From environmental consultancy to syntropic farming
De BosBoerderij is an initiative started by Suzanne van der Velde and Bruna San Roman in 2023 with the purpose of validating syntropic agroforestry as a serious part of a future regenerative food system. Their approach follows the principles of ecological succession, working closely with trees, and following the way nature works in rebuilding soils and producing healthy food.
Van der Velde has previously worked as an environmental consultant for ten years. Over time, she became increasingly interested in where our food comes from and how real, tangible impact could be made within our food systems. She began to see a growing potential for impact across food systems – in reducing pollution as well as in creating healthier soils and healthier food – and realized how much work remained to be done in the sector. Van der Velde therefore decided to make a career switch and joined an impact starter programme called Fresh Ventures with the questions:
How can ecosystem restoration and food production come together? What are the best methods to do so? And what would be needed to implement this into the mainstream Dutch context?
It was in this programme that she met San Roman, who is originally from Brazil and had been living in the Netherlands for more than ten years – and who was exploring those same questions. Together, they decided to pursue it further, which became the foundation for De BosBoerderij.
Thermodynamics, complexity and the making of soil
Syntropic farming is a set of practices and methods that follow the way nature builds complexity. This way of farming was developed in the 1980s by Ernst Götsch, a Swiss farmer working in Brazil, who built on indigenous knowledge and close observation of nature. Central to his approach is the way indigenous peoples have long lived from the forest as active elements in an ecosystem, contributing to its regeneration and the ongoing creation of life.
The name itself originates from thermodynamics. In physics, entropy refers to the dispersion of energy and a tendency toward chaos. It is visible, for example, in the process of decomposition, where large molecules break down into simpler nutrients. Syntropy is the opposite: a tendency toward building complexity out of small elements, the way life itself is built. One important aspect of this is optimizing photosynthesis, since it is one of the main reactions that build complexity in cells and elements, as well as in ecosystems.
It is this same tendency toward complexity that makes syntropic farming a regenerative practice. It does not simply sustain what already exists, but actively builds soil, biodiversity, and life as part of an ecosystem.
De BosBoerderij’s growth: mapping current outcomes
De BosBoerderij has grown into an initiative that now operates across four plots in the Netherlands. These include De Koperwiek in Hazerswoude-Dorp and WIJdehorst in Wassenaar, as well as Gorp & Roovert near Hilvarenbeek in Brabant. De BosBoerderij is also expanding further, as they have applied for funding for new plots in Gelderland.
Additionally, De BosBoerderij collaborates with researchers to collect data on the economic, social, and ecological aspects of syntropic farming, using their plots as living labs where data can be gathered from real practice. Since this year, their team also educates others in this way of farming through their own training programme, offering people the chance to learn their practical methodology hands-on.
On a social level, van der Velde described some of the benefits from syntropic farming:
What we see is that, in the West, we have lost the connection with our land, and with being part of nature as human beings, in a world that has become more individualized. We believe that, in order to actually take care of our land properly, we need more connection with it. As a human, that connection also makes you feel more purposeful in the role we have in this world."
Beyond this, van der Velde and San Roman also see social value in syntropic farming when it comes to climate-related stress, burnout, and being overworked. Simply spending time in green spaces, and working with one's hands, offers real benefits in this regard. It is a connection felt in the body, as well as in the mind.
The ecological side of their research is grounded in a practice framework developed by The Forest Farms Institute (the sister organization of De BosBoerderij), aimed at monitoring the health of the land. This framework – developed together with the Lighthouse Farm Academy – was presented at the European Agroforestry Conference in Switzerland this year. As part of the research, measurements are taken on their plots of elements such as microbial activity, groundwater quality, and CO2 storage capacity, with the ambition of contributing to larger research projects. Ultimately, they hope to show that their land becomes more fertile and their ecosystems more robust over time, leading to healthier produce as well as greater resilience in food production, including a stronger capacity to hold water and withstand drought.
Between principle and practice: the challenges of scale
One of the central challenges lies in convincing more conventional farmers to embrace this different way of farming. For now, De BosBoerderij mostly works with what van der Velde calls "front runners" – landowners who are already inclined to think differently, have the freedom to do so, and are willing to share a piece of their land. Convincing more conventional farmers, however, will likely only follow once they can prove that their methods lead to a solid financial foundation, as well as being a healthy farming business.
Another challenge lies in balancing regenerative practices with the demands from being a startup. Beyond regenerative farming methods, van der Velde and San Roman also try to apply regenerative principles to leadership and to the way their team works together. As part of their long-term planning, they therefore work with questions such as:
How can we safeguard our mission if we grow? How can we actually set up a governance model that also takes regenerative elements into account? And how can we do this in a way that does not burn people out?
The temporality of regenerative practice
What De BosBoerderij hopes to achieve is a larger scale shift toward more local food systems, based on the principles of syntropic farming. This requires long-term partnerships and collaboration between local farmers, landowners, and researchers, as well as patience and care for the soil, since the ecosystems they are building need time to grow into their full complexity.
Everything De BosBoerderij does is, essentially, a long-term investment. What is needed now, in van der Velde's view, is less talking and planning, and more doing.
That was one of our main drivers, that we wanted to make physical changes and actually start doing instead of talking too much. We really feel this urgency."
