Practice Partner: Boerderij de Meent

Boerderij de Meent is a community farm in Amstelveen and a project of the Protestant Diaconie Amsterdam. Initiated two years ago, it is a place that welcomes individuals who share their social status of being a refugee, trying to claim asylum in the Netherlands.

In an overregulated society where there is less and less space for life outside of the system, being undocumented is in a way similar to being a modern-day outcast, without guaranteed access to basic rights such as work, shelter, education, health care, and sometimes food. By bundling the powers of people who are left standing on their own, de Meent not only tries to gain fairer access to these fundamental rights in life, but in doing so, to break down and overcome personal, social and economic barriers as well.

For most of the people, working at the farm is a positive and practical experience which is, more than just about growing food, also about growing awareness, empowerment and self-esteem. Three times a week, the participants’ aim is to jointly produce high-quality, local and sustainable food which is partly for themselves, but partly also for social projects in the city; such as homeless reception centres and walk-in centres as the Wereldhuis.

The project is contributing to social inclusion by making a safe space for people to rest, socialise and develop their skills in carpentry, growing and cooking food as well as soft skills and language development. The participants are involved in the decision-making, for example about what to grow and the design of the community herb and vegetable garden. Many of the participants have a lot of knowledge and skills to contribute to the farm and many friendships are made.

The big challenge of the farm is to support the participants in achieving migrant and economic justice. By law, the farm can only give 10 euro per day for their volunteering. Last year a nearby farm was raided by the police because an undocumented person was working there. The farm wants to make sure the place remains safe and does not want to break the law. Because of this situation, and because of being in “survival mode”, some of the participants have gone onto find work in the ‘black market’ of construction and restaurants and very few have gained legal resident status.

From the beginning onwards the idea has always been that the food produced on the farm will be (partly) processed on the farm as well and made into signature products that could either be consumed, shared with other communities, or sold. In this sense the purpose of the farm is twofold. It’s about adding value to people’s lives, but also about adding value to the products from the land. People’s stories contribute to the farm’s identity. Depending on people’s personal backgrounds, their stories and characters, etc. the farm’s communal identity will take shape. The business opportunities this creates are their own, and might in the long run contribute to their well-being in this country.

From this process of community-building and trying to add value, however, rises another challenge. Apart from it being an enormous opportunity, the difficulty of The Meent for some lies in the fact that the farm itself is also still a place in development, pioneering and learning along the way. By trying to create personal perspectives, there is no fixed structure, or a clear outcome. This is also part of its charm: that in being there you have to visualize what is not yet visible. Yet, this type of insecurity, or development of a long-term perspective is a luxury that not everyone can afford or oversee, one that not always coincides with the short-term needs of the people. In that sense the challenge for the Meent is also to create and maintain a stable environment and an equal sense of belonging for people with mixed interests and different needs. To keep everyone together and lose
no-one. For some this means, focusing on the short-term as their way of surviving, whilst for others, this means escaping the-here-and-now by focusing on new horizons, or igniting creative sparks.

The art is facilitating both groups, to offer a safe space and a creative space. And by doing so, to cater to the needs and hopes and expectations of different groups of people.

A smaller challenge is the sharing and distribution of the harvest. The farm has a farm garden with flowers, herbs and vegetables. At this moment the produce is enough for the participants and the communal lunch at the farm, but if we would like to contribute seriously to the projects in the city centre, de Meent would have to upscale its production and also professionalize its order- and distribution system; producing more of everything, and also making it more readily available. We want to contribute to more food justice by supplying more organic food and herbs to the social projects in the city. At the moment it mainly goes to the Wereldhuis and everyone is too busy to deliver to other locations.

What changes does Boerderij de Meent need to happen for more social justice and inclusion?

Regularisation of all people who are undocumented to be registered as citizens and gain basic human rights

Safer possibilities for participants at the farm to gain economic empowerment

What do we need to learn for more social justice and inclusion to happen?

How to create a safe space together with a creative space?

How to create and maintain a stable environment and socially cohesive structure for people with different needs, interests or expectations?

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Boerderij de Meent