Family farm with Horses, Food Forest and Permaculture garden

Gelderland

4 reviews • Updated 2 months ago

In our farm, we have started a food forest and a permaculture garden in 2020. We offer off-grid camping in our food forest and rent cabins to nature loving guests. We also keep horses in a sustainable way (paddock paradise). This is a system that resembles the natural environment of the horse and encourages them to move around a lot and express their natural behaviour. We try to keep our farm as sustainable and organic as possible, making our own compost, solar energy and creating space for nature in the form of wild patches, long grasses, hedges etc. We welcome help on the farm, both with the horses and with the garden and food forest. Your work times are flexible depending on your plans and skills. We usually have activities between 7.30 am and 7pm in taking care of the horses, the garden etc depending on the season. You will be accommodated in one of our guest cabins or you can bring your own camper van. You have access to a shared kitchen and bathrooms. Depending on the season, we share what comes out of the garden and can take you on a weekly shopping trip where we will provide you the basics for your meals. As we have 2 small kids and value our family time, we do not do joint dinners but are happy to sit down for coffee or lunch together when the kids are in school.

Learning opportunities

Vegetable farming

Fruit or nut farming

Sheep or goat farming

Raising of other farm animals

Wild foraging

Vegetable or fruit preservation

Methods or systems

Holistic management

No-till farming

Permaculture

Regenerative agriculture

Host type

Self-sufficiency property

2.4 Hectares | 5.9 Acres

Accommodation

3 WWOOFers

Bedroom

Camper / RV

Campsite

Cabin / Mobile-home

Children not accepted

Pets not accepted

Meals

Omnivore

Vegetarian

Vegan

Length of stay

3-4 weeks

Over a month

Ylvie

Member since 2019

Languages spoken: Dutch, English, German Response rate: 100% Response time: typically within 1 day

December 2025

Open

Planned visit

Closed

MapLibre | Protomaps | © OpenStreetMap

Gelderland

We are located in the middle of The Netherlands, about 1hr from Amsterdam International Airport (Schiphol) by train or car. Lunteren has a train station and we provide bicycles to get around

Reviews

Hassan

Netherlands • October 2025

Review voor host: Ylvie Fros Van: Hassan & Narcis Onze tijd bij Ylvie was echt magisch. We voelden ons vanaf het begin thuis en hebben enorm genoten van het werken en zorgen voor de paarden — een prachtige en bijzondere ervaring. We kregen veel waardevolle informatie over hoe je met paarden werkt en voor ze zorgt, wat het verblijf niet alleen leuk, maar ook leerzaam maakte. De werkzaamheden waren divers en afwisselend, en het contact met Ylvie, haar familie en de andere vrijwilligers was altijd warm en prettig. Het verblijf was goed geregeld en de verzorging perfect. We werden zelfs netjes opgehaald én gebracht naar ons volgende WWOOF-adres — dat vonden we echt bijzonder attent. Voor Narcis kwam een droom uit toen ze paardrijles kreeg van Ylvie zelf. We aten regelmatig samen met de andere WWOOFers en vrijwilligers, en op de laatste dag hadden we een gezellig afscheidsdiner samen — een mooie afsluiting van een onvergetelijke tijd. Dank je wel, Ylvie, voor alles wat je met ons gedeeld hebt. 💫 — Hassan & Narcis 🌿

Reply from Ylvie

Het was zo fijn om jullie hier te ontvangen en jullie verhalen te horen. Jullie zijn het type WWOOFers dat wij hier het liefst ontvangen; open, warm, geïnteresseerd en gemotiveerd. We missen jullie enorm!

Tania

Honduras • September 2025

*--* This review was edited because of guideline violations. During my stay at with this host I felt unsafe and mistreated. In my first two days I did not see her, though she was on the farm. (WWOOFer was informed about her termporary absense prior to coming) The host physically touched me aggressively (jabbing my nose and bumping her body into mine) and verbally insulted me, calling me derogatory names. She repeatedly demanded more work than the agreed hours, even when daily tasks were completed. From the first day I faced problems: I was given boots that were too small, causing painful wounds, & she offered no care or bandages. (The WWOOFer was informed to bring working shoes) I worked in rain carrying heavy wheelbarrows across muddy terrain with no coat (The Host has spare jackets, the WWOOFer did not mention this). I also cooked for another volunteer, cleaned, maintained the property, & cared for the animals, yet my efforts were ignored. On Sep 19 I fed the horses double rations because the nets were untouched and the water buckets empty from the previous night, horses were not cared. (According to the logs this was not true) When I told the host I was taking a 15 min breakfast & that I gave double portion to horses, very upset accused me of giving “too little,” shouted aggressively, jabbed my nose, Hurt my body. This host’s behaviour is made me feel unsafe.

Reply from Ylvie

-You arrived a day earlier than agreed, on a day I had a funeral. You had to walk 10 minutes from the bus. Had you arrived on the agreed day, you would have been picked up at the train station. -You arrived on white suede shoes rather than bringing shoes fitting to a farm. You were lucky we had a pair of rain boots in your size, we cannot help your calves not fitting into them. This could have been avoided had you followed instructions about what to bring. -Your first work day was on friday and you were advised beforehand I would be traveling abroad that afternoon for a work weekend. You were taken along by our barn manager on friday and sunday and had a free day on saturday and monday, so we did not see much of each other until tuesday. By then, you had already given off multiple red flags and also skipped the social coffee breaks. -You were dismissed within a week because of your behavior and work attitude, you did not follow any instructions which made our animals go hungry and your attitude quickly got our barn manager and me frustrated. We ask only 4hrs of work, in a reasonable tempo. Work a lot slower? Then work longer to get the chores done. -On day 1, you falsely accused another wwoofer of damaging your property and even questioned the mental health of our barn manager. All these people we work together with for a long term and have in high regards. -You played the 'unsafe' card from day 1, yet refused to leave until I got the police dialed. No one hurt you.

Sophie

Germany • April 2025

I had a great time at Ylvie's farm. This was my first wwoofing-experience and I enjoyed it SO much. Ylvie rents out cabins on her farm for holidaymakers or tenants, as a wwoofer you can also stay in one of the cabins. The little cabin has its own bathroom and kitchen. You can set your own working-time on the farm, I usually work in the mornings. Yvie's work is totally fair and you can often have a coffee break in the garden and chat. I really enjoyed the conversations with Ylvie. I had no experience with horses before, but the respect you give to these animals definitely comes back and all the animals are very loving. Ylvie's work with the horses is also so beautiful to watch, so I could also watch Ylvie train the horses and anyone who wants to learn something else gets so much knowledge and experience from Ylvie. Working with the horses was so beneficial for the soul, Overall, the whole farm is such a beautiful place to be, also because there are chickens, ducks, dogs and cats everywhere - ist just s beautiful vibe. I would definitely come back here!

Angela

Netherlands • April 2025

Ylvie has immense love and respect for the horses. I would describe the place as a therapeutic rehabilitation center for horses. Horses with all kinds of backgrounds and problems are trained not only physically but the way Ylvie trains them, she gives them back their own connection to their body and their own dignity and own "voice" as a being in a horse body. She Knows the world of equestrian events, the people in those fields of profession and entertainment, equine medicine and therapy and so on. I came here without any special connection to horses and without any knowledge and within only a week, I became a true horse lover, hungry for every part there is to learn. When you have a special place in your heart for horses, I would say "Come to Ylvie!", because there is so much to see and learn and to love. When you hardly care about horses, I would say "Come!, because you will change your mind forever." Besides the daily work of feeding and cleaning up poop in a beautiful environment, you can have an insight in the horse trainings and in different workshops and courses that happen in the field of horse coaching, equine medicine, Osteopathy and so on. Last but not least, Ylvie treats the Wwoofers with respect, it's one of the few places where the exchange is truely equal. The whole atmosphere with horses, ducks walking around, dogs and cats and all the people that come because of their love for horses....is truely magnificent.