Head Grower (m/f)

Yūgen Forest is not just any event and retreat location. We manage a beautiful, 52-hectare regenerative nature reserve in the Flevopolder, with four locations that we rent out for corporate and private events. The proceeds from these events support our mission: we want to show the world the abundance and well-being that arises when you don’t just take but also give back, and let people taste that honest food is the most delicious of all.

That honest food comes from our own market garden; about one hectare, right in the heart of Yūgen Forest. Alongside it, there is a herb garden, an orchard, and two food forests, one of which is syntropic. We work regeneratively and according to the no-dig method: so our soil only becomes richer and more vibrant every year.

The market garden is in full development. The harvest is used in our own kitchen to treat our guests, and another part goes to local partners. Through vegetable boxes and our market stall, our food also finds its way to individuals who prefer healthy, regenerative, and toxin-free food grown on PFAS-free soil.

Every day, people walk past the garden. Guests from events and retreats, wedding guests, hikers, and other visitors. Our market garden is our heart and our calling card.

To further develop our market garden and edible landscape, we are looking for an enthusiastic HEAD GROWER (m/f)

• You independently create and execute the cultivation plan. Focused on fertility, biodiversity, and a harvest that continues throughout the season. You are flexible and adjust when the season goes differently than expected, and—to be honest—it always does.
• You are responsible for the harvest, quality, and delivery. For our kitchen, vegetable boxes, market stall, and B2B orders. This also includes flowers; the vases on our dinner tables are filled with flowers from your garden. You determine the prices of our products and provide order lists to customers.
• You process herbs and dried flowers. For our locations and for sale. You harvest, dry, and process tea, herbs, and dried flowers into products.
• You keep the market garden tidy and looking its best. Abundance is only truly convincing when you can see it. Anyone walking past here should want to stop, look around, and feel that this isn’t just an alternative, but a better way.
• You work together with our kitchen. Our kitchen team cooks for the guests of all our bookings and takes what you harvest. This requires two-way coordination: you let them know what’s coming and what’s peaking, and the kitchen lets you know what they need and when. You collaborate with them on the cultivation plan regarding what goes on the menu, and you also join them occasionally during the season when necessary.
• You manage the other edible zones and ensure the further development of the orchard and the syntropic food forest. Both systems are established but are not yet where they could be. You create a multi-year plan: which species to add, how the layers relate, when to prune and harvest, and how it will become a largely self-sustaining system in ten years. Experience with syntropic farming or agroforestry is a major advantage here.
• You take care of the chickens and the composting system. Our chickens roam in the compost garden and process the organic waste from the kitchen: what’s left over from a wedding dinner goes back into the ground. It’s up to you to keep this system running and develop it further.
• You maintain and expand the infrastructure. Irrigation, nursery greenhouse, tunnel greenhouses, chicken coop, beds, paths, and storage. You devise and realize what is needed to deliver more and better in five years. For installation work and contractors, you collaborate with our technical manager.
• Managing people and giving tours. You work with our permanent assistant gardener who works three days a week, and you manage garden volunteers and on-call staff. Additionally, you give tours of the market garden and the edible zones.
• You provide commercial input to the sales team. You have ideas about what we can sell to whom. Sales handles acquisition and relationship management; you know what’s possible and what it’s worth.
• You share our story. The market garden is a key part of our story. By showing our guests the abundance and beauty of the garden and letting them taste the benefits of honest food, we want to inspire them to see the earth not as a resource, but as an ally—just as we do. In terms of nature, but also socially, we don’t want to just take, but also give back. To make a positive impact on our piece of the earth.

• Proven experience as a gardener, cultivation manager, or farm manager in organic or regenerative horticulture.
• You are independent and proactive.
• You work in an organized manner. You maintain an overview, you tidy up as you go, and you don’t mind if visitors watch over your shoulder.
• You have an eye for detail. You understand that the shape of a bed, the line of a path, and the color of a crop all contribute to how the garden is perceived.
• Knowledge of soil, composting, and perennial systems. Experience with food forests or agroforestry is a big plus.
• Commercial affinity. The market garden shouldn’t just grow and bloom; it also needs to be profitable. Your ideas are commercial as well as green. You don’t mind negotiating with a buyer, calculating a price, or visiting a new customer.
• You enjoy working with a chef. You know what a chef can do with a surplus of zucchini and you’re not afraid to say if something won’t be ready for harvest for another three weeks.
• You are open and enthusiastic. And your enthusiasm and passion are contagious; after a tour, participants understand exactly why we do what we do, and employees feel ready to get to work right away.
• You are physically fit and love working outdoors in all weather conditions.
• Driving license and own transport.

This job is broader than just cultivation. The market garden must also grow and flourish financially. In addition, it must look attractive and tell our story. You are the expert here: you create your own plan and have the space to do it your way.

Fortunately, you are not alone. There is a permanent assistant gardener who works with you three days a week, plus volunteers and on-call staff during peak times. In high season, it is intensive and you work with the seasons. In return, winter provides the peace to plan, build, and reflect on where we are headed.

We were able to develop this market garden thanks to a European LEADER grant, which runs for another year. We provide support with the reporting and accountability for it.

• A unique job with opportunities and freedom.
• You will be working in a magical place, in the middle of a beautiful nature reserve.
• A competitive salary, depending on experience.
• Hours that move with the season. We work with an annualized hours model: an average of 32 hours per week, but you will work more hours in the spring and summer and fewer in the winter. We agree on this together in advance, so you’re not short-staffed in May and don’t get bored in January.
• A one-year contract, with the intention to extend.
• A seat at the table. You will participate in our monthly management meetings, where you help decide the future direction of Yūgen Forest.
• 25 vacation days on a full-time basis and 8 percent holiday pay. The market garden is busiest from June to September, so you plan long vacations during the quieter months. We agree on this together at the start of the year.
• Travel allowance.
• Complete freedom in the cultivation plan: this is your market garden.
• A kitchen that directly sources what you harvest.
• Short lines of communication with a small, close-knit, enthusiastic team that is ready to help one another.

Send a short email with your CV to sjanett@yugenforest.nl. A cover letter is not necessary, but please include a few lines about your way of working and why this place appeals to you. Questions? Call or email Sjanett de Geus at 06-27192002. Or apply directly below.

During an interview, we will walk through the market garden and the edible zones together, so you can see everything for yourself.