Who we are?
About us
Four idealists from Amsterdam that try to make a difference in the world. We felt our own world wasn’t changing fast enough and decided to do something about it.
We are inspired by many other communities who found a way to break loose from the established patterns of life and manage to live an alternative lifestyle in harmony with our planet and its inhabitants.
Get to know the four faces of our crew at the bottom of this page and where they came from.
“Everyday life? An office job? That's not for us!
Instead, we've quit our jobs, quit our studies, sold our homes,
and chose for adventure.”
Adventure
Community
Nature
The Team
Get to know us
Gidi van de Belt
Technology, Finance
Your actions determine who you are. After I graduated in physics and got a job, I came to realize that I want to do more for people and nature than that I would achieve in an office job. Then I made the radical decision to start for myself and move abroad. My dream to create a place where people live in peace, where would be taught how to live more sustainable with regard to personal life style and this planet with all its beautiful flora and fauna, would come true. A place where lectures, workshops and seminars will be given and where everyone treats each other and the planet with respect. Doing the right things to inspire others and to enable sustainable and conscious live styles, has resulted in the fact that I’m happier than ever.
“If you can dream it, you can do it.”
Jovana van de Belt
Bakery
1600 km away from my home, following the love of my life, I found my new home Girtenmühle. Being part of this amazing life project, and part of the team, makes me feel extremely happy and blessed. Watching and helping Girtenmühle grow makes me grow with it and dream bigger. My wish is to organise creative workshops and activities in the near future, so all people will leave Girtenmühle with a heart full of impressions, not just about the beautiful nature and atmosphere here, but also because they learned new skills or discovered new hobbies.
“Work hard in silence, let your success be the noise.”
Vincent Rentenaar
Campsite, Tourism, Promotion
To be able to turn a piece of land into my own canvas, enabling me to stimulate the creativity of others and myself has been my dream for years. I never thought this goal would come this close in such a short period of time, special thanks to the gents on this page! This place has been a source of inspiration and unbelievable motivation and I would love to share it with everyone who reads this. I intend to fully focus on my dream after completing the start-up phase at LandGut Girtenmühle by collaborating with artists in several interesting projects. Any good ideas? Know some people we should know? Please, contact us!
“Good ideas stay good ideas until you execute them.”
Lynn Broertjes
Design
What would you like to do after you’ve graduated from the Artacademy? How will you combine being an artist with having a own busines? I’ve been asked these questions on the regular the past couple of years, and I still don’t have a clear answer! What I can say is that I have now found the place where I can be myself and express myself. A place where, creativity, freedom and connectivity come together. Living in Germany and owning Bina B in the Netherlands didn’t stop me from going to the Girtenmühle. It is so wonderful to live and work at a place, where we are building a dream together. Together with my love (Vincent) we would like to stimulate creativity in this community, by hosting workshops and possibly Residency’s for artists in the future. This dream is being fulfilled for me, slowly but surely! The Girtenmühle feels like family, even before I’ve moved here. I was born next to Gidi and Wim in Amsterdam, and now I also live here.. the circle is complete!
“Onbegrijpend lezen is te begrijpen.”
Wim van de Belt
Geschäftsführer, Manager of Managers
I stopped working for a school in the Netherlands after 30 years of service. My reason was “to do something else”. Which eventually, turned out to be the project of “LandGut Girtenmühle”. This project is developed by my son Gidi, his wife Jovana, Vincent and myself, together with my wife Stella. It is a unique collaboration between young and old; the young enthusiasm on the one hand and on the other the life and building experience and the money. My goal is to transform this place into a place to live with development opportunities, “A Place of Quiet reflections” that enables the realization of dreams. LandGut Girtenmühle has an unlimited potential for becoming a safe-haven in this bizarre world, fitting the goal of becoming self-sustainable and finding balance in in Planet, People and Profit.