A New Step in Kronland’s International Cooperation
For many years, the Croatian association Kronland has been developing and implementing European projects focused on art, education, community building, and international cooperation. Alongside the Croatian association, our sister organization, Stichting KroNland Transflorium, operates in the Netherlands, founded by the same founders, Ben Vos and Sandra Drnić.
This spring marked an important step in our international work: for the first time, Stichting KroNland Transflorium took on the role of host organization in an Erasmus+ project Together Strong. The project was carried out in cooperation with the Croatian association “Tko se boji sutra još?” from Vukovar, whose participants spent ten days in the Netherlands learning about different models of social reform, inclusion, and community work.
Flevo Zon and the First Encounter with the Dutch Care System
Our study visit began with a visit to Flevo Zon in Lelystad, an organization with more than 20 years of experience providing 24-hour care for people with behavioral difficulties and reduced ability to live independently. Flevo Zon is just one of approximately 1,350 inclusive care farms operating in the Netherlands today. This system has been developing since the 1970s and has become an important part of the Dutch approach to mental health, social care, and rehabilitation. After the visit, we took a short break in a nearby meadow and rewarded ourselves with a seven-minute tai chi session, a small moment of mental restoration before the intense and inspiring week ahead. Refreshed and energized, we continued exploring Lelystad, a city built on what was once the seabed. Lelystad is also home to Stichting KroNland Transflorium, making it the perfect place to explore cycling paths, parks, and green spaces that give the city its unique atmosphere of calmness and openness.
Almere, Sport, and Community
On the second day, we traveled to Almere, the largest city in the Flevoland region, where we were warmly welcomed by our hosts Fenke, Tobi, and Isis. Through the activities of Inside Outside Sport, we witnessed how important sport can be in therapeutic approaches for people with autism, Down syndrome, and other mental health challenges. Focus, discipline, adaptation, and persistence are not just sports values here, they are tools for personal growth and empowerment. Cycling holds a particularly important role, symbolizing balance, freedom, and moving forward. At the farm, curious alpacas greeted us while games, conversations, and sports activities filled the day with laughter and connection. One of the most surprising things we learned was that in the Netherlands, therapy through nature and sports can even be prescribed by a general practitioner.
Da Vinci College and the Challenge Up Workshop
After Almere, we continued our journey to Dordrecht to visit our long-term partners at Da Vinci College Dordrecht. There we were welcomed by teacher Dirk Jan Drost, with whom we collaborated on our first Erasmus+ project, About Green. Through that project, members of Kronland and teachers from vocational schools in Sisak learned about green working skills, sustainable architecture, and building tiny houses using natural materials. This time, however, the challenge was hands-on. All fifteen women participating in the project tried working with Makita tools and created their own decorative wooden objects. It was a true Challenge Up moment, full of concentration, laughter, first attempts, and mutual encouragement.
Keukenhof — A Sea of Tulips
Our journey then led us to the town of Lisse and the world-famous Keukenhof Tulip Festival. No photograph or story can truly describe the feeling of standing among endless fields of red, yellow, pink, and orange tulips. Driving through the flower fields almost invites silence, the colors, scents, and natural beauty create an experience that remains unforgettable.
Werf’s Job and Life on the “New Land”
For the final part of our study visit, we returned to Lelystad, where we visited Werf’s Job, a wood workshop and social working environment where people with intellectual and mental disabilities, visually impaired individuals, and people living with multiple sclerosis work together. We were welcomed with open hearts, introduced to their daily work processes, and shown their beautiful hydrangea garden and community-centered way of life. After visiting Werf’s Job, we continued discovering Lelystad, the city where Cornelis Lely “closed the sea” and created what the Dutch call new land. Some participants visited the Batavialand museum, while others explored the Batavia Stad outlet center. We ended the day at the restaurant La Plaza, overlooking the Dutch sea and the landscape of this reclaimed land, reflecting on everything we had learned and experienced during the journey.
