Ekke Atsma: “Adventure farmer” Elahuizen boasts a large number of farms, including ‘stelp’ type farms. With these types of farms, the home and barn are both located under a single, large roof, the ‘stolp’, or ‘stjelp’ as it’s called in Frisian. A totally unique ‘stelp’ type farm is Ygawolde Zathe, owned and run by the Atsma family and located on the Wâldwei. It is unique for several reasons… To begin with, the farm, erected in the late 17th century, still possesses many of the original features, including a 19th century dairy room below two-thirds of the home. The occupants made their own cheese and butter in this cool space until around 1900. To avoid as much radiation from the sun as possible, most

farmhouses face the northwest. This is not the case with Ygawolde Zathe, which faces the southeast and the sunny street. To keep the dairy farm cool, two chestnut trees and a beech tree were planted (many farms to have linden trees out front for the shade they provide). The dairy room at Ygawolde Zathe is still intact, as is the room just above it, used for entertaining “Sunday guests”. The farm stopped producing dairy products around 1910, when the new cooperative dairy factory in the village was established.

Dairy Factory Converted to Water Sports Complex

The scaling-up of farming in Friesland continued at a rapid pace. In 1961, the farmers of Elahuizen and surroundings closed the factory and starting transporting milk to a much larger dairy factory - not by boat or a tractor-trailer combination, but by tanker. The milk churns disappeared from the street scene, though the Elahuizen Dairy Factory remained standing. It was converted into group facilities, a sailing school and a restaurant. One farmer still goes there, however: Ekke Atsma. But he doesn’t bring a drop of milk with him; he brings…. guests!

Farmer and Entertainer

Ygawolde Zathe is unique, as is its farmer. Ekke Atsma still runs a traditional Frisian farm, possibly the only one in The Netherlands. He uses real Frisian shire horses and old-fashioned agricultural equipment. He has opened his farm to groups and for group activities, including ‘fierljeppen’ (pole vaulting - the long jump instead of the high jump), milking and excursions. “ I organize a lot of outdoor activities, not only in and around the farm, but also in the woods. The State Forest Service has granted me three hectares of Gaasterland woods for a variety of recreational and educational activities, like the ‘Chop with Ekke’ programme.”

Companies, clubs and tourist groups can help Ekke on the farm or go to the woods with him - by horse and carriage of course. And anyone interested in throwing a party or country wedding in his authentic barn is permitted to use the entire barn, up to the hayloft! All in all, it is worth the while to come hitch a horse to carriage with Ekke Atsma...