Holistic Management

Defining our own context is the basis of holistic farm management and is the foundation of our plan to manage the farm and our lives. On the farm we use the knowledge of permaculture that offers us principles and attitudes for successful planning. In addition to permaculture knowledge, we also integrate knowledge from Holistic Management, as this is the only way to deal with the complexity of decision-making regarding ecology, economy and society.

Keyline Design

The Scale of Permanence provides an organisational framework for the design and planning of larger estates, which we also use on our farm. Our entire internship programme follows the same order of priority with which we approach the design of our farm. These priorities allow us to take a coherent and intelligent approach to the design of whole systems within the farm. Knowledge of climate, topography, map and landscape reading, understanding of water in the landscape, water systems and their management, trees, accessibility, infrastructure, integrated animal systems, soils and fertility management are all important.

Low-cost mobile infrastructure construction

Our farm is focused on building a variety of low-cost infrastructure that works very successfully both on rented land and on smaller estates. We are exploring mobile infrastructure, fencing, appropriate technologies etc. that allows small farms to operate in a way that keeps the initial investment as low as possible and allows us to be profitable in our first year of operation.

Holistic Grazing

Pasture-based animal production is crucial for the future of farms, as there is no shorter production chain than the conversion of sunlight into meat and eggs through grass. During the internship, we will dive into grassland systems, learn about holistically planned grazing and monitor and analyse pasture regeneration. We will work with grazing systems in laying hens and pastured broilers on a daily basis. These are both fantastic and profitable cropping activities that play a very important role in revitalising "tired" pastures and can easily be scaled up or down accordingly.

Market gardening

The no-till garden approach is the best approach to growing vegetables, which, combined with well-planned crops, is an excellent economically viable business on a small scale. We use innovative approaches to composting, soil microbiology enhancement, harvesting and storage, garden planning and sales. In addition to growing a wide variety of vegetables, you will also learn all the details about microgreens.

Soil fertility

Living soils are the base of everything we want to create. The basic guideline of regenerative agriculture is that every action we take must contribute to revitalising the soil. There are many ways to store carbon in the soil. We will also explore approaches to maximise nutrient cycling on the farm, including topics such as making our own composts, bio fertilisers, compost teas, etc.

Entrepreneurship

In the end, it all works because of effective decision-making, careful planning and accurate recording and data management. Using permaculture knowledge, we strive to observe and understand natural patterns on the farm so that we can use them to design more efficient and resilient systems. It is no different within the economic aspect of our farm. Within the farm, we have created a business that aims to benefit everyone involved. Half of the work on the farm is selling the produce, so we are exploring CSA systems, different network systems and other innovative ways to reduce labour and risk, while supporting and building a strong local community in this way.

Our wish and goal is that interns leave our farm empowered and confident in the various aspects of designing, planning and managing different crop production activities. We also want them to learn a lot about themselves and about working and living in a team. Interns should leave the farm with the following learning outcomes:

- Confidence in carrying out daily tasks on the Monera farm and managing them efficiently.
- Having developed their own holistic context (Holistic Management) and knowing how to holistically check the decisions in their life.
- Ability to apply Keyline design.
- In-depth understanding of maps, how to create them and how to use them in estate planning.
- Use of appropriate design and estate planning software.
- Setting out the essential elements and prioritising the design of the farm.
- Establishing a Holistic Grazing plan.
- Understanding how to plan different cropping activities and work with spreadsheets.
- Understanding of different approaches and strategies for introducing permanent tree plantations.
- Understanding of how to set up cropping activities such as laying hen/grazing chicken grazing; including slaughtering, processing and packing.
- Moving and working with laying hens and pastured broilers.
- Understanding the basic elements of poultry farming.
- Understanding of setting up a market garden and producing an annual planting plan.
- Producing abundant crops in the market garden.
- Harvesting/processing/storage techniques.
- Knowledge of how to use a wide range of innovative tools for market garden operations.
- Learning different manual skills.
- Knowledge of how to grow microgreens for sale.
- Knowing how to sell your own produce.
- A basis for planning your own farm.
- With amazing memories and new friends.
- With inspiration, commitment and the strength to turn your plans into reality.