De Jonge Voedselbosboeren

De Jonge Voedselbosboeren are four environmentalists-turned-farmer that dedicated their life to farming with nature. They plant food forests, edible ecosystems that mimic and harness the natural growth of forests. Food forests create a balanced habitat for local biodiversity, allowing the farmers to produce fruits, nuts, seeds, leaves, herbs, and more, without the use of fertilizer, pesticides or heavy machinery. The young farmers started their food forests in 2024, planting 17,000 trees together with over 600 volunteers across one winter season. To build up fertility and resilience in a food forest takes time; their first significant harvests will arrive in three to five years.

The four youngsters realised their dream of starting a food forest farm thanks to the support of many inspiring people, organisations and movements in the Netherlands. These include the civil movements Land van Ons and Aardpeer, who crowdfund agricultural land to restore biodiversity and soil, and organisations like Stichting Voedselbosbouw Nederland (Food Forest Foundation Netherlands), ForestPeace Foundation, WWF, Ecosia, Greenchoice, SBNL Nature Fund, and many more. De Jonge Voedselbosboeren see themselves as the living tips of an iceberg that stretches throughout the Netherlands and beyond. A movement of people reconciling nature and agriculture, restoring our connection to the land, and inspiring new generations to produce food for good.

“Every time I am inspired when I see how happy kids are after a day of planting seedlings” - Sacha Brons