ABSTRACT
This article chronicles and reflects on the processes and the meanings of a project titled GeoMerce. GeoMerce is a project of speculative design that creates a narrative based on the scientific notion of phytomining, the activity of extracting metals from the soil using plants. The narrative of the project generates a scenario in which agriculture and finance blend with each other. The project brought together a diverse network of professionals ranging from biologists, technologists, financial advisors, tinkerers, video-makers, enabling an exchange of voices that otherwise would have not occurred. Besides the scientific and technical challenges posed by GeoMerce, the authors of this chapter reflect on the critical framework that set the basis for such a complex project. In fact, while GeoMerce seems to hint at the possibility of a bright and positive future, it also casts the shadows of a dystopian scenario in which financial profit and actual or speculative monetary value determine every aspect of our world, including nature and our relationship with it.
