Almost since its early beginnings, Mieke van Dragt has directed projects for the farm with her keen interest to combine healthcare and agriculture. ‘Students cycle on the bike path everyday to get to Enschede. We welcome them to visit us and see what we’re doing here. They can pick their own flowers and herbs, buy organic products or groups can contact me to arrange for a tour. In the future, we’d like to be able to provide healthy, organic ready-made meals that are simple for busy students.’
Back in 1990, the farm officially became a foundation, established to offer services to people who can’t easily find gainful employment due to a physical or mental disability, or due to a period of prolonged unemployment. The central purpose of the foundation is to contribute to ‘social society’ and integrate disadvantaged people or those with a disability by offering a custom-integrated workplace on an ecological farm.
In the late afternoon sun, an elderly man sits on the porch twisting branches to make a wreath while inside a worker sweeps out the dusty corners, later beating sandy mats against the brick farm house. She remarks in Dutch to her boss with a sense of pride, ‘Zo ziet het er een beetje beter uit,’ or in English, ‘It’s looking better now.’
The director shows the newly erected tea garden by the entrance, where cyclists can stop for a cup of coffee or tea, costing a mere 1.50 euro which includes in the price a free slice of biological apple tart made in the commercial kitchen. On weekdays, the farm bustles with the activities of 56 mentally challenged and physically handicapped workers, some who put in a full day’s labor, greeting and serving customers, under the guidance of 25 staff members.
In 2006, the main building was erected in the opposite direction of a normal Dutch farm house in order to preserve a row of 250- year-old Linder trees that line an herb and flower garden. Dragt points to a sign on a rustic wooden drying rack, ‘We cut herbs and place them in the shelves, warm air circulates through the racks and later we sell it in our store. A group of UT students carved the sign on the front,’ she adds.
The small shop hosts a variety of homemade products, organically-grown vegetables, and fresh or dried Shiitake mushrooms, prized in China for their medicinal properties which support and boost the human immune system. The farm sells their apple tart to two local restaurants, Sam-Sam and The Paradise. Students can benefit from a 10% discount in the store. Opening hours for visitors are on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays from 8:30am to 4:30pm. On Thursdays the farm stays open later until 6pm. Tours can be arranged by calling: (053) 435 9572. Visit the website, only in Dutch, to learn more. www.viermarken.nl
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| Sustaining a bucolic life on the farm: Klaas Muis, Mieke van Dragt, Jolanda Dijstra and Fred Frank (left to right) cradle trays of young seedlings ready to be planted. The ‘Viermarken’ farm grows crops without using chemicals or pesticides, producing seasonal farm products. (Foto's: Gijs van Ouwerkerk) |
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| Director Mieke van Dragt holds one of the 180 chickens who produce together 150 eggs a day. Dragt: ‘The average chicken on the farm can lay one egg every 26 hours. The chicken coop facilitates the collection of eggs by people who are confined to a wheelchair. They can perform their tasks because the bins have been ergonomically designed.’ |
