Exploring SCOBY Growth

Congratulations to Emma Sicher on her latest papers published in Biotechnology Design, Cambridge University Press! Both papers were presented at the Biodesign Conference at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands in August 2026 and represent important milestones in her doctoral research.

In her paper How can SCOBY be grown from scratch?: Growing materials from situated ecologies, Emma Sicher points out that biofabrication practices in biodesign commonly rely on preformed cultures, standardized strains, and established protocols, often without critically addressing their provenance and ecological implications. This tension is particularly evident in SCOBY cultivation, where microbial cultures are frequently exchanged as fragments with uncertain origin. Informed by frameworks grounded in regenerative design that advocate for ecological literacy and situated engagement with living systems, this contribution addresses how SCOBY can be grown »from scratch«. The investigation draws on a doctoral study engaging with acetic fermentation practices in Thailand and Germany, including apprenticeships, foraging, and solo experimentation with vernacular techniques. These experiences demonstrated that SCOBY can emerge from situated ecologies, highlighting the adaptive and relational nature of this biological system.

Building on these insights, her paper introduces an open-source method enabling practitioners to grow SCOBYs through engagement with situated plants and microbes. From these insights, Situated Growing Design is proposed as an emerging trajectory and practical approach for translating regenerative aspirations into growing material practices that foster closer engagements with bioregional configurations.

A second paper, Medium Design as a Fundamental Domain in Biodesign: Open-Source Protocols for Exploring SCOBY Growth with Alternative Plant Infusions, co-authored with microbiologist Lorenza Conterno, frames medium design as a fundamental yet underexplored site for integrating biodiversity into growing design practices. Building on systematic laboratory experimentation, this contribution presents two open-source protocols that support practitioners in parallel testing of alternative plant materials to common tea in SCOBY nourishing liquids, providing both quantitative and qualitative evaluation methods for the growing pellicles. One protocol is designed for experimentation in specialized laboratories, while the other is adapted for non-sterile spaces and accessible equipment. The presented experimental research elaborates on how this integrated approach can inform protocols for medium customization that can be assessed based on different design priorities. In this framework, biological variability is not seen as a limitation, but rather as a productive feature that can reveal novel SCOBY-material expressions and untapped application potentials.

While addressing different aspects of one of the most widely used fermentation techniques in biodesign, both articles support the integration of biological and epistemological diversity into growing design as a contribution to translating regenerative endeavors into situated practices.

Available in Open Access:

https://doi.org/10.1017/S2977905726100225

https://doi.org/10.1017/S2977905726100237