SHORT DESCRIPTION
Djûke studied Landscape Architecture and Planning, she was active in student and young farmers organisations. She worked part-time at her parent’s farm and part-time in an environmental cabinet. After four years she became a full time worker at the farm. Djûke took over the farm from her parents and became the only young female apple grower in the country. The farm consists of growing fruits (apples, pears, cherries), sugar-corn, pumpkins, forestry and grassland. It also includes a farm shop, education for school children, a horse nursery, agricultural nature conservation and cattle (Dutch breed: Blaarkop).
INNOVATION
In 2012, Djûke started her own fruit trading company and created a new market by exploring a niche between conventional and organic. In this system, 8 farmers and several buyers are working together and all growers are producing fruits in the same sustainable way as she does. Since 2013, she has started FAB-strips (Functional Agro Biodiversity) planted with flowers all around the orchard which now represent approximately 30.000m². Others projects she is involved with are strongly related to the community (foundation with mentally disabled clients, local beekeepers, restaurants, museums, local groups…). As the Milieukeur certification scheme didn’t exist for fruit growers, she helped the organisation by setting it up. She also introduced the production of kiwi in the farm. She went to Italy to found the right variety and now most of the plants have survived their first winter. Djûke might be the first kiwi-fruit grower in The Netherlands.
