The Warmonderhof is the place I buy most of my vegetables from at the local Farmers’ Market in Amsterdam, and a few weeks ago they had an open house day at their farm. They’re about an hours drive from Amsterdam, and Steph and I decided to make the trip.
They’re actually much more than a farm. They’re a school, and they issue a degree similar to what Americans would think of as a Junior College degree, however it’s a 4-year program instead of 2. It’s basically vocational training in a formal college setting. The Dutch call this degree an MBO. I think the program they have is pretty unique, and I’ve never heard of similar programs elsewhere although they may exist.
Basically they are a fully functioning Biodynamic and Organic farm, and their program includes everything from growing the food to selling it at the farmers market. Not only do they make it a point to have every possible type of vegetable, but they have chickens, cows and bees. Because what they grow is used for teaching classes, everything is nicely laid out and organized, and very presentable. It made for a nice open house.
A lot of what they produce they don’t offer for sale, for example dairy or eggs, probably because they feel they can’t produce them in sufficient quantity or profitably. It looked like they were offering their eggs to people locally via a CSA sort of scheme, but I’ve never seen them at their Amsterdam market.
They also aren’t afraid of buying produce from elsewhere, and I’ve occationally been told I was buying broccoli from Spain or whatever. I guess you can’t avoid this completely, because not everything can be grown on a single farm in season. It’s still a little annoying sometimes when you think you’re buying something local from a farmers’ market.
Interestingly enough, they even have an art gallery, and I guess art classes are part of their program.
Of course they had fields of vegetables to see, some of which were on offer for people who wanted to pick their own.
The theme of the day was ‘Family’, and there were lots of things for the kids to do.
I do actually have some misgivings about buying my vegetables here. I’m buying from them now, because I go to the Wednesday market which is smaller than the main Saturday market, and the only other vegetable stand is really bad.
You might wonder what could be more perfect than so many vegetables grown locally, but the problem is they’re too perfect.
They are a school, with students who pay to go there and give free farm labor. They also get funding directly from the Dutch government for this. There’s no denying this amounts to a massive subsidy for their operation, and it makes it hard for other small farmers to compete with them.
They do sell their vegetables at what I would call a normal price, and it is possible to buy cheaper at other stands. The main problem is they have everything, and it’s of exceptional quality.
I think they’re a bit sensitive to this problem. They try to cooperate with other stands, and aren’t afraid to refer their customers to them if it’s appropriate. They talk about competing stands as their colleagues, rather than their competition. What do you do if you’re like them in that situation? It’s hard to know what the right thing to do is, but I do try to give my business to other vegetable stands when I can.
Sounds like an interesting place, and an interesting dilemma for you as well as them. I remember feeling the same way at our US market, and so I also made a point of buying from other growers and producers. If the idea is to support local farmers and keep land in production, then that’s what a thoughtful consumer has to do. Some might argue that the way of capitalism would be to simply go for the best every time, the rest be damned, but I can’t say I’d buy that philosophy. It’s too important to support each other these days. (Nourishing Words, a great blog out of New Hampshire, talked about this recently, and it’s stuck, I guess.)
1)Our farmer’s market has a classification which requires all produce to be grown by the vendor and all handicrafts are likewise produced by the stall holder.
2)I do buy from a farm run by a non-profit and although they don’t receive government funding they are very conscious of their competitive advantage and make sure not to undercut other farmers. There is no agreement of course but they try to be aware of the general price range for produce of that quality.
3)Are there good jobs for Warmonderhof graduates? Four years seems like a lot of time (and money) if you will then be starting your own operation with all of the investment that requires.
Hi Diane,
Thanks for the nice comment.
Good jobs? That’s a really good question. The real problem is of course all over the world, for the past few decades, small farms have been going bankrupt at an alarming rate. Those that manage to survive are poor and the farmers have to work almost unreasonably hard to make a living. I would say the future is very uncertain for any graduates.
There is some government money available both for students and for those wanting to start a farm, but of course this kind of funding is never enough.
It used to be of course, if you grew up on a farm you learned from your parents. Now if you want to start a small farm there is almost no one around to learn from anymore. That’s really why this school is a bit special.
I didn’t explain their programs very well in my post. If you look for them, there are a few pages in English on their website that explain things a little better. They have 2 main programs:
4-year, full-time: This is what you would probably take if you are about 20 years old and fresh out of school without any higher education or work experience. Step by step they take you through all the practicalities of running a farm, from tending crops and animals to managing the finances and selling your produce. They have dorm rooms on campus, and so it’s also an opportunity to socialize and mature a bit as an adult, as well as live on a farm. This program really covers everything.
2-year, part-time, custom built: This program is the shorter version of the above program for people with other higher education or extensive life experience in the field. You can piece together the parts of the program you want to follow, and it’s well suited for people who live in the area rather than on campus and/or people who want to do independent study.
Beyond these main two programs, they also have an internationally oriented program (possibly taught in English), a program specifically about taking care of the land and environment and one specifically on retailing farm products.
For the sake of clarity I should also mention they don’t accept any students from outside the European Union.
Hi Patrick,
You mention Warmonderhof is a fully functioning Biodynamic and Organic farm. It seems in the United States that permaculture and holistic management are more in vogue than the biodynamic approach. Is permaculture followed in the Netherlands?
Hi Richard,
I guess biodynamic does have a pretty big following in central Europe, but I think the reasons you hear lots about it here are more commercial than anything else. Like organic, with biodynamic it’s possible to be certified, and with certification comes more marketing possibilities and higher prices. The main ‘mark’ for biodynamic food here is Demeter, if anyone is interested in looking it up in Google.
The problem with permaculture is there’s no real universal agreement on what it means, and there’s no certifying agency as far as I know. Personally, I’d choose permaculture over biodynamic any day.
Gardeners often have big names for things. For example, I often refer to my garden as ‘organic, no-dig and permaculture’. Actually, I’m lying. I do not follow ‘certified organic’ rules for my garden, so it is not organic in that sense. If I grow root vegetables of course I dig, and from time to time there are other reasons to dig. What does permaculture mean? Well I try to avoid inputs and outputs, but given the constraints of a community garden I can’t avoid them all.
If you’re a fan of growing tomatoes, you’ll know ‘white’ tomatoes are really yellow and ‘black’ tomatoes are really purple or brown.
I think if you talk to a lot of gardeners here, they will tell you they’re organic and practice no-dig, permaculture and holistic management, and maybe grow white and black tomatoes. We all know they’re lying, but when there’s no certification involved it’s a gardener’s right…
Certainly, if you look for alternative communities in out of the way places, the majority will claim to be more permaculture and holistic in their approach. Some small farmers will get their certification in organic and biodynamic, but in reality practice permaculture and a holistic approach, for example my friends at Het Marlanner Kaashuis.