Ending in Amsterdam
Our final day was spent at the Buytenplaets Suydersee camp, where project participants and volunteers of Stichting KroNland Transflorium were staying. Ben and Sandra presented the TRANSFLORIUM project and spoke about the importance of further developing social reforms and international cooperation between Croatia and the Netherlands.
And then, finally, Amsterdam. A city of canals, boats, bicycles, scents, and energy that is difficult to describe in words. We enjoyed boat rides, Dutch pancakes, and everything Amsterdam always offers, a sense of freedom, diversity, and openness to the world.
This journey brought us much more than knowledge about social reforms and inclusion. It brought us new friendships, experiences, and a reminder of how community, nature, and openness toward others can change society, and ourselves.
And what Benji, our four legged storyteller who stayed home this time, thinks about it all is perhaps best shown by a photograph worth more than a thousand words. Feathers are flying everywhere, the pillow paid the price of our separation, and it seems that during those ten days, he really missed me after all.
Croatian version bellow
Novi korak u međunarodnoj suradnji KroNlanda
Udruga Kronland iz Hrvatske već godinama razvija i provodi europske projekte usmjerene na umjetnost, edukaciju, zajednicu i međunarodnu suradnju. Paralelno s djelovanjem udruge, u Nizozemskoj djeluje i naša sestrinska organizacija, Stichting KroNland Transflorium, koju su, kao i hrvatsku udrugu, osnovali Ben Vos i Sandra Drnić.
Ovoga proljeća dogodio se važan korak u našem međunarodnom djelovanju — po prvi put nizozemska zaklada Stichting KroNland Transflorium preuzela je ulogu host organizacije u Erasmus+ projektu. Riječ je o suradnji s hrvatskom udrugom „Tko se boji sutra još?“ iz Vukovara, čiji su sudionici kroz desetodnevni boravak u Nizozemskoj upoznavali različite modele socijalnih reformi, inkluzije i rada u zajednici.
Flevo Zon i prvi susret s nizozemskim modelom skrbi
Naše studijsko putovanje započelo je posjetom organizaciji Flevo Zon u Lelystadu, koja više od 20 godina pruža 24-satnu skrb osobama s poteškoćama u ponašanju i smanjenom mogućnošću samostalnog života.
Flevo Zon je jedna od približno 1350 inkluzivnih farmi koliko ih danas postoji u Nizozemskoj. Takav sustav razvija se još od 1970-ih godina i danas predstavlja važan dio nizozemskog pristupa mentalnom zdravlju, socijalnoj skrbi i rehabilitaciji.
Nakon posjeta napravili smo kratku pauzu na obližnjoj livadi i nagradili se mentalnom okrjepom — sedmominutnim tai chijem. Tjedan intenzivnih iskustava tek je bio pred nama.
Mentalno osvježeni krenuli smo u obilazak Lelystada, grada izgrađenog na prostoru nekadašnjeg morskog dna. Upravo je Lelystad sjedište hrvatsko-nizozemske zaklade Stichting KroNland Transflorium pa je ovo bila savršena prilika za istraživanje biciklističkih staza, parkova i zelenih površina koje ovom gradu daju poseban mir.
Almere, sport i zajedništvo
Drugog dana posjetili smo Almere, najveći grad regije Flevoland, gdje su nas dočekali naši domaćini Fenke, Tobi i Isis.
Kroz aktivnosti organizacije Inside Outside Sport imali smo priliku vidjeti koliko sport može imati važnu ulogu u terapijskom pristupu osobama s autizmom, Down sindromom i drugim mentalnim poteškoćama. Fokus, disciplina, prilagodba i ustrajnost ovdje nisu samo sportske vrijednosti nego i alati osobnog razvoja.
Posebno mjesto zauzima biciklizam — simbol ravnoteže, slobode i kretanja naprijed.
Na farmi su nas dočekale i znatiželjne alpake, a kroz igru, razgovor i sport osmijesi su postajali sve veći. Posebno nas je iznenadila činjenica da se ovakav oblik terapije kroz prirodu i sport u Nizozemskoj može dobiti i kroz preporuku liječnika opće prakse.
Da Vinci College i Challenge Up radionica
Nakon Almerea krenuli smo prema Dordrechtu u posjet dugogodišnjim partnerima Stichtinga KroNland Transflorium — Da Vinci College Dordrecht.
Ondje nas je dočekao nastavnik Dirk Jan Drost, s kojim smo surađivali na našem prvom Erasmus+ projektu About Green, kroz koji su članovi Udruge Kronland i profesori sisačkih strukovnih škola učili o zelenim radnim vještinama, zelenoj arhitekturi i gradnji tiny kuće od prirodnih materijala.
Ovoga puta izazov je bio praktičan — svih petnaest žena okušalo se u radu s Makita alatom i izradi vlastitog drvenog dekorativnog predmeta. Bio je to pravi Challenge Up trenutak, pun smijeha, koncentracije i međusobnog ohrabrivanja.
Keukenhof — more tulipana
Put nas je dalje vodio prema gradu Lisse i svjetski poznatom festivalu tulipana Keukenhof.
Ni fotografije ni priče ne mogu dočarati osjećaj kada se čovjek nađe usred nepreglednih polja tulipana crvenih, žutih, ružičastih i narančastih boja. Vožnja uz cvjetna polja gotovo vas poziva na tišinu — boje, mirisi i priroda stvaraju prizor koji ostaje dugo u sjećanju.
Werf’s Job i život na “new landu”
Za kraj studijskog putovanja vratili smo se ponovno u Lelystad, gdje nas je čekao posjet organizaciji Werf’s Job — drvnoj pilani i socijalnom radnom okruženju u kojem rade osobe s intelektualnim i mentalnim poteškoćama, slijepe i slabovidne osobe te osobe koje žive s multiplom sklerozom.
Dočekali su nas otvorena srca, pokazali svoje radne procese, vrt hortenzija i svakodnevni život zajednice koja svojim radom opskrbljuje velik dio Flevolanda drvnim ogrjevom.
Nakon Werf’s Joba nastavili smo istraživati Lelystad — grad u kojem je Cornelis Lely “pregradio more” i stvorio novi komad zemlje, takozvani new land. Dio sudionika posjetio je muzej Batavialand, dok su drugi uživali u Batavia Stad outlet centru.
Dan smo završili u restoranu La Plaza, uz pogled na nizozemsko more i razgovore o svemu što smo tijekom ovog putovanja naučili i doživjeli.
Završetak u Amsterdamu
Posljednji dan proveli smo u kampu Buytenplaets Suydersee, gdje su bili smješteni sudionici projekta i volonteri Stichtinga KroNland Transflorium. Ondje su Ben Vos i Sandra Drnić održali prezentaciju projekta TRANSFLORIUM i razgovarali o važnosti daljnjeg razvoja socijalnih reformi i međunarodne suradnje između Hrvatske i Nizozemske.
A onda se napokon dogodio i Amsterdam.
Grad kanala, brodova, bicikala, mirisa i energije koju je teško opisati riječima. Uživali smo u vožnji brodom, Dutch pancakesima i svemu onome što Amsterdam uvijek iznova pruža — osjećaj slobode, različitosti i otvorenosti prema svijetu.
Ovo putovanje nije nam donijelo samo nova znanja o socijalnim reformama i inkluziji. Donijelo nam je nova prijateljstva, iskustva i podsjetnik koliko zajedništvo, priroda i otvorenost prema drugima mogu mijenjati društvo, ali i nas same.
A što o svemu misli Benji, naš četveronožni storyteller koji je ovoga puta ipak ostao doma, možda najbolje govori fotografija koja vrijedi više od tisuću riječi. Perje leti na sve strane, jastuk je platio cijenu rastanka, a čini se da sam mu tijekom ovih deset dana ipak jako nedostajala.
