Schevichoven
At Schevichoven, Maarten and Eliette Van Dam aim to exemplify the power of regenerative farming. In doing so, they start from the conviction that regenerative farming and financial health can go perfectly hand in hand. They joined forces with Sjef and Wilma to develop a project with an ultimate target of 20 hectares.
Historical and contemporary
Schevichoven's rich history goes all the way back to the 14th century and inspired Maarten and Eliette to invent a new, future-proof way of farming. From their background in agricultural entrepreneurship and impact investing, they realise their "shared mission to change the food system" through, among other things, successful crowdfunding campaigns.
Their approach starts from four focal points: knowledge sharing, biodiversity, soil restoration and profitability. The design was strongly influenced by external factors such as contour lines and had to be integrated into the open neighbourhood landscape. This ultimately resulted in a planting of 4 vegetation layers spread over different cultivation fields. These include a herb layer (sage, liquorice, lemon balm, lavender, fennel, rhubarb, kale, etc.), a shrub layer (blackberry, blackberry, buckthorn, chokeberry, honeyberry, dwarf quince, paw paw, fig, etc.), half-standard and standard trees such as apple, peach and walnut.
"In the beginning, there was quite some discussion about using root cloth and wood chips, but you can't ignore the fact that there is also a cost in labour. You have to factor that into your design as well."
Right from the (late) planting in April, work was done with root cloth, wood chippings and proper water storage so that there was hardly any drop-out in planting. In September, farmer Ruben enthusiastically set to work so that the plants would also get the extra attention they need for the first few years.
Agriculture with ambition
The current market is limited to Wilder-Land's herbal teas, but in the future it will also collaborate with Boerschappen's meal boxes, among others. Everything was calculated to perfection from a clear revenue model. It all fits in with the ambitious future plans that demonstrate that this mix of permaculture, agroforestry and restorative agriculture - the so-called "SchevicMethod" - can break new ground. In doing so, Schevichoven aims to be a model for "an additional 5,000 hectares in the Netherlands by 2040 to eventually reach the tipping point for arable farming in the Netherlands (i.e. 20% of the total) with 100,000 hectares in transition by 2050".
