Complete the online registration form to join Soil Bodies. Registration is available via the QR code above. Once the registration period has closed, participants will receive a project package by post containing detailed instructions and prepaid return shipping label for returning the garment to ELS after the burial period.

For participants residing outside Switzerland, shipping and return arrangements will be discussed on a case-by-case basis to identify the most suitable transport solution.

Step 1: Select a garment

Choose one CLEAN, preferably white or black garment from your wardrobe that you no longer need. (White is the best to see the natural colors created by soil)

Examples include:

• T-shirts

• Shirts

• Dresses

• Trousers

• Sweaters

• Undergarments

Step 2: Identify the Textile

Before burying the garment, please record:

• Garment type

• Textile or fiber composition

• Color

• Location of burial and land use type (e.g. private garden, mosaic farming, permaculture, vineyard, agricultural monoculture, meadow, lawn, woodland etc.)

Please note the textile composition as accurately as possible from the care label. Examples include:

• Cotton

• Linen

• Wool

• Silk

• Viscose

• Polyester

• Nylon

• Tencil

• Acrylic

• Blended fibers (fiber composition (%) if available)

Understanding how different textile fibers interact with living soil is a central part of the project

Step 3: Bury the garment in the soil of your choice. Leave it in the soil for one month.

Carefully cut the vegetation and topsoil into square sections and lift them gently to preserve the existing soil structure. Dig a shallow pit approximately 10-15 cm (4-6 inches) deep and place the garment flat at the bottom, ensuring maximum contact between the textile and the surrounding soil. Cover the garment completely with the excavated soil before carefully replacing the square sections of vegetation in their original position. Leave the burial site as undisturbed as possible and mark the burial site so that the garment can be located easily after the burial period.

After approximately one month, carefully excavate the garment from the soil, taking care not to damage the material. If preferred, gloves may be worn during excavation. Allow the garment to air dry naturally if it is damp, but please do not wash, clean, or otherwise alter it. Traces of soil, microorganism, fungi, roots, and the material transformations that have occurred during burial are an important part of both the scientific documentation and the artistic process. Once dry, place the garment in the original return packaging provided and send it back using the prepaid return shipping label. The returned garments will be documented by the project team and become part of the next stages of Soil Bodies - The Living Tapestry.

Soil Bodies participants are invited to join the first collective assembly of the Soil Tapestry on 25 April 2027 at Maison Shift in Zurich. The gathering will begin with a shared brunch, followed by the collective making process, where participants can work together, exchange skills, experiences and perspectives, and contribute directly to the construction of the tapestry.

The recovered garments will be attached to a continuous base fabric and gradually assembled into the Soil Tapestry. Guided by designers, participants can work with a range of techniques, including hand sewing, embroidery, mending, safety-pin construction and other forms of textile assembly. No specific level of sewing experience is required.

The gathering is conceived as an intergenerational and participatory learning environment. Its pedagogical structure is informed by John Dewey’s understanding of education as a process grounded in experience, shared activity, and social interaction. Knowledge is therefore not positioned as something transferred in one direction from expert to participant, but as something that develops through collective practice, observation, discussion and participation.

This particularly relevant to textile knowledge, much of which is tacit and embodied. Skills such as embroidery, repair, hand sewing or material handling are often learned through demonstration, repetition, and working alongside others rather than through written instruction alone. The gathering therefore creates a context in which established techniques can be rediscovered, transmitted and adapted, while newer approaches and perspectives can enter the process at the same time.

The intergenerational dimension is deliberately reciprocal. Older participants may contribute techniques, experiences, and forms of craft knowledge that are becoming less visible in everyday life, while younger participants may introduce different methods, references and cultural perspectives. The aim is not to preserve one fixed tradition, but to create a setting in which knowledge can circulate across generations.

At the same time, the shared table functions as a social space for discussion. While working on the tapestry, participants can exchange perspectives on soil, clothing, textile materials, production, care, repair, and the wider relationship between fashion and the environment. Soil remains a central point of reference throughout the gathering, linking the material transformation of the garments to the social process through which they are subsequently assembled.

The Soil Tapestry therefore develops through two interconnected processes: first through the interaction between garments and soil, and subsequently through collective participation, exchange, and making. As a shared work, it is intended to symbolize togetherness, peace, and freedom, while recognizing diversity as part of our common humanity. The tapestry reflects the idea that we belong to one human family, connected through the common ground beneath us and through our shared dependence on soil.

Details regarding participation and registration for the 25 April 2027 gathering will be communicated closer to the event.