“My ideals brought me to Warmonderhof. Definitely. A world with sustainable agriculture, that’s the world I want to live in and contribute to. For myself and for those to come. I’ve always wanted to become a farmer but didn’t think it was a realistic option. Now I know better.”

“The farmer as a manager of nature; that’s what I want to become!”

Thijs van der Ent (24) is a first-year student at Warmonderhof at the time of this interview. He is doing the biodynamic farm manager course.

“Some distant relatives of mine run a gardening business. So it’s in my blood, but I’d never worked in that sector before. I initially studied chemical engineering at college. That was all about conventional agriculture, about fertilizer. But once I’d experienced what it was like to work in the field, I realised how horrifying it was. When I started doing research on the Paris climate agreement, I lost faith in that way of thinking. I became interested in regeneration, storing CO2 in the ground, holistic grazing. That’s how I ended up at Warmonderhof.

The vocational classes here are great

Warmonderhof is an MBO (intermediate vocational education) institution, while I studied at HAVO (senior general secondary education) level. I wondered what my parents would think about that. But the images on the website of the community life here, the farmlands, it all looked so beautiful and cozy. And after showing up at an open day, I was sold. The level of the trial lesson I took part in was excellent, and the subject – manure – was taught in an incredibly stimulating way. That dispelled all my doubts.

The most important thing I find here are like-minded people

The agricultural subjects here at school are fantastic. But the most important thing here are like-minded people; people who think like me, with whom I can spar and talk about everything I have experienced and discovered in the field of agriculture. Here at Warmonderhof, agriculture is life. The path from soil to mouth is as short as possible. That’s how you keep people connected to their food, to the soil and the animals. I would love to farm extensively in a wooded area, in as biodiverse manner as possible, with a horticulture branch to engage people and offer products directly to the customer.

The farmer can ‘deliver’ clean drinking water and biodiversity

We went on a bicycle excursion with our first-year class. Over the course of a week, we cycled past all kinds of biodynamic farms in the region. One of them offered a lot of ecosystem services. That was a real revelation for me. It fascinates me immensely how as a farmer you can provide services to society in terms of clean drinking water, fresh air and biodiversity. When I graduate, I want to have my business plan ready so I can present it to water boards and the Forestry Commission to do something similar. The farmer as manager of nature, who also feeds people and cares for the environment. That’s what I want to become.”

Warmonderhof has monthly open days. Are you interested in the possibilities for you at our school? Please take a look in our agenda for the next open day.