“These are mortars, hand grenades, an anti-tank mine and a rocket,” says Tamika van Haaren, pointing to a rug on the ground. For the 23-year-old from Udenhout, the found ammunition is now the most normal thing in the world. It’s her job and that’s why she calls herself the bomb farmer.
She trained as a sports and exercise coordinator and learned to become a hairdresser. However, in the end these professions did not appeal to her. Tamika prefers to dig into the ground with her hands looking for explosives. “When I first found an explosive, I immediately stepped back because I was afraid it was going to explode.”
She no longer has that fear. On the contrary. Thanks to training and education, Tamika now knows everything about ammunition and explosives. She ensures that they are discovered in a safe manner. She takes us through her work on a practice field at her employer REASeuro in Riel.
After setting up the detection device, it is time for her to go into the field. She slowly moves the device briefly over the ground and a little later high-pitched beeps can be heard. Bingo. “There’s something in the ground here. To see what exactly is there, I’ll adjust the device more precisely. It could get exciting.”
The tension involved only makes it more fun for Tamika. In any case, she is not averse to a good shot of adrenaline. She is one of the models of the 2026 Farmer’s Calendar and was named queen of the Høken & Hakselen Corn Festival last weekend. “Last year at the campsite, I jokingly asked the organization why I had never made it to the Farmer’s Lady Calendar. That’s how the ball started rolling. That calendar is really a bucket listthing.”
Tamika quickly realized that a job in the supermarket was not for her. She went to work on a farm where she milked cows. That is why she jokingly calls herself the bomb farmer. She did not expect that she can now call herself an explosives expert. “I ended up here by chance and find it super interesting. You really get an adrenaline rush. You are curious about what it is and how dangerous it really is.”
Back to the practice field where Tamike has discovered that there is an object in the ground. “I’ll put my detector aside and then we’ll dig.” After working with the shovel for a while, she knows she is getting close. “I feel resistance with my shovel so that means I’m sitting on an object. Then we put on gloves and clear it with our hands.”
Then the explosive comes to the surface. It turns out to be a hand grenade. In this case it is a dummy and Tamika can pick it up quietly. Normally this is the moment that the Defense Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) is called. This ultimately defuses the explosive and allows it to explode in a controlled manner.
According to Tamika, ammunition is often difficult for people to recognize. “It’s completely covered in sand and rust, so it has a completely different shape. Sometimes it looks like dog poop. If you find an explosive at home, you shouldn’t do anything with it and call the police immediately.”
