Co-Creating a Sustainable Experience with an Inclusive Café
Tactile Planting in the Dark | Reboot Your Senses and Feel the Temperature of Sustainability
In a world dominated by vision, we’ve grown used to understanding everything through our eyes. But when light is taken away—can we still “see” the details of life through our bodies?
"Tactile Planting in the Dark" is an immersive sustainability experience hosted in complete darkness. It’s a collaborative event by the Earth Puzzle sustainability club and GIVE&TAKE, a social impact café run by visually impaired, hearing impaired, and physically disabled baristas. At GIVE&TAKE, sight is no longer essential—and new ways of “seeing” begin to emerge.
Through this special collaboration, we invite the public to close their eyes, step into a space without light, and use touch and smell to reconnect with nature—while briefly entering the sensory world of the visually impaired.
Why Plant in the Dark?
Planting in darkness challenges how we sense and think. With vision removed, our touch, smell, and hearing awaken. We begin to feel the soil through our fingertips, trace the shapes of plants, and notice the warm scent of coffee grounds. This moment helps us better understand the lived experiences of the visually impaired, and encourages us to rethink what it truly means to “see.”
This is a gentle practice—of attention, empathy, and deep listening.
The Second Life of Coffee Grounds
Shanghai alone produces about 25 tons of spent coffee grounds every day, and globally, the number reaches millions of tons each year. When improperly disposed of, these grounds release methane during decomposition—adding to our climate burden. Yet coffee grounds are a vastly underestimated sustainable resource:
Rich in nitrogen – Ideal for compost and plant growth
Porous structure – Absorbs odors, helps regulate moisture
Grainy texture – Useful in natural scrubs and cleaning products
Aromatic retention – Can be reused in candles, incense, and creative crafts
Material potential – Recycled into utensils, fertilizer bricks, and more
In this activity, coffee grounds will be mixed with nutrient soil to become the growing medium for a succulent you’ll plant by hand—witnessing its journey from “waste” to “life.”
Activity Highlights
🌿 Immersive blindfold experience: plant in total darkness using only your hands
☕ Coffee ground regeneration: explore the possibilities of “waste”
👁 Step into a new perspective: understand how visually impaired people sense the world
🌱 Take home a plant: let green life emerge from the dark
This is not just a journey of the senses—
but a deeper experience that weaves together empathy, education, and sustainability.
Step into the dark with us,
and let your senses awaken to new meanings.
With each touch and planting motion,
discover a gentler way to connect humans and nature.
Collaboration Cases
Our project also includes a collaboration with Dentsu, one of the world’s top 4A advertising agencies and a Fortune Global 500 company
