2022 is the Year of the Miller. The craft, which has even been recognized by UNESCO as intangible heritage, deserves more attention, according to the Guild of Voluntary Millers. The Guild wants to arouse the interest of younger generations in order to recruit more volunteers who can keep the mills running in the future. Media partner Regional city Central made a report of the craftsmanship.
“The miller population is ageing”, says Dick-Jan Braaij of the Guild of Voluntary Molenaars: “The outflow will soon be greater than the inflow, which is why we need a constant flow of new millers. We want to draw attention to that”.
One of the new millers is 25-year-old Bram Jonk. He has now completed the two-year training of the Guild of Molenaars and now runs his own mill independently. He is also one of the participants in a record attempt, which is to take place next year, but for which 750 participants already practiced on Saturday. The millers want to be in the Guinness Book Of Records with the world record of most mills running simultaneously. Next year, 1500 mills will be needed nationwide, and therefore also 1500 skilled millers.
Many mills in the Alkmaar region took part in the dress rehearsal for the record attempt by the Guild of Volunteer Molenaars on Saturday. The Guild is celebrating its 50th anniversary this year. A nice gift for the Guild would be new registrations for the miller’s craft. Anyone interested in this can leave their details on the website†