News

Report 2#: Herenboeren visit

Published on
November 27, 2017

One of the people who joined our excursion was student in organic agriculture and reporter for Center for a Liveable Future, Laura Genello! Laura wrote a very decent article in which she gives a detailed account of the Herenboeren farm and some of the reasons for its coming into being. If you are interested in the Herenboeren project go read it now! And don't forget the movie screening on the 13th of December in Movie W (check out our activities)

After years of working to support farmers at a Dutch agricultural organization, Geert van der Veer wanted to change the system. Dutch agricultural land prices are some of the highest in the world, and Geert met many farmers who found their businesses squeezed by low prices and increasing costs. He saw many farms disappear, and other farmers forced to take out a mortgage on their property just to survive.

At the same time, among urban consumers there is a growing demand for high quality, sustainably produced food and an increasing appreciation of the importance of farming. In 2012 Geert founded Herenboeren (gentleman farmers), a farm that inverted the traditional agricultural business model by allowing consumers to be entrepreneurs.

The Herenboeren system takes inspiration from Community Supported Agriculture (CSA), in which consumers purchase a membership in a farm in exchange for a weekly share of produce. Originally, the intent of the CSA model was for consumers to be shareholders of the farm....................

Wanna read more? Go here