#89 From Dust to Dust Masonry Products - Fusing Modern Science + Traditional Methods w/ Adital Ela (Criaterra)

Today we are joined by the founder of Criaterra, Adital Ela. Adital is an industrial designer by education and profession who was seeking the potential to make fully circular building products. She was inspired to do this when visiting India she saw how clay Chai cups were used and then tossed to the ground to return to their original form. 

After 12 years she then decided to set out to build Criaterra. 

In essence, they are an R&D company that aims to license out their IP for the production of fully circular building products. For the time being, they have focused on their MVP, decorative, non-structural tiles. 

In this conversation, we speak about her journey and the challenges of building a company like Criaterra. 

Our biggest takeaway was that it takes a lot of grit and resiliency to persist on this path. Adital has seen many struggles in the journey of building this company but is keeping the faith and working towards the vision of fully-circular structural building products. Prepare to be inspired.

Peace out! 🌎

Topics: 

• 4:40 Intro | Background in Industrial Design
• 11:!7 - Living with respect to raw materials
• 13:31 When she started on this journey
• 18:22 Intricacies of Launching
• 20:11 Misunderstanding of the Gap Between R&D & Production
• 23:46 Their Products
• 27:27 Strengths of Products
• 37:27The Feedstock
• 44:07 Their Business Model | IP
• 46:05 Milestones to Building an IP Model
• 55:06 Closing Thoughts

Links: 

• Connect with Adital: 
• Criaterra Website: 
• Check out our Sponsor, NextWave Partners: https://www.next-wavepartners.com/
• Join the Slack Channel:  https://cleantechies.slack.com/join/shared_invite/zt-pd2drz6d-N~9nURU5JlyMXv2ZiO5bAQ#/shared-invite/email
• Follow CleanTechies on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/clean-techies/ 
• HMU on Twitter: @silasmahner

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We are proud to continue working with NextWave as our official show sponsor for this podcast. NextWave and all of its staff are highly motivated to advance the ClimateTech revolution and are constantly innovating ways that they can help affect that transition. From experts in the talent space to ESG experts, NextWave is taking on Climate and Social responsibility head-on and helping companies build great cultures that not only make the world a better place but also increase workplace satisfaction. Reach out to NextWave Partners today to learn more about how we might partner with you today. https://www.next-wavepartners.com/ / info@next-wavepartners.com