2025: A Year of Transformation, Community & Resilience

This year marks 5 years since we arrived at the farm. In many ways it feels like 5 lifetimes have passed since the day we received the keys to this vast and degraded land—full of possibilities, but also full of challenges we could never have anticipated. We had no idea how big the mountain ahead of us really was: transforming this place into a regenerative agroforestry farm that could sustain us and our community, all while raising children.

The above drawing was a very nice gift from Jesse

2025 has been another year of change and transformation—not only on the land, but socially and within our business. We began the year welcoming our second son, Artur Viggo Steensma, a true gift of life that has expanded hearts even more. Seeing Paolo become a big brother fills us with pride, and having two children motivates us even more to help create a world worth growing up in.

We also began the year with the intention of forming a cooperative. We invited Jesse, Gabriel and Lisanne to share responsibilities so the farm could grow through collaboration rather than relying on just one family. After a burnout in the summer of 2024, we realized that a small-scale farm can only thrive through shared effort—not by carrying everything alone.

Yet, after several months of trying, we collectively decided that a cooperative was not the right path for us in our context. Instead of bringing ease, it brought more complexity and didn’t provide the quality of life we were all seeking. Still, we are deeply grateful for everything they have done for the farm, the project, and our family—especially for Gabriel and Lisanne stepping in so we could take a break during Artur’s birth. We wish them all the best in their next steps.

And then, right during this moment of transition, another challenge hit. A hailstorm lasting only 10–20 minutes destroyed all the vegetables we had been nurturing for months—right when we were about to harvest the fruits of our work. It was a heavy blow. But what followed showed us what true resilience and community really look like. 

Friends, family and supporters from around the world helped us through a crowdfunding campaign that sustained us for the months ahead. Neighbors, friends and clients joined us on a volunteer day to remove the damaged plants and replant—just in time before the summer heat arrived. A painful challenge transformed into a gift, a reminder of how supported we truly are.

Here is a short impression of the volunteering day:
https://youtube.com/shorts/P0Ak3jqt-ug?si=SNpvYFXkyuMmNwkm

This year also pushed us to rethink how we grow food and how we collaborate. Since our garden was fully damaged, we partnered with other small-scale organic farmers to continue offering a wide variety of vegetables and fruit to our community. This allowed us to keep serving the local area while slowly rebuilding our own garden. It also showed us that we don’t need to grow everything ourselves. By focusing on fewer crops and doing them well, we support other producers, reach more people who want nutritious organic food, and avoid burning ourselves out.

Some of the new products we are able to offer internationally are natural soaps, made with our olive oil, a handmade soap dish made of olive wood, and soon we are adding a variety of products made with carob, the local replacement of cacao and sugar. You might just be in time to get gifts for your loved ones for the festive days if you order on our website.

Despite the difficulties, this year also brought beauty and renewal. After years of drought, we finally experienced more rainfall, bringing a new sense of hope to the land. Even though the intense rains prevented any apricot harvest and the hailstorm damaged many young branches, nature still found ways to surprise us with resilience—as seen in the abundant olive harvest that followed. Read the article we wrote on the olive harvest here.

The land was even able to host a romantic wedding of Dasha & Kamiel, who volunteered at the farm in 2024 and felt so connected to the farm and its mission, that they wanted to invite their guests to experience the energy while celebrating their love. We felt so honored to host such a special experience, and that the farm can host so many different forms of life and energy.

As this year comes to a close, we feel grateful for everything we’ve experienced: the challenges that shaped us, the community that held us, and the land that continues to respond to care and regeneration. With a special mention to Chris, Mary, Febe, Jesse, Phill, Mickey, Guillem & Petra who have helped us in so many ways to work our ways through the transitions to where we are today, without you we would not have been able to continue the adventure! Moltes Gracies!

We are excited for what the upcoming cycle around the sun will bring us. Thank you for being part of this journey with us. If you want to continue to support us, have a look in our webshop for our olive oil or natural soaps with our olive oil, a nourishing gift to loved ones!

Stay tuned to learn more about our plans for the upcoming year, including more farm tours & courses, focus on syntropic agroforestry and adding more incredible products from artisanal producers and our farm. 

We wish you a warm, festive and nourishing end of the year—surrounded by loved ones and good food.

— Carlo, Coralie, Paolo & Artur