A new project is in the pipeline in Weerdinge. Where sheep still graze, Kay Krijnen (39) and Sabijn Peeters (44) want to create a food forest. A place where vegetables, fruit and flowers grow, and where nature and people strengthen each other. But before the first tree is planted, there is one challenge: the agricultural land must be purchased.
Kay and Sabijn are no novices when it comes to food forests. In Valthe they were previously the managers of Food Forest Valthe. That’s where the love for food forests started. “Why should we eat beans from Egypt when they grow just around the corner?” laughs Krijnen. Yet it is time for a new challenge, in Weerdinge, where they will live with their daughter Juno.
According to Peeters, the future food forest in Weerdinge will not be a place where only one crop is grown. “We want to create a place where everything reinforces each other,” she explains. “Think of cherry trees, raspberries, persimmon trees, pear trees. That is the power of a food forest. Always something to pick, always yield.”
The plan starts with the purchase of 1.5 hectares of agricultural land. But it will not be private property. “We want to transfer the land to the foundation People for the Earth“, says Peeters. “That foundation manages land and farms and they always remain available for healthy agriculture. No holiday parks or solar fields, but a place where nature can develop and where people can harvest healthy food.”
To make this possible, Krijnen and Peeters have set up a crowdfunding campaign. The goal? Raise 100,000 euros. “We are looking for a thousand people who want to contribute 100 euros each,” says Krijnen. The duo has now come a long way. “We have already raised about 50,000 euros, so we are half way there.”