Looking back on a busy Amstelland Day

On June 1st it was finally time: our open day, as part of the larger Amstelland day. And what a great time we had with the beautiful weather! Jacobine, our fantastic garden volunteer (see image below), wrote a short review of the day:

Amstelland Day at De Meent | June 1, 2025

It is exactly one year ago that I first set foot on the grounds of De Meent. The annual Amstelland Day, the open day with tours, workshops and market stalls. Pancakes are baked thanks to the chickens and the cow. You can taste the herb garden in the form of a cup of tea. On the fire is a round pan of almost 1m2. This year filled with alcohol-free Coq au vin.

It is a wonderful place, De Meent. The name means something like shared ground. Together and steadily, people build, grow, care, share and eat here. A farm is developing near Amsterdam, where people come together to develop food and community spirit in a sustainable way. You can see it in the radiant beetroot that Brian holds in his hand as he devotedly guides the visitors. You can hear it in Eugene's proud voice when he talks about the chickens. You experience it by adopting a lavender plant and planting it in the ground yourself. You taste it in the Coq au vin. It tastes like more.

It is exactly one year ago that I first set foot on the grounds of De Meent. Since then I have regularly returned as a volunteer in the vegetable garden. The open day is a kind of annual snapshot. It is a moving photo of a farm in development. Dig a hole. Place your lavender in it. Sweep the soil back and press it down a bit so that it can root well. Don't forget to water it. You will be amazed at how much it has grown when you come back next year.