Omani design collective Nawa turns date pits into 3D printing biomaterial

We’ve seen 3D printing materials made from all manner of organic waste, from orange peels to coffee grounds. Now the range of sustainable sources for 3D printing materials has grown again with RePit, a plastic-free AM material derived from date pits and local clay. The material was developed by Nawa, a design collective from Oman, which presented 3D printed samples earlier this year at Dutch Design Week.

With over seven million date palms, Oman is the eighth largest producer of dates in the world. This means that it is also a big producer of date pits, which, while organic, are treated as waste. Design collective Nawa, which itself has date palms on its farms, decided to make use of these agricultural by-products to come up with a sustainable 3D printing material.

The Nawa collective, which consists of designers, architects, chemical engineers and bio-scientists, was driven by a goal to minimize waste and turn away from our reliance on non-renewable resources. Plastic, often derived from petroleum-based products, is a perfect example of this. “Substituting plastic with date seed composites can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, support a circular economy, and divert waste from landfills, with life cycle assessments highlighting reduced carbon footprints and improved sustainability,” Nawa explains.

In its RePit project, the Nawa team harvested dates from its farms and instead of tossing the seeds, processed them into a printable material. This process consisted of crushing the pits and mixing them with other natural materials, like local clay and palm fibers. This mixture was inspired by a traditional Persian building material called sarooj, which is made of clay and limestone and used as a water-resistant mortar.

Nawa then experimented with the date-based material, constructing a series of 3D printed decorative tiles with unique wavy patterns designed in CAD. The slurry building material was then printed using an extrusion process, which built the tiles vertically. Then, like any traditional ceramic material, the RePit tiles were fired and glazed resulting in a vibrant finish. A selection of 15 tiles were ultimately displayed in Eindhoven this past October for Dutch Design Week.

“To realize this vision, we sourced date seeds from our farms in Oman during Al Qaidh harvesting season,” Nawa said. “The seeds were processed into bio-materials for custom tiles, demonstrating their versatility beyond traditional uses and highlighting their potential in sustainable product design. Our project bridges traditional farming with modern technology, paving the way for a greener future.”

The material in its current form is a ceramic-like slurry, however the Omani designers are reportedly developing their RePit material into a filament, which will allow for greater product scaling.