Mill Volunteers in Landsmeer

27 October 2025

Noortje Hubner, volunteer photographer at Zoomlab Amsterdam, took a series of photos in and around the Twiskemolen in Landsmeer in May. This mill is entirely managed by volunteers; even the miller is a volunteer.100% voluntaryMarcel Koop is a volunteer miller. He lives in the mill with his wife. There are also a number of mill volunteers who learn the tricks of the trade from Marcel and people who come to do odd jobs every week. Five times a year, a group of about twenty volunteers come to help with nature and maintenance tasks. Even between these workdays, groups of volunteers sometimes come to do a special job. The websitewww.twiskemolen.nlis also maintained by a volunteer. This is how volunteers keep the Twiskemolen running!

Because my wife has an income, we can do this. Everyone is happy about it!

UpgraderThe Twiskemolen is a monumental windmill combined with an electric pumping station that drains the 650-hectare Twiskepolder. Among the many types of old windmills in the Netherlands, the Twiskemolen is an octagonal thatched-roof mill with an interior cap. This mill is one of the few polder mills in the Netherlands that is still actively in operation. Marcel tries to use the wind as much as possible to maintain the water level in the Twiskepolder.Recreation, nature & educationIn addition, the mill and the surrounding estate are a recreational area. There is a vegetable garden, orchard, barn, goat meadow, and stable. Surrounding them is the mill biotope: a nature reserve managed in collaboration with Landscape Management North Holland, where the land goats graze, where there is a pond with amphibians, and rare plants grow. The miller regularly welcomes students from grades 7 and 8. They receive a tour in and around the mill, participate in a mill quiz, and build their own mill.HelpWould you like to help out at this windmill too? You can do this as a group. Gather some friends or colleagues and get in touch with Marcel. See [link].www.twiskemolen.nl

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