Farm
Erikslunds Trädgård is to be found on a south facing slope a few minutes outside Gnesta, Sweden and its 60,000m2 of rolling hills and rigid clay immediately attracted me and my family to the site. With forest behind and a handful of barns and outbuildings sitting along the ridge, a dream was born and perhaps soon realised of exploration towards a solidarity-based method of cultivation and what an empathetic gastronomy can look like, and indeed taste like.
This method of cultivation is rooted in the philosophy of giving back more than we take. We circulate the suns energy through the plants we grow and refine it into nutrient dense, flavourful and viable raw materials.
Based on research conducted by Artur Granstedt, the Eat Lancet report and more, it comprises a method where the cultivated plants nutritional needs are provided by the farms own resources with no additions from the outside. The research has guided us to divide the land into 7 “shifts” and each year, the crops are moved across these shifts so not to repeatedly grow in the same space gradually depleting the soils but rather ensuring that each plants nutritional needs are met by variation of soils and therefore nutrients. It is this method of rotation that Artur Granstedt has championed, proving that when doing so, one person can live a healthy and nutritious life on what is provided by 2000m2.
Not just a farm and a home, Erikslunds Trädgård will also become a space where knowledge is shared. Based on Studio 2000s world of ideas, insights are shared through intellectual, cultural and sensory experiences. Private individuals and companies are able to book “a day at the farm” here at Erikslunds Trädgård where insights and knowledge surrounding what a place and an alternative agricultural system can provide whilst enjoying food and drinks in abundance that come direct from the Erikslund soil.
The aim is to give our guests an intimate experience of the practice and flavours of agriculture that evoke emotion. You spend the day in the garden sharing thoughts, dishes and knowledge in a unique and alternative dining experience.
This is the start of our journey here at Erikslund. We challenge ourselves based on relevant science, our own experience and what we believe the place wants and needs. Our goal is to develop a deep sensitivity and awareness of nature and our planet and what role we as individuals and our culture should play within it in order to create impactful and long lived change with the starting point being what we have - not what we believe we have the right to and deserve.
Niklas Karlsson + family.
March 2022.
Follow the journey here.
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