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Discover the Wairarapa Eco Farm
The aim across everything we do is to facilitate and catalyse the transformation of our community into a society based on food quality, environmental care and inclusive, holistic thinking. We call it Soul & Soil-Based Living.
From Environmental Degradation to Environmental Regeneration
We have committed our entire livelihood to shifting towards environmental care through the use of agroecological principles. Healthy soil = healthy plants and animals.
From Grower Isolation to Growing Community
We wanted to walk the talk. After our educational years at university, we spent many more years growing soil, plants, animals, and people. By doing so, we aim to model the farm as a cornerstone of the community. Healthy individuals create healthy communities.
From Evading Debt to Localising Economies
The farm internalises costs. We don’t use chemical fertilisers, pesticides or fungicides. This means we have access to our free ecosystem services. We close loops on the farm; the bigger our community becomes, the more loops we can close. Healthy communities create healthy systems of reciprocity or symbiosis.
Frank says
“In a disconnected world, we treat people like animals, animals like plants, plants like soil, and soil like dirt.”
01
Soils
From the ground up
We focus on growing healthy soils. Building organic matter and supporting humus content (the original carbon sequestration).
02
Plants
Quality over quantity
We prioritise food quality over quantity. To support healthy plants and animals with healthy soils. In turn, generating healthy environments for us all. In essence, building strong immune systems.
03
Animals
Environmental diversity
The more we diversify, the stronger our ecosystem. Our soils grow plants, and our plants grow animals. All of the above grows healthy individuals. Healthy individuals, in turn, support each other, creating a stronger together ecosystem.
04
People
Sustainable Initiatives
We walk the talk. We teach knowledge and experience through theory and practice. Growing healthy individuals who can walk the talk. This grows our community and the farm ecology.
Frank says
“Everything we do is underpinned with respect for life, in all its shapes and forms.
Wairarapa Eco Farm
How our community likes to support us
01
Visit us
- See our events calendar
- Book a night in our campground
- Stay in touch! Sign up to our email or follow us on FB, Instagram, Substack or YouTube.
02
Sign up
- Workshops
- Apprenticeship
- 6-week Internships
- Mentorship
- Consultation
03
Shop with us
- Plant nursery
- Maremma livestock guardian pups
- Community Supported Olives (CSO)
- Products
The Wairarapa Eco Farm
Where we embrace Soul & Soil Based Living. Here, we model and educate agroecological environmental principles and values. Join us for a symbiotic relationship with our Mother Earth and to see how a farm can function as the cornerstone of the community.
UPCOMING EVENTS
Our upcoming farm events and activities
Frank van Steensel
Frank’s keen interest in humus unfolded during his formative years. He went on to develop this interest by seeking formal qualifications and now holds a Bachelor of Science in tropical and subtropical agriculture, with a major in soil science (Netherlands) and a Masters of Agricultural Science (Soil Science), New Zealand. Since immigrating to New Zealand in the early nineties, he followed his dreams of furthering the importance of humus in different ways. He founded Eco-Agri-Logic, a well-known independent consultancy for the organic sector, initiated and chaired a regional organic organisation in the Wairarapa, taught organic workshops and courses, including the “National Certificate in Organic Horticulture” in the lower part of the North Island. Frank facilitated in the establishment of OANZ, was the team leader of a group that initiated and designed the national Organic Advisory Programme.
He went on to manage the organic research and development arm of OANZ. He has been on the council of OANZ and on the board and council of the Bio Dynamic Farming and Gardening Association in New Zealand for a number of years and was the research manager for the project: “A review of New Zealand and International Organic Land Management Research” published in 2002.
Bachelor of Science
Masters of Agricultural Science (Soil Science)
Josje Neerincx
More Info Coming…
Bachelor of Science
Masters of Agricultural Science (Soil Science)
The Wairarapa Eco Farm
Where we embrace Soul & Soil Based Living. Here, we model and educate agroecological environmental principles and values. Join us for a symbiotic relationship with our Mother Earth and to see how a farm can function as the cornerstone of the community.
Apprenticeships
It can be difficult in this time of change and uncertainty to start an ecological and economically viable project, business or lifestyle. Now you don’t need to do this alone. This 3-year program is designed to support and guide you whilst you design and create your self-sufficient life!
Internships
Perhaps you are unsure what’s next, maybe you are searching for meaning, and perhaps you want to learn more about how to care for your environment. Our 6-week summer interships are full of experiential learning geared towards environmental stewardship, or in our words, soul and soil-based living.
Mentorships
Are you waist-deep in your agricultural dream and getting stuck? Western culture can pressure us into doing everything on our own, from the drawing board to the final product or from the farm to the plate. Microbes work together symbiotically with plants to feed us all. On the farm, we take the approach of the microbes because their proven track record is very, very long. You don’t need to do this alone. Join our mentorship program and enjoy Frank’s experience at your fingertips.
Consultations
We have grown up in a world where bigger and faster is better. The trade-off is the long-term health of our soils. If you are looking to improve the health of your soils, plants or animals, and are getting stuck or unsure, how? Frank can guide your understanding of ecological farming.
Community Supported Olives
Our approach to sustainability involves integrating ecological practices into every aspect of our farm operations. We focus on soil health, biodiversity, and community engagement to create a resilient and thriving ecosystem. Community-supported initiatives are the baseline model for this. Community Supported Olives (CSO)
Maremma (Livestock Guardian) Dogs
You can contact us through our website’s contact form or by visiting us at the farm. We are always happy to answer your questions and provide more information about our programs and products.
Our way of Life
Here on the Wairarapa Eco Farm, we understand that everyone wants to live healthy, grow strong, in a clean environment with a vibrant community and circulating economies. In this time of change, things can feel uncertain. We believe that building vibrant, self-sufficient communities will be the foundation of future resilience. We know that some scary narratives are floating around. We refuse to live in fear because we see every day that everything we need nature supplies. Our earth is abundant, resilient and here to support us through life’s ups and downs. It has always been our intent to share this learning with like-minded people.
Our priority is to walk the talk and to be a part of creating the dream with others. Our dream is a world where people feel and act in a responsible manner, conscious of their own health and well-being, the health and well-being of others, the planet and the universe. This requires a societal paradigm shift or a different worldview that includes a focus on food quality and inclusive thinking.
If you want to see, feel and taste nature’s abundance. Come experience one of our programs. Simply sign up to be part of the solution.
The Wairarapa Eco Farm
Where we embrace Soul & Soil Based Living. Here, we model and educate agroecological environmental principles and values. Join us for a symbiotic relationship with our Mother Earth and to see how a farm can function as the cornerstone of the community.