Tour des Ecovillages part 3: Zeven Dining Experience
Fine dining in the oldest forest of the Netherlands
- Renkum, The Netherlands
- September 2, 2022
A self-built restaurant in the tranquil wilderness of the Veluwe
The third stop on our Tour des Ecovillages is a glamping site in the oldest forest Netherlands, where a unique temporary dining concept has been launched. For a full day, people get to experience hyperlocal food (sourced less than 30 km away) in an open-air setting with a focus on sustainability and regeneration.
Off-grid glamping
De Veluwe is known to be one of the few places in the Netherlands where wild nature can still be experienced in its original state. Even though the nearest town is only minutes away, the surrounding trees at Zeven breathe gently in the wind. An ideal background to the fully off-grid glampsite, erected without doing any damage to the ground or environment. In fact, the ambition is to create systems here that will restore the soil and groundwater table, as there is currently a groundwater shortage. Composting toilets, sustainable construction materials, and a temporary existence make sure that the surroundings can be experienced without damaging it.
Natural bathroom
Workshop area
Hyperlocal food
A core aspect of the dining experience at Zeven, is the locality of the food being served. There is no menu here. Guests will be served whatever is available within a 30-km radius. Courses will change depending on the season. If a local hunter shoots a deer in the vicinity, it may be transformed into an exciting new dish the next day. All this results in a unique dining experience that also educates the guests about the origin of their food. At SmartHoods we love to see this type of storytelling. It shows people that a sustainable lifestyle with local food can most definitely be a step forward.
What we like:
- Non-intrusive, off-grid construction
- Hyperlocal food sourced within 30km
- Beautiful natural surroundings
What we learned:
- The importance of storytelling for a successful concept
- Sustainability and quality can go hand in hand
- The healing power a forest can bring
