The Sparrenhof estate near Tilburg has been a place where underprivileged children can play carefree since 1983. Not that many people know that: the estate is well hidden. And it was almost over: the owners, the brothers of Tilburg, can no longer manage their budget. But the community comes to the rescue.
You can easily drive past it from Bredaseweg, so inconspicuous is the exit to the Sparrenhof estate. But once you’re there, the playground is the eye-catcher: “The largest in Tilburg, except for the Beekse Bergen of course”, says Hans Wirken proudly. He is a manager and grew up on the estate.
Since 1921, Sparrenhof, 48 football fields in size, has been owned by the Brothers of Tilburg. They turned it into a monastery farm. Many brothers used to work in education, so when they were looking for a new destination for their estate in the early eighties, they thought of underprivileged children. Wirken saw what a week at Sparrenhof did to them: “They can really be themselves here, they feel free.”
However, they do not immediately take that freedom, says Tilburg alderman Marcelle Hendrickx: “They first stay very close to the buildings. Because they are children from the city, they are not used to having so much space. Out of natural protection, perhaps fear, they stay here.” Wirken: “The longer they stay here, the freer they become, and they dare to go back into the dark forest. They just need to acclimatize.”
Wirken is the third generation to run the estate, just like his father and grandfather before him. Sparrenhof was in use from mid-April to October, the camping season. But it became increasingly difficult to complete the exploitation. And certainly after corona it was no longer possible. Wirk got bad news: he would be fired.
Then the telephone rang with Alderman Hendrickx: “The brothers were no longer able to afford it and they asked me if I wanted to help think about the future. I only knew the front yard and the house and I thought: people live here who are well off. But I had no idea that this huge piece of nature was behind it. I was really flabbergasted.”
The idea behind Sparrenhof, equal opportunities for all children, appealed to Hendrickx: “Many children live in very small houses, without a large garden. And their parents don’t take them to the playground or the Efteling. So they don’t learn by playing. How nice would it be if those children would experience this as their backyard here?”
But the plans go further. There is room for nature education. Pedagogy students from Fontys will investigate at Sparrenhof what playing at Sparrenhof does to children, how they develop there. And the Tilburg Afghan restaurant Sarban gives underprivileged young people work experience in the hospitality industry.
The project will start as a pilot and will last until 2024. If it is a success, it can continue until 2030, until then the municipality of Tilburg has a rental guarantee from the brothers.