Roland Van Reenen, The Forest Farmer

Father of Over 50 Food Forests, Trainer of Thousands in Syntropic Agroforestry

Meet Roland Van Reenen, known to many in the field of Syntropic Agroforestry simply as “The Forest Farmer”. He is a Syntropic Agroforestry expert, consultant and a permaculture designer who has trained 2,500 people and counting in the Caribbean and Africa in the principles, techniques and skills of how to create a “food forest”. He is also responsible for establishing 50 food forests.

He is totally convinced that food forestry as developed according to Syntropic Agroforestry principals will solve most of our fundamental crises in the world.

Many of the people I have featured in the RainMakers & ChangeMakers series (like Dee J Essy and Tesfahun Fitamo) have either formally received training in Syntropic Agroforestry from him or have learned from someone he has trained. You can find him here on Substack by his handle “Forest Farmer.”

Syntropic Agroforestry Basics

Before we get too far into Roland’s backstory, what is Synropic Agroforesry? Ernst Gotsch, the father of Syntropic Agroforestry, has generated a wealth of information available on the worldwide web. When researching a “simple definition of Syntropic Agroforestry”, Gotsch’s website retorts: “There is no quick answer. We have to be honest and immediately warn that you won’t find a recipe ready to copy and paste here.” Alas, for our purposes, we turn to Wikipedia:

"Syntropic agroforestry, also known as successional agroforestry, is a system of managed succession that mimics natural forest succession. It's a regenerative agriculture approach that aims to create dynamic, economically viable ecosystems that restore degraded soil biodiversity.”

For those who want more, here is a fantastic short description (and beautiful visuals) featuring Ernst himself.

For additional information, Roland produces articles on WikiFarmer and has an active YouTube Channel that hosts a wide variety of educational videos demonstrating the incredibly transformative and positive impact that Syntropic Agroforestry has on regreening the environment and creating an abundance of food for the humans, plants and animals that are part of it. He also has produced a multi-part Syntropic Agroforestry introductory course available for free on his YouTube Channel.

From Music to Organic Grocer to Permaculture and Food Forests

Let’s get back to Roland! Born in 1964 in the Netherlands, Roland has an eclectic mix of interests that make him the unique individual he is today. Growing up, he always had a curiousity for nature and cultural diversity. As a young professional, he was drawn to teaching and became a certified teacher for primary education. He has also always been drawn to music and spent a good portion of his early adult life in the music business: working in a recordshop, drumming in reggae bands and producing a few music video clips.

By 1998, at the age of 34, he was an assistant manager in a record store and a steadfast costumer of an organic food store. The store was seeking an assistant manager; they approached him and he made a career leap to the organic food industry. Ultimately, he became the manager of what became in 2000 the very first organic supermarket in the Netherlands (Estafette de Biologische Eetwinkel). At that time he was deeply into organic food and very interested in food production systems. He had also developed an interest in natural healing techniques and was studying on the side Ayurveda or Ayurvedic medicine, a system of traditional medicine native to India.

“I was totally into organic food and was interested in food production systems like biodynamics, but a friend of mine introduced me to food forests and from that moment I was sold.” Thus it was in 2013, at the age of 49, that he discovered permaculture. From that moment, he was at the beginning of what he calls “his genesis.”

Syntropic Agroforestry - Solutions For Solving the World’s Crises

I asked Roland, how was it that he got from discovering permaculture to finding Syntropic Agroforestry? He referred to the “mind-blowing video” called Life in Syntropy, a short 15-minute film by Felipe Pasini and Dayana Andrade that puts together some of the most remarkable experiences in Ernst Götsch's Syntropic Agriculture. Here is the video in its updated form.

With this inspiraion, Roland embarked on a new adventure and his life’s work. In 2015, he moved to Curacao in the Caribbean with a solid mission in his mind: to research how permaculture could make a difference in a drought stricken deforested area. With zero budget he established a food forest around his house and started to give workshops and posting on social media. At the same time he started a weekly organic food subscription for about 80 subscribers bringing organic food direct from the farmer to the consumer.

By 2018, Roland was fully ensconced in the food forest movement in Curacao. The Minister of Agriculture Sra Suzy Carmelia Romer noticed and personally invited Roland to build several permaculture plots for educational purposes.

It was around this time that he was approached by Thiago Barbosa, an expert in Syntropic Agroforestry and co-founder and director of Syntropic Solutions in Australia, who found Roland’s posts on social media about the food forests he was building.

“He started guiding me online,” says Roland. “He told me about a course in Costa Rica. I asked the Minister, my employer at the time, if I could participate. The Minister’s spokesman Alvin Daal suggested I organize a course on Curacao sponsored by the Ministry.” And, that’s what he did.

In 2019, he organized for the Ministry of Health, Environment and Nature an intensive course on Syntropic Agroforestry with teachers from Brazil. He is still, 5 years later, leading a project with the aim of implementing this farming technique in Curacao.

From Curacao to East Africa

In October 2020, Roland traveled to Kenya to research the need to implement agroforestry systems there. He was sent as a token of appreciation for his food forest work in Curacao by Curadao, an organization that was developing a local currency. During that month in Kenya he established three food forests. The following video that runs roughly one hour is a documentary Roland produced detailing the findings of his trip to Kenya.

Back in Curacao, Roland continued his consulting work. By the end of November 2021, Roland and his colleagues were setting up Syntropic Agroforestry plots every weekend with students of the online syntropic farming course provided by the Ministry of Agriculture in Curacao. At the same time, he found himself drawn back to Africa.

By November 2022, he founded with his parner/girlfriend partner/girlfriend Esther Njeri (Dee J Essy) their company Syntropic and Permaculture Solutions Limited in Kenya and received a work permit for Kenya. He was and still is convinced that he can offer solutions with their company for drought stricken areas in Kenya just as he has in Curacao.

As of this writing, he is in Kenya where together with Esther, they train people in Syntropic Agroforestry and neighbouring countries like Uganda, Tanzania, Zambia and Ethiopia. Recently they trained about 50 people in Ghana and also about 50 people in Zimbabwe. More recently he trained about 50 farmers in Angola.

By now, Roland has trained about 1,200 people in the Caribbean and larger parts of Africa and established about 50 farms.

One of the farms he has helped start is in Kwale Kenya with a Deaf Settlement.

Kwetu Regenerative Hub in Inyuu, Kenya

This year, in 2024, Roland and Esther embarked on a new adventure together to turn 3.5 acres of farmland in an arid part of Kenya into a Syntropic Agroforestry demonstration and training site they are now calling the Kwetu Regenerative Hub. I detailed that project in Dee J’s profile on Day 11 of this series. It is also going to be their home!

With funding from

Ubuntu

International and support from other donors and investors, Roland and Esther are working on the site while also building a natural home. Here are a few progress pictures with more to be found on his Facebook page.

Who Inspires Roland? Thiago Barbosa!

Thiago Barbosa is a Syntropic Agroforestry pioneer in Australia who for the past 10 years has been spreading the knowledge of this unique food production and land management technique. Driven by a deep respect for the natural world, Thiago has guided countless individuals, from backyard gardeners to farmers to transition from conventional to more ecologically sound practices. Beyond his practical expertise, Thiago is also a gifted teacher and communicator. His engaging workshops and talks have inspired audiences across Australia and around the world. His enthusiasm is contagious, and he encourages everyone around him to take action toward a brighter, greener future (from Syntropic Solutions’ website).

Where in the World is Roland?

The answer to this questions is “It depends!” Currently, Roland splits his time between his current homebase with his partner Esther and their new homestead site at the Kwetu Regenerative Hub in Inyuu, Kenya.