Lenteland

From the bottom up

Lenteland Founder Wouter Veer: ‘’The change we want to see in society, we will have to built ourselves, from the bottom up. Fortunately, that movement is growing. More and more people want to have a firm grip on a better food system and they look for a balance between economical, ecological and social values. With the development of more Lenteland farms, we want to gain momentum.’’

Thus, in the Lenteland model, we own the land and farm together, producing healthy food for the local market. Wouter: ‘’Once upon a time, the land around us was owned by everyone. Or no-one. Now, land is mainly in private possession. We put fences around it and make a profit out of it. Lenteland farms gives the land back to the community and the farms. ‘’

Here, Eliane from Lenteland tells more about it
This is a video from last year. In the meantime, Lenteland has grown, with more farms and a bigger team.

The fourth farm
The fourth farm, ’t Gagel in Lochem, is 46 acres. Next to vegetable- and fruit production, there are proper accommodation and recreation possibilities, for example in the form of a B&B and a campsite. ‘’That way we take a leap towards realizing our mission,’’ says Wouter. ‘’We’ve got a new place for ‘future farmers’ who want to improve the soil and biodiversity and would otherwise struggle to find land.’’

A place for farmers
It is a welcoming offer for the ‘future farmers’. This is a growing group of people that want to start as a farmer, though on a small-scale, without the use of poison and artificial fertilizers, working together with the surrounding nature and families.
Farmers who set out together with Lenteland produce food and develop a regenerative landscape as well. That means: a strong soil, more biodiversity, CO2-storage, space for humans and animals and a economically healthy business model. With all choices they make they ask themselves, does this create more or less life? Here, you can read more about regenerative farming.

The first four farms
The first four Lenteland farms are to be found in Empe and Lochem (Gelderland), Laakdal (Belgium) and Mechelen (Zuid-Limburg). In Laakdal (Strackxhoeve) en Empe (Erve Kiekebos) the farms are running their second season already. Here, the farmers deliver vegetable packages to the neighbourhood on a weekly basis and they are busy setting up the parcel with a picking garden (berries), fruit trees and agroforestry systems. In Mechelen and Lochem the new farms are starting.

Here, farmers Jaap and Niels are telling more about their work on Erve Kiekebos.

Joint-owner of the farm
Feature of the Lenteland model is that everybody can join in. By purchasing vegetables and fruit, participating as a volunteer and by investing you become joint-owner of the Lenteland cooperation and by doing so, the Lenteland farms as well. With your investment, farms are bought and started. This way, we form the bottom-up movement that is so necessary. This video explains how that works.
Wouter: ‘’By making citizens joint-owner, we assure an influx of money for purchasing a next farm and we make sure to get a hold on the land around us and our own healthy food production.’’

Investments
Investments of joint-owners are being used for buying and developing Lenteland farms. The largest part goes directly into the financing of the farms (land and buildings) and therefore makes for a stable value retention. A smaller share covers operational costs.
The main return for the investors is a healthy soil, more nature and flowering farms providing healthy food on a local scale. Next tot that, you could receive financial return, up to 5% a year. And, of course, you will be heartily welcomed on one of these places. See this video.  

The Lenteland-model
This is how we work:
Lenteland searches suitable places for a farm: at least 5 acres in size, at least 5 metres above sea level, a pleasant environment, close to a residential area and a house for the farmer.
From an extensive selection process come suitable farmers for the various farms. They will live in the farmyard and commit themselves to the place for a long time.
The farmers start working as entrepreneurs, with a basic income at the start but also clear incentives to create a well-run business.
Farmers work within clear regenerative frameworks. This means that their activities create more life on the spot: a healthy soil, more biodiversity, CO2 storage and space for people and animals.
The Lenteland team - with entrepreneurial DNA - encourages and supports farmers to make a success of their business. This focuses on the business plan and ongoing activities.
Lenteland and the farms are cooperatives. Anyone who wants to can become a co-owner by co-investing in the Lenteland cooperative or in farm cooperatives. By investing in the Lenteland cooperative you become co-owner of several farms at the same time.
With each investment - in Lenteland or the individual farms - the farms become more owned by the people around us. The pre-financing done by Lenteland is paid off, freeing up space for the purchase and development of new farms.
This way, we are working towards more and more Lenteland farms in different places in the Netherlands.

The people behind Lenteland
Lenteland is founded by entrepreneur Wouter Veer. Being 23 years old, he started his first company, which grew into a successful enterprise. After 15 years, he decided to change course and invest his capacities and time in initiatives in which he truly believes. He has become joint-initiator of BlueCity (the circular hub in the forer Tropicana swimming pool in Rotterdam), impact investor (and founder of infund) and founder of Lenteland. Wouter donated a large share of his assets to Lenteland. In this podcast he explains why he thinks this is the right choice.

The remaining Lenteland team consists of enthusiastic go-getters with expert knowledge in entrepreneurship, regeneration, communication and crowdfunding. See the complete team here.

Why Lenteland?
This question is best answered in this mini-documentary, recorded when Lenteland had just started.
In this podcast (De Voedselboscast) you hear founder Wouter in conversation with the founder of Herenboeren, Geert van der Veer. 14.40 minutes in, you hear them talk about the turning points in their life, after which they started their initiatives. How they look at the future of food production in The Netherlands, the role of the bottom-up movement and how these strengthen each other. 

Contact
Read more about Lenteland on the website lente.land and follow the developments through the newsletter, Instagram, Linkedin en Facebook.