‘I would prefer my own farm’

in

‘As a child I loved to play outside. We lived in the city, but I used to climb lampposts on the wharf. If I lived near a forest, I could have run around there for hours. As I got older, that fascination for my environment as a play paradise faded away.

“After studying human resource management, I worked for a year and a half as a consultant at a recruitment agency in Amsterdam. That didn’t make me happy. I quit my job and went to Colombia to work on farms. I learned about permaculture, an agricultural method that also takes care of the earth. I was greatly inspired.

“When I came back, I immediately started training on dynamic agriculture in Dronten. Now I work four days a week at the Bodemzicht farm in Nijmegen. It works regeneratively: we not only feed people with our crops, fungi, birds and badgers are also allowed to eat from it. We grow up to a hundred varieties of plants, flowers and berries. From green beans to kohlrabi and bok choy. One hundred families pay for a weekly package of vegetables, herbs and eggs.

“I would like to have my own farm. This is possible with the help of foundations that support young farmers by leasing land to them. I want to transform a place where only potatoes are grown into a regenerative farm.”

out

‘My lifestyle has changed a lot since I quit my job as a consultant. At the time I had a permanent contract and a good income. I was able to go on more expensive holidays to distant destinations, such as Sri Lanka. Now I go on walking or cycling holidays closer to home. In Amsterdam I also spent more on renting my room. Now I live in a living group with four people and I pay much less.

“I have never compromised on food. I still buy everything organic and local. That is my highest cost, but I don’t mind. I want to support organic farmers and I love good food. I hardly buy clothes. If I buy something new, it’s often work clothes. Good work trousers with many pockets, for example. Something like this can easily cost a hundred euros, but it lasts a long time. Or I buy sturdy shoes with steel toe caps.

“It also helps that I don’t drink much alcohol. In Amsterdam I noticed that people often want to escape the week during the weekend by drinking beers and wines. I am usually tired on Fridays. Then I drink a beer at the farm and I may have lost a euro. Then I go to bed early. Fortunately, some of my hobbies don’t cost money either, such as birdwatching or hiking.”