Marleen and Willeke van Rijn
Innovator
't Geertje
Netherlands
Economic
Farming
Rural area close to city
The innovation journey
Marleen and Willeke van Rijn, third generation of the Van Rijn family, run their lively farm ‘t Geertje in the middle of the rural landscape Green Heart in the middle of the highly urbanised residential area of the province of Zuid-Holland in the village Zoeterwoude. For a long time, explaining where food and dairy come from has been important for ‘t Geertje, and to establish the connection between city and the rural landscape. Therefore, the farm is open to the public, showing a large variety of animals and how they live and organizing activities. The farm is situated in the preserved landscape of the Green Heart, along a canal.
The innovation impact
This farm is a certified biological farmfocusing on the cycle of nature and focus on the importance of soil and soil lifein farming. They established the label ‘natuurlijkboeren’, focusing onsoil, air and animal welfare.
“De Groene Ontmoeting” was established by ‘t Geertje and focuses on the preservation of the rural polder landscape in a broader coalition of public, private, and social partners. It works with hundreds of volunteers and has four main goals:
(1)Sustainable food production;
(2)Connecting agriculture to nature preservation;
(3)Shorten the natural cycles; (4)Enlarge awareness of nature and food production.