inspiring people

• Farmer and philosopher Jan Huijgen:  a practical worker and initiator in the field of rural renewal.  Jan brings people together, creates an inspiring playing ground for creative people, and reflects on and digs deep into the new rural developments and the role of the farmer therein.
• Farmer Maaike Huijgen:  head of ecological grounds management .  This is her passion; Maaike delights in the discovery of a rare plant sort and enjoys contact with others who respect and appreciate the nature surrounding her farm.
• Harry Lamberts:  host.  Harry cares for the guests and their meetings with heart and soul, making hearty farm-soups and insuring that all feel welcome and comfortable on the farm.  Always enthusiastic and ready with a joke, he helps create a positive atmosphere.
• Simone de Vries:  farm store management.  Simone sources unique products made with care for the store.  She is also becoming more involved with the preparation of meals, turning them into a true eating experience.  Recently she discovered the Barn sourdough breads, a fantastic regional taste-sensation.
• Ronald Vrijenhoef: woodsman from the forests of the Utrecht Heuvelrug (in the region of Overberg/Amerongen).  Ronald is the creator of all the wood-art on the farm:  the 'tree-henge' and tribal table, the tree-table in the landscape house, the bridges and the signposts.  He is also the creative spirit behind the ecological grounds management.  He can get carried away by the sight of a simple wallflower, and likes to take people with him.
• Henriette Brilman:  an artistic woman with a deep passion for creativity.  Henriette searches for the capacity in people to bring out the exceptional.  She has the courage to, via painting, drama, or sometimes just a good chat, bring people to the real heart of the matter and then to express that.  She looks after the creative activities on and around the farm.
• Willem & Drees:  two driven young men who've begun a business to bring regional products back into the supermarkets.  They challenge consumers to put their words into action:  'you want it, but you don't do it.  What is keeping you from adding sustainable regional products to your shopping cart?'  They maintain a vegetable garden on the farm and a demonstration of their products- and they always enjoy a good chat.
• Jan Willem and Corine Imminkhuizen:  Care farmers.  Jan Willem and Corine care for people with disabilities, ex-addicts, and the elderly.  Their care farm, d´ Boerenkiel, is located in the haystack building on the farm.  They have a passion for people and offer them a safe and caring living environment.  Corine creates beautiful products with the care recipients that are for sale in the farm store.
• Drago Pecenica:  a Bosnian farmer who rediscovered his talent in the drawing of the classic Dutch ´knotted´ willows.  He now belongs to the top of the Dutch realists.  His work hangs in the landscape house and he regularly holds expositions of his work.  Occasionally he helps to wipe clean one's consciousness in order to perceive the details within the detail.  Once experienced, one will never look at a tree the same again;  they become Drago-trees.
• Nicolette van de Kamp:  a woman with vision for the farm as an educational place for children and youth.  Nicolette develops educational programs for schools, certifies farmers to become quality educational farms, and is building up the national foundation Educatief Platteland  (Educative Countryside). 
• Kees de Heer:  an impassioned naturalist with unbelievable knowledge of not only the Netherlands but also abroad.  Kees writes articles and is an inexhaustible oracle.  But in our region he is the driving force behind the ´readable landscape´ story:  looking at the national landscape through four different lenses.  He is also active within the Eem Valley Regional Innovation Centre.
• Wim de Hoop:  the knowledge entrepreneur of Wageningen UR/LEI.  Wim helps involve knowledge and students in the Eemlandhoeve initiative and its development.  He works with knowledge and forges connections with regional and national programs.  Wim worked together on the concepts of  Versatile Countryside, the European Network of Versatile Farmers and the Knowledge Network Versatile Countryside with the regional innovation centre.
• Henk Hortensius:  the queen bee cultivator of the central Netherlands.  Henk is unique in the bee world.  He has a special talent for bee cultivation and in turn makes special products to sell in our store:  bee soap, juices and drinks, oils and waxes.  His wife Margreet helps fill the Eemlandhoeve gardens with their delicious vegetables.
• Gijsbert Bruin:  the connector between children with learning disabilities and the practical learning possibilities at the Eemlandhoeve.  His passion is to give the underprivileged youth an adequate and meaningful place in society by offering them educational possibilities that challenge them to use their talents.
• Jef Landman:  for years the regular vegetable garden expert at the Eemlandhoeve.  He knows the ground as no other and milks the most beautiful products from the land.  Jef is growing more and more unique vegetables that are used by the Spakenburg restaurant de Mandemaker.  The people of the Eemlandhoeve enjoy his riches as well and his jam is sold in the farm store.  Jef's wife Therees manages the colourful flower garden; a miniature garden of Eden!
• Marieke Zomer:  sales manager of the farm store.  Marieke enjoys sharing the story of the farm with visitors.  She has a real talent for business, and forms, together with Simone and Maaike, the store team.
• Johan ter Beek:  inspired by the role of silence, rest and regularity in bringing life back into balance.  Johan's dream is the realization of the chapel on the island behind the farm.  On his website, 'new emergent churches,' he shares his many thoughts with many others both in the Netherlands and abroad.  Be sure to visit his blog!
• Arthur Brilman:  originally a planner, now taking on the people-side of the organization as well.  Arthur's vision is to bring men back to their basal manhood.  To this end he organizes retreats focusing on ancient rural themes such as working with animals, straw and hay, digging in the garden, etc.
• Jaap Cok:  an artist that challenges his fellow artists to create 'land art' on the farm.  In this way beautiful, unique creations were brought into existence on the island.  Jaap has a heart for traumatized children in Africa and Eastern Europe.  Through art they become freer and rediscover the joy of life.
• Alex Hollemans:  the man for the European projects.  Alex translates the activities at a national level into a European level.  He makes connections with other European countries and facilitates movement at that level.