Danish TV host Søren Vester has used human hair, cattail fiber and elephant grass to renovate an old farmstead in Thy into a climate-friendly summer house. The project is the subject of a new DR series starting Wednesday, August 19, 2026.
DR reports that Vester and his family bought a former houseman’s farmstead in Agger in Thy and have been rebuilding it since December 2024. The goal is a family summer house built with biobased and reused materials wherever possible.
According to DR, Vester searched a field for cattail plants to use as a binder in a clay floor. When he could not find enough, he called a local hair salon and collected cut hair from a vacuum cleaner. The hair and plant fiber went into a terrazzo-style clay floor mixed with linseed oil and pieces of old bricks.
Vester tells DR that new construction accounts for more than 40 percent of global CO2 emissions, and that ordinary building suppliers stock only what customers ask for. He says he wants to give Danes a vocabulary for materials such as wood fiber, paper insulation, clay and color pigments.
Elephant grass insulation from Thise
DR reports that the house has been insulated with elephant grass harvested locally in Thise, and that Vester describes it as the first house in the world insulated with the material. That claim is presented as his own assertion. He says the crop can grow in the same place for 25 years without nitrogen fertilizer or pesticides, and stores CO2 rather than costing it.
Realdania, which supports the project, says 45 tons of locally grown elephant grass was processed and used as insulation. The philanthropic association also places the house in the Agger and Tåbel area, and says the series runs for eight episodes.
As reported by DR, all wood for ceilings, walls, doors and the kitchen came from a large surplus batch, and the family built its own windows using glass made from recycled glass. Friends and craftsmen had advised Vester to demolish the building entirely, but he kept as much of the old house as made sense.
Vester tells DR that regulation has been the biggest obstacle. He says fire consulting in Denmark is a major barrier to more sustainable building, and that the first advisers he approached quoted 240,000 kroner simply to assess the house.
Why the project is in the news now
Realdania says the DR series premieres on Wednesday, August 19, 2026, and runs weekly. Estate News reports the same premiere date and locates the house in Tåbel near Agger. DR says the house should be finished in a few weeks, in an area close to Thy National Park and Agger Tange.
