go from one stable state to another in a given niche.

    Exchange systems

    “there is no life without dialogue” A. Camus

    Darwin law of the fittest is being shifted to a multicentric system, an entropic system.

    The winning system is the one with the most exchange.

    Assemblages

    (from The Mushroom at the end of the world)

    Based on the terroir theory, any system is varying in space, time and environment.

    (page 7)

  • Kelp Yourself: Why Seaweed Is Your Microbiome’s New Best Friend

    Kelp Yourself: Why Seaweed Is Your Microbiome’s New Best Friend

    Have you met your microbiome lately?

    Hidden inside your gut, trillions of microbes are busy digesting food, producing nutrients, training your immune system — and, occasionally, misbehaving.
    One of the best ways to keep these microscopic citizens happy? Feed them the right stuff. Enter: kelp.

    What’s so special about kelp?

    Kelp is not just that slippery green thing brushing your feet at the beach. It’s a marine powerhouse packed with:

    • Soluble fibers (alginates & fucoidans): Excellent fuel for beneficial gut bacteria.
    • Minerals & trace elements: A natural boost that land vegetables often can’t match.
    • Prebiotic effects: Research shows kelp can help increase beneficial bacteria like Bifidobacteria and Lactobacilli.

    Why should you care?

    A healthier microbiome can mean:
    ✅ Better digestion
    ✅ Stronger immunity
    ✅ Less inflammation
    ✅ A mood lift (yes — your gut talks to your brain!)

    How do you add kelp to your life?

    We’re not saying you should start chewing on seaweed while swimming. Try:

    • Kelp flakes or powder in soups and salads.
    • Kelp noodles for a light, prebiotic boost.
    • Future Citizen Kelp products (we’re working on it — stay tuned!)

    Happy to Kelp!

    At Citizen Kelp, we believe a thriving gut microbiome is one of the easiest ways to feel better, naturally. And seaweed might just be the missing link between ocean health and your own.

    So next time you think “kelp,” think “help.” Your microbes will thank you.