Lokaal Spaanders

Hey everyone, here’s the 4-legged creature called Us!
Saying hi 👋🏽from the woods and hills.
There’s a lot going on this spring, many things under construction: Roos on raisedbeds, new nightcoop for the chicks, renovating and decorating cabins, a greenhouse in the frontyard and then the kids and cooking at wich I love. I just cannot seem to keep up with everything growing! Or are we the same pace, nature and I..?
Sweet & steady René is on the construction place most of the time: a beautiful home flows from his hands where there used to be a ramshackle shed. But also he’s helping me with building the little greenhouse and manages constructive adjustments in the cabins, and of course the kids.

August is our deadline and this years’s step is rapid. It will all work out well (‘det kommer at gå bra’ as the Swedes say), but:

*** We are looking for one more investment of €10k to build the kitchen, bathroom and a sauna.
Very friendly interest rate!***

OR: pre-book your 2024 holiday in Sweden, that helps a lot too!

Feel free to share ☀️🍀🌈

More info: [email protected]

About big dreams and small solutions.

Two of many reasons we chose to leave citylife behind and flee to the countryside, is because nature was calling 🌳☀️🌳 and because we believe that small-scale land use is a healthy and happy solution to the stress that we, urban life and society have found ourselves in.
Unfortunately it took a pandemic crisis to be brave enough to take this step, and go with the flow of urgent change, allthough we knew it long before!
We ended up at Stedsans this summer.
Their holistic way of stewarding and fostering the land inspires us daily to follow the unpaved path towards a healthier life & planet.
I’m convinced that big dreams need small & slow solutions. It’s a paradigm shift that we are all part of.

Agro-ecologist Peter M. Rosset clearly shows the added value of small scale farming in a policy brief he wrote in 1999:
‘The benefits of small farms extend beyond the economic sphere. Whereas large, industrial-style farms impose a scorched-earth mentality on resource management — no trees, no wildlife, endless monocultures — small farmers can be very effective stewards of natural resources and the soil. To begin with, small farmers utilize a broad array of resources and have a vested interest in their sustainability. At the same time, their farming systems are diverse, incorporating and preserving significant functional biodiversity within the farm. By preserving biodiversity, open space and trees, and by reducing land degradation, small farms provide valuable ecosystem services to the larger society.

If we are concerned about food production, small farms are more productive. If our concern is efficiency, they are more efficient. If our concern is poverty, land reform to create a small farm economy offers a clear solution. The small farm model is also the surest route to broad-based economic development. If the loss of biodiversity or the sustainability of agriculture concern us, small farms offer a crucial part of the solution.’

Goodmorning!
René is up early for prepping breakfast with Julia this week. The light is always so nice in the restaurant, especially during dawn or twilight.
The breakfast is served lowkey, with the best ingredients and freshly baked bread, local yoghurt, homemade jams, granola and fresh herb tea (among other things).
This buffet style ensures that the guests can wake up on their own pace, and take it slow.
Since the kids are at school (struggling with learning Swedish in the first place, but also playing and laughing, fiew), I can take it slow this morning as well. I think I go for a small walk to the lake.
When comes home I leave for the harvest and kitchen shift. Looking forward to it!

As we hardly find the time for making pictures, I borrow this lovely morning picture that 📷took a few weeks ago when he visited us. 🙏🏽

After a few weeks of working at I feel blessed being part of such a sweet team, working with the freshest products that we harvest right from the permaculture garden.
I mean, we really harvest only two hours before service. Or less, if your name is 😉🌱 And mise en place is done just seconds before plating. You can taste the freshness and the rich soil on which the crop grew, and it tastes so damn good! These mindfully grown products don’t need processing or sauces. Just a sip of the best local raspberry vinegar.
Such a pure and sincere approach to farm-to-table dining. You might say (or sing🎶) ‘I’m in heaven’, but I never have been more ‘on earth’ as I am now.

Trots op onze lieve stoere Sterre, die geïnterviewd werd voor tijdens een wandeling door het voedselparadijs van Wouter van Eck, afgelopen herfst.
De mooie foto’s zijn van , evenals het artikel (swipe) met leuke quotes van Sterre 💛

Proud of our sweet daughter Sterre, who was interviewed for during a walk through Wouter van Eck's food paradise last fall.
The beautiful pictures are by , as well as the article (swipe) with nice quotes from Sterre!