Author: Baukje Kleinbekman

  • 11 cities – 200 km IN the water

    11 cities – 200 km IN the water

    I was born and raised in the Frisian province, in the north of the Netherlands. A province famous for it’s dairy, the beautiful Frisian cows and horses, it’s water.  And, of course the incredible 11 cities skating tour of 200km. It has been a while since skating this tour was possible but it is done…

  • Ikigai – a reason for being

    Ikigai – a reason for being

    According to Japanese tradition everyone has an Ikigai, a reason for being. In daily life wording: your Ikigai is the reason you get out of bed in the morning. Since we spend quite some time a day on working, it is great when our work aligns with our reason for being. It gives purpose to…

  • Great things are done by a series of small things brought together – Vincent van Gogh

    Great things are done by a series of small things brought together – Vincent van Gogh

    Coming from Vincent van Gogh we can’t do anything but believe this quote to be true. Also in economics you can observe this to be true. No business has started big. All start with ideas and guts, then trust and determination come into it and trough-out an open mind and observing the world around you…

  • The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences

    The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences

    “So many people live within unhappy circumstances and yet will not take the initiative to change their situation because they are conditioned to a life of security, conformity, and conservatism, all of which may appear to give one peace of mind, but in reality nothing is more damaging to the adventurous spirit within a man…

  • Nieuwmarkt in the snow

    Nieuwmarkt in the snow

    Surely Amsterdