The Farmers Foundation and the Jump-in Theater
(Stichting Boerengroep/Inspringtheater)

Stichting Boerengroep aims to connect farmers and students. We bring students into the field, to get some practical experience and to get to kow some dutch farmers. We bring farmers into lecture rooms, to discuss hot agricultural topics.
The Boerengroep organizes activities for students and recent graduates of Wageningen UR and Van Hall Larenstein, social interest organisations like farmers’ associations and rural organisations.

Activities
The Farmer Foundation supported by the Jump-in-Theatre, provides you a critical view on developments in agriculture. The foundation organizes activities like field trips, symposia, lectures, group discussions, interactive theatre and practical training courses. Also supporting interdisciplinary research projects focusing on sustainable agriculture and producing informative material are included.

Please check the ‘agenda’ page for an update of the latest Boerengroep and Inspringtheater activities.

Weekly Farmers Coffee Talk
Every Tuesdaymorning we drink coffee and discuss hot topics in agriculture. read more

Forum Theatre
Forum Theatre is used all over the World for education, prevention, emancipation, human rights and re-socialisation. It’s all about ‘empowerment’, providing people with a tool to get control over their lives. On stage we display the interests and motives of the different parties involved and try to create mutual understanding. We perform the real world dilemma’s and try to find feasible solutions.

Jump-in Theatre
The objective of the Farmer Foundation (Boerengroep) is to provide a link between agricultural practice and agricultural theory. The Jump-in Theatre (Inspringtheater) is a tool in this quest. The Theatre is hired by organisations or companies to make a funny but critical sketch about present-day agricultural issues. We make use of an interactive theatre type called Forum Theatre. First we introduce the subject in a few scenes and then get to the climax point where one of the characters ends up in a dilemma. Then the facilitator (joker) ask the audience to jump in and show what they would do in such a situation. This is an effective and interesting way to provoke a discussion.

Playing with the Jump-in Theatre
As a Jump-in Theatre player you’re not obliged to play the whole year. Every time we are requested for a theatre performance the coordinator contacts the players to see who is interested and has time to develop a play. The group gets directed by a (semi) professional director. On average making a theatre play will cost you 20 hours in total. This includes a preparation brainstorm a rehearsal weekend and the performance itself.

Our plays used to be in dutch but we just founded an international theatre group in cooperation with Otherwise. And we received our first request for a theatre performance in English so now we work on creating options for international theatre in Wageningen.

Contact Stichting Boerengroep and Inspring Theater
Visiting address:
Lawickse Allee 13,
room 107,
6701 AN
Wageningen
Postal address: Postbus 265, 6700 AG Wageningen
Phone: 0317- 410500
Fax: 0317- 418524
E-mail: st.boerengroep@wur.nl or st.inspringtheater@wur.nl

Contact person: Klarien Klingen (Farmer Foundation) and Dolf van der Plas&Selma van der Haar (Jump in- theatre)
Available: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday