My first encounter with young new farmers in Europe was on the farm "Bienenwerder" in Germany, not far from the Polish border.
The story of Binnenveld started thirteen years ago. Five young people from the city rented a piece of poor-quality sandy land in this former swamp, intending to build an organic farm. Three of them were once "squatters": people who trespassed into long-vacant or ownerless homes, both to avoid paying rent and to protest the injustice of the housing system. They left the city and came to the swamp, dreaming of a self-sufficient life that did not depend on capitalism.
The group slowly expanded, and by 2017 had fifteen members, with three of the founders still in it. These members all lived in the city before they came to farm here, and some still retain their jobs in the city. Yulia was a former photographer, Brazilian girl Paula was a German teacher in Rio de Janeiro, and Oliver now works at a travel agency in Berlin two days a week.
There is neither kinship nor affiliation among these members, only a common ideal, and the property rights of the farm belong to the members. Before 2013, the land in Binnenveld was also leased from the government. Without property rights and uncertain about government trends, they have been afraid to build infrastructure.
Until one day, Yulia, a member of the farm, found out that there was a policy that allowed the descendants of the family whose land was confiscated by the GDR government to buy land at the price in 1992 as compensation for the victims of the policy at that time, and her grandmother did exactly that. a "victim". So Binenveld bought 50 hectares of land in the name of Yulia, and later bought 3 hectares for 181,000 euros.
By 2014, the 53-hectare farm had not been used intensively. Only 3.5 hectares were vegetable gardens, 17 hectares were forests, and the rest were grasslands. There are a total of 20 goats, 5 horses, several cows and a dozen boxes of bees. There are 60 to 70 kinds of crops, and more than 100 kinds of crops have been planted throughout the year.
Fifteen of the 20 goats are ewes, which produce about 30 liters of milk a day, which are processed on the farm into cheese, cream and yogurt, some are eaten by themselves and the rest are sold. Animals are not slaughtered here, and the old goats are left in the pastures to spend their old years in peace.
More than 100 kinds of crops are also intercropped and rotated throughout the year, which not only enriches the products, but also makes full use of the laws of nature, suppresses pests and diseases, and maintains soil fertility.
Yulia said that labor arrangements depend on everyone's self-consciousness. When they find out what needs to be done, they will do it after communicating with others. "How is the income distributed?" I asked. "As needed," she replied.
The income from agricultural production consists of two sources. Before 2014, Binnenveld's sales were mainly based on two outlets in Berlin, where Oliver drove his van to the outlets twice a week for sale. In 2013, the farm's vegetable sales revenue was 20,000 euros, which was very meager.
In 2014, the farm began to experiment with the "CSA" model (also known as "Unity Agriculture"), which is equivalent to urban consumers "adopting" production, paying the farm in advance, sharing the risks of natural disasters and epidemics with the farm, and also sharing part of it. production and distribution labor – as of 2015, there were 92 CSA farms in Germany.
Last year, I contacted Paula again to ask about the status of Binnenveld. She told me that in addition to the 13 regular members, there are often apprentices, interns and volunteers to help out. They are now mainly sold through six small shops in the urban area of Berlin, which account for two-thirds of the farm's production. In 2016, Binenveld earned 30,000 euros in sales through these small shops, which is more than in 2013. ten thousand euros.
In addition, three consumer groups order food from the farm under the CSA model, bringing in 12,000 euros a year.
But the relationship between the group and the farm is not a simple buying and selling relationship. The group is actually a collaborator of the farm. The team members not only often come to the farm to do farm work, but also undertake the main product distribution work. In addition, the group also has a huge tolerance for the quality of the products. They allow the farm to give priority to the products with good appearance and large quantities to small shops in the city, and accept the products with bad appearance and small quantities. Sometimes the farm will also have the group pull the excess inventory away...so when I asked Paula how the CSA compares to the prices at the 6 small stores, she said there is no way to compare it because it's not a It's a market relationship, but a solidarity relationship, like between you and a friend.
