Typha Co.

Typha Co. is a start-up based in Winnipeg, Manitoba developing sustainable horticulture products designed to protect and benefit the planet. Typha Co.’s products are made from cattails (Typha) sourced from Lake Winnipeg’s watershed. Our mission is to empower the collective good to solve Lake Winnipeg’s environmental crisis. With a massive watershed extending throughout the prairies, Lake Winnipeg receives substantial amounts of runoff fertilizer which cause severe (and toxic) algal blooms, threatening the future of the lake and awarding it the title as one of the most threatened lakes in the world. In wetlands, cattails act as natural filters for the water entering the lake, and capture runoff agricultural fertilizer before it enters Lake Winnipeg. However, when the plants die and decompose at the end of the summer, the chemicals that were initially taken up by the plants are reintroduced to the water and no phytoextraction value is provided. The key is to harvest them before they die, to capture and permanently remove the runoff. Typha Co. is developing horticulture products from cattail plants to repurpose agriculture fertilizer and to support wetland restoration. Typha Co.'s approach aims to holistically manage land, water, and living resources in a way that promotes conservation, restoration, and sustainable use in an equitable way. At heart, Typha co. is promoting nature-based solutions for climate change mitigation and adaptation. Optimizing natural ecosystem functioning will enable Typha co. to effectively up-cycle runoff nutrients into valuable products. Typha Co’s products are intended to address a growing market gap among environmentally conscious growers, our products will be perceived as the most environmentally friendly alternative. The act of consumption will in itself become an act of environmental stewardship.