Coöperatieve Aardappelmeelfabriek Ter Apel en Omstreken
THE ABANDONED FACTORY IN THE NETHERLANDS
‘Coöperatieve Aardappelmeelfabriek Ter Apel en Omstreken’ is an abandoned potato-starch factory, or in Dutch, aardappelmeelfabriek. It was abandoned in 1981, but today it’s part of an ecovillage and 45 people are living around the factory.
The Dutch potato-starch industry grew quickly in the mid-nineteenth century. Manufacturers extract potato starch from potatoes. The root tubers of the potato plant contain starch grains. To extract the starch, workers crush the potatoes. This process releases the starch grains from the broken cells. They then wash out the starch and dry it into powder.
AVEBE
Most starch manufacturers in the Netherlands are found in the provinces of Groningen and Drenthe. These factories are mainly located around the Peat Districts, where many potatoes are grown. One of the last factories built was the cooperative potato starch factory ‘Ter Apel en Omstreken’. It was established in 1916 along the Ruiten-Aakanaal in Ter Apel.
In 1964, this factory merged with the ‘Westerwolde’ and ‘Musselkanaal en Omstreken’ companies. The new name became WTM. Starting in 1971, the production was taken over by AVEBE.
The factory ended the production in 1981, after 65 years. Several small businesses were housed in these buildings until 1996. Some parts of the factory date from the construction period, including the boiler house with chimney and a factory hall. At the back of the factory are the extensive rectangular flow fields, basins in which waste water was recovered during the production process. Particularly characteristic is the former office building at the entrance. I visited the ‘Aardappelmeelfabriek Ter Apel en Omstreken’ in 2011.
Ecodorp
Since 2019 it is part of an ecovillage: Ecodorp Land van Aine. In fact, in 2023 there are 45 people including 16 children living around the factory. Everybody is welcome to make an appointment for a photo- or video-shoot after contacting them. They ask a fee to save and rebuild parts of the factory.
