Income under your feet
– In India there is a state program for the development of vertical agriculture. This is a popular area for investment, which is why we are interested in cooperation. Moss briquettes can be used not only in the agricultural industry, but also in medicine: to make pillows, mattresses and anti-decubitus mats,” explained Sunil Jain, director of a company in the state of Maharashtra, about his business interests.
The Indians began collaborating with the Ugra Development Fund in June 2022. The framework document called for “exploring opportunities to begin commercial harvesting and marketing of moss.” Already then, the development institute suggested foreigners to take a closer look at Sphagnum, a resident of the technopark, which has 250 hectares of swamps on lease and three patents: for the production of vacuum-packed briquettes, reinforced modules and filled insoles organic. . To the question of RG whether this proposal finally became an investment project and how it differs from the partnership with Yagody Yugra, the fund’s press service explained: work continues, but there is nothing to add to the information already published.
Although Russia is richer in mosses than any other country, the main suppliers of these products to the world market are Peru, Chile, Finland and China. In addition, in the Celestial Empire, sphagnum is not collected in the wild, but is grown on peat plantations and is subject to artificial selection. The technology developed in Guizhou province allows continuous harvesting for 3-5 years after planting, 4,500-5,250 kilograms per hectare, says the portal hortidaily.com, citing Meng Xianming, representative of the association of humic acid producers.
The interest of foreigners in Russia is explained by the large reserves of raw materials: Karelia, the north of the European part of the country, Kamchatka and Western Siberia are rather swampy areas.
Sphagnum moss is used for vertical gardening, which is especially important in northern cities: winter is long and people want to surround themselves with living plants.
– 22 species of sphagnum moss grow in the Ugra swamps, two of them are listed in the Red Book of the region, and we proposed to include three more in the new publication. They are all rare. About a dozen more species cannot be called that, but are found in small numbers. Two or three massive species are harvested, mainly brown sphagnum, which grows on mounds and occupies huge areas in the raised peat bogs of the taiga zone,” said Elena Lapshina, director of the UNESCO Research Center “Environmental Dynamics and Change.” global climate” in the state of Ugra. University.
When the wall breathes
According to the Sphagnum company, biological reserves of sphagnum moss in the Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug amount to almost 318 million tons, including operational reserves – 222 million. The resource is literally under your feet and is also renewable; With careful manual harvesting, the vegetation cover is completely reestablished in 2 to 5 years. However, preparing it for processing is complicated.
– I think that what is sold and bought in the world is mainly what is grown artificially in old peat mines or in greenhouses: the market needs pure material, pure cellulose, and in a swamp the sphagnum grass is completely impregnated with estate. of vascular plants, blueberries and bushes that support it, as accessories “It is necessary to clarify all this, clean it of debris and garbage,” says Professor Lapshina. – Tractor collection will greatly alter the ecosystem, but manual collection does not produce on an industrial scale. However, if you press sphagnum and use it as an additive to the substrate, it is enough to remove only large particles, the rest will serve as food.
The International Horticultural Society predicts that the substrate market will reach 23 million cubic meters in 2050. Sphagnum added to the soil acts as a kind of dietary supplement: it improves soil aeration, absorbs excess water, contains a natural antiseptic that prevents the development of fungal diseases of the roots and stimulates the growth of seedlings.
In addition to indoor gardening, sphagnum moss is used in vertical gardening of offices, shopping centers, airports, universities and other public buildings. This is especially true in northern cities: winter is long, people want to surround themselves with living plants, install winter gardens or build “breathable” walls to which a drip irrigation system is connected. This design requires minimal maintenance.
Lichen in suspended animation
But what is popularly called reindeer moss, reindeer moss, is actually a lichen of the genus Cladonia, the biologist explained. If moss is a single organism, then lichen is a complex interweaving of fungal threads and algal cells. And Ugra also exports it.
Fresh moss is the raw material for the production of stabilized moss. To preserve the lichen, it is immersed in a container with glycerin and dye: the water is displaced, all biological processes are suspended, but the cladonia does not dry out and retains its attractive appearance and softness for a long time. Designers easily purchase this material for interior decoration.
Gallery owner Maria Khvan from Khanty-Mansiysk has been on the market since 2022. Her business card is landscapes and portraits made with stabilized moss, and she collects the raw materials herself. According to the businessman, the useful life of this type of landscaping is ten years or more, natural panels do not accumulate dust, do not require irrigation, are environmentally friendly and safe for pets. In addition, they are a natural antiseptic and do not cause allergies.
In June 2023, thanks to My Business Foundation, María entered the Taiwanese platform where creative products are exhibited; Buyers were found in Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Uzbekistan. Large quantities were sold abroad, but exports have decreased in recent months.
– We strive to be more useful to local consumers, we are looking for new promotional channels: we co-finance a beauty contest, we accept orders for the production of corporate gifts. In one of the schools in Khanty-Mansiysk they gave us a technological room where we can organize group and individual creative classes with children, parents and teachers,” the businesswoman shared.
When asked if the business needs government support, the gallerist responded that she hopes to receive compensation for export transportation costs. In her opinion, it would be good to partially reimburse those who make souvenirs for the costs of participating in exhibitions, as it is a way to promote Ugra.
A comment
Sergey Balakirev, head of the investigative committee of AKAR Ural, member of the council of the Guild of Marketers:
– In Russia there is no moss market. For it to appear, it will be necessary, in essence, to change consumer culture and educate the target audience. First, decide who is included in it, then justify why you need to buy something that is not an essential item, why it is fashionable, useful, etc. Everyone has patterns of behavior. To prefer moss to something else, I must answer the question: “What need will I satisfy with it and what will it compete with in my head?” Tourism itself competes with educational services, home renovation and entertainment. A striking example of a well-chosen strategy for an exotic product is goji berries. How did they come to our market? Through federal television, health programs. Perhaps sphagnum will one day “shoot”. But if the authors of the project have already found a potential sales channel abroad, where their product is well-known and in demand, I think it is unlikely that they will want to switch to the domestic market.
THE NAIS IS OFFICIAL EDITOR ON NAIS NEWS