The Lighthouse
A Living Lab for Horse-Powered Agriculture
What It Is
The Lighthouse is a planned research farm and living lab in Enschede, Overijssel — built on two non-negotiable commitments: no fossil fuels and no synthetic inputs. Horses replace tractors as the main source of farm power, creating a fully biological system where animals provide both traction and fertility. The result is a working, visible example of small-scale, animal-powered, regenerative agriculture — and a permanent research platform where every field is a research plot.
The farm is designed as a teaching and research site. Workshops will cover the practical skills involved in running this model of farming, including animal husbandry, horse training and groundwork, rotational grazing, cover crops, and land management. Participants will include students, working farmers, researchers, and members of the public.
Interested in shaping this project?
Board Member opportunity Click here
The Approach
The farm combines several complementary practices — regenerative agriculture, silvopasture, rotational grazing, cover crops, wild areas, an orchard, and a pond — into a single integrated system.
This is not just a demonstration. The same equipment is used with horses as would be with a tractor, in the same fields, growing the same crops. Only the power source changes — producing directly comparable data on work rates, labor requirements, energy use, and soil health outcomes. The track system for the horses is itself a research variable, allowing precise measurement of soil compaction and health compared to both conventional grazing and tractor-based systems.
This open, rigorous design is deliberate. The site serves as a ready-built research platform that any university or student team can use immediately, without needing to build their own infrastructure. The goal is for the site to function as a living laboratory that agricultural education and research programs actively seek out.
The Site
The farm will occupy ~7-10 hectares in or near Enschede. The site will include:
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Twenty community garden rental plots, bringing the local public onto the land and encouraging hands-on participation.
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A Paddock Paradise horse track system, which keeps pasture intact, encourages natural movement for the horses, and eliminates soil compaction and degradation from grazing.
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Multiple pastures for rotational grazing — roughly six sheep and a flock of free-range chickens. Sheep distribute manure evenly across paddocks; chickens scratch and spread droppings for faster nutrient cycling. Frequent moves prevent overgrazing and allow full pasture recovery.
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Workshop spaces/ info evenings designed to host ten to thirty attendees per session, covering practical skills for students, farmers, and the public.
The track system and rotational grazing are designed to benefit both the land and the animals — improving welfare, protecting soil health, and generating measurable data on system performance.
Why Now
This summer — August 2026 — Europe is living through what the European Commission's Joint Research Centre calls "exceptionally dry and hot weather" that has "substantially worsened summer crop prospects across western and most of central Europe." The JRC's MARS Bulletin of 24 August 2026 reports that EU yield forecasts for all summer crops have been sharply reduced, falling below the five-year average by up to 14%. This is the first time climate-driven agricultural damage is visible in real time, at scale, across Europe.
At the same time, the EU's Common Agricultural Policy is moving toward low-input, biodiversity-positive farming — and funding is available now for projects that demonstrate viable alternatives. A growing number of young farmers and researchers are interested in horse-powered and fossil-fuel-free systems but have nowhere to learn or test them.
The question is no longer whether regenerative systems work. It is how to transition at scale — and that requires dedicated, permanent research infrastructure. The Lighthouse is designed to provide exactly that: a place where the comparisons can be made, the data collected, and the knowledge transferred to farmers, students, and policymakers.
Partnership Opportunities
The farm is designed as a living lab. Research groups can co-design a three-year research agenda starting in early 2027. The Lighthouse provides the site, animals, and operational support; partner institutions apply for their own research grants.
Possible forms of involvement include:
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Research and thesis projects (MSc and PhD)
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Student placements and internships (MBO, HBO, WO)
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Practical teaching and field visits
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Advisory roles
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Joint funding applications
Institutions can participate at different levels, and more than one institution can be involved. MBO green schools, applied universities, and research universities can each play a different role — from hands-on internships to long-term comparative trials.
Governance
The Lighthouse will be established as a stichting (foundation) under Dutch law. A board of three to five members will oversee financial oversight, strategic direction, and legal compliance. The foundation will seek ANBI (public benefit organization) status, enabling tax-deductible donations.
A live-in land manager handles daily animal care, infrastructure maintenance, and public programming — standard practice for Dutch research farms and nature reserves. The role is salaried with on-site housing, ensuring permanent presence for the animals and site. Detailed protocols and a handover process ensure continuity if the role changes hands.
What We Need Now
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Three founding board members to join by December 2026, guiding legal setup and strategic direction.
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One to two university research groups to co-design the first three-year research agenda, starting January 2027.
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Start-up capital of €411,000–€790,000 for land acquisition and initial infrastructure.
Milestones
Q4 2026
Recruit three founding board members; register stichting with KVK
Q1 2027
Apply for start-up grants; begin land search and infrastructure planning
Q2 2027
Hire land manager; sign first university research agreements
Q3 2027
Operational — animals on-site, first experiments begin
Q4 2027
First public workshops and community programming
The name
A lighthouse guides. The Lighthouse exists to be seen: a working demonstration that regenerative, animal-powered farming is viable today, and a model others can learn from.
What we are doing now
In its current phase (2026), The Lighthouse is focused on pilot projects and collaborations while working on finding its permanent home behind the scenes, learning by doing and gaining real-world experience together.
Right now we are actively looking for BOARD MEMBERS.
The Lighthouse projects
The Lighthouse functions as an umbrella project until it finds its permanent site.
It takes shape through a small number of connected, real-world initiatives that explore learning, land, and community in different ways.
Right now (2026), the Lighthouse has two projects: community-based gatherings (a women’s group) and a small-scale regenerative comparison plot project.
Enschede Sister Circle 2026
The first project of the Lighthouse is a bi-monthly women’s group hosted in collaboration with a local nonprofit (FRIDA book cafe). Started in January of 2026, confirmed to run through December 2026, this group focuses on connection, reflection, and shared learning, and forms part of The Lighthouse’s community-building work.
More info about Enschede Sister Circle on the website, CLICK HERE
Comparison Plot Project 2026
Three plots, same crops (corn, sunflowers, squash, peas, flowers) — but managed differently: conventional tillage, heavy mulch, and living roots.
This garden is about observing, comparing, and learning what the land can teach us.
It's the first step of The Lighthouse's broader vision for ecological stewardship, starting now even before the permanent home is built.
Over before its begun?? Click to read comparison plot project review, update July 2026
Follow along with this project CLICK HERE
Why Twente? Why Horses?
Twente offers a strong fit for this project. The region has a long agricultural heritage and an active network of farmers, educators, and institutions interested in sustainable land use.
Its proximity to Enschede — a city with a university and vocational schools — means the farm can sit close enough to students and researchers to be genuinely useful, while still being rural enough to function as a working farm.
This combination of countryside and educational infrastructure is hard to find elsewhere.
Horses are the natural choice for the farm's draft power. Modern farming depends heavily on fossil fuels, and as a society we need to move away from that dependency — not simply because fuel is expensive, but because we must find alternative methods that can sustain agriculture into the future.
Horses are one credible answer. At a smaller scale they can be genuinely superior to tractors: they are lighter on the soil, require no fuel, and can work in conditions where machinery struggles. They are versatile, capable of a wide range of farm tasks, and they fit a small operation better than a full tractor fleet.
Working with horses also carries a clear educational value: it connects people directly to the physical work of farming and to the animals themselves, while demonstrating a practical, working example of agriculture without fossil fuels. The Paddock Paradise track system supports this by keeping the horses healthy and naturally active, so they remain strong and willing partners in the farm's work.
Mission
The Lighthouse is a living lab for fossil-fuel-free regenerative agriculture — a permanent, place-based research site where researchers, students, and practitioners co-create experiments in real-world conditions. Its mission is to demonstrate that animal-powered, regenerative agriculture without synthetic inputs or fossil fuels is a practical and worthwhile way to farm, and to generate open, comparable data on what that system can achieve. It does this by using regenerative practices that keep the land, animals, and environment healthy; by training the next generation of farmers, land stewards, and researchers; and by inviting the local community to take part. The farm exists to be both productive and educational — a place where rigorous research, good farming, and good teaching happen together.
Principles
The Lighthouse is guided by several principles:
Land health first- such as rotational grazing, cover crops, silvopasture, and permanent wild areas are chosen because they build soil, support biodiversity, and keep the land productive over the long term. Every field is a research plot.
Animals as partners, not machines -The horses and sheep are central to the farm's work and are cared for in ways that respect their natural behavior and welfare. The horses are the tractor -a deliberate research variable, not just a philosophical choice. The track system protects both pasture and animal health while creating a measurable research variable.
Research-driven and transparent -The farm operates under two non-negotiable commitments: no synthetic inputs and no fossil fuels. This creates clear, measurable research variables. All results are published as open-access data and shared with farmers, students, and policymakers. The goal is not to argue every farm should go horse-powered- it is to find out what happens when one does.
Open and educational- The Lighthouse is a shared resource, welcoming students, farmers, and the public to learn by doing. Research is co-designed with university partners, and the site is available for MBO internships, MSc thesis projects, and faculty-led research from day one.
Practical and honest- The Lighthouse is a real, working operation whose results speak for themselves. It is not a demonstration that only works on paper -it is a platform for rigorous, comparative, long-term science in real-world conditions.
Community rooted - The Lighthouse is embedded in Twente and depends on local participation and partnership. Workshops, garden plots, a farm stand, and school visits ensure that knowledge flows both ways between the farm and the people around it.
About the Founder, Noa
My background brings together community-based work, education, and years of tending to land and animals. I studied natural horsemanship along with equine behavior and psychology in a formal setting. I have spent years independently learning about regenerative agriculture and ecology.
I do not present myself as a soil scientist or agricultural consultant. My role at The Lighthouse is to act as an initiator, host, and facilitator — creating space where people can engage directly with the land and where those with practical expertise can share their knowledge in ways that are accessible and applicable.
I see this as a collaborative project: it depends on partnerships with scientists, agronomists, and experienced farmers to design the research, interpret what we find, and make the results credible and useful.
The Lighthouse comes from a continuing fascination with how land, learning, nature, and community shape one another. When people learn through lived experience—especially in community—it transforms the way they care for the places around them.
Who this is for
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Students in agricultural education, who can gain hands-on experience with regenerative and animal-powered methods.
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Farmers and land managers, who can learn practices they might apply to their own land.
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Local residents, who can rent a community garden plot, attend workshops, or simply connect to where their food comes from.
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Researchers and educators, who can use the site as a working laboratory where ideas are tested in practice.
Current needs
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Core contributors- BOARD MEMBERS
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The farm requires a suitable parcel of three to five hectares in or near Enschede, and securing it is the critical path to the project. Beyond land, the farm will need partners — including agricultural education programs and local organizations — as well as funding to cover setup and early operation. These needs are described in more detail in the project's business and funding sections.
Click here for more information about joining the BOARD
Learning together, in community, helps turn environmental concern into practical action
Get in touch
If you’re interested in collaborating, sharing knowledge, or learning together, please reach out. I look forward to hearing from you!
Contact Founder and Land Manager, Noa,
via email at theLighthouseNL@gmail.com
or by WhatsApp 0628120767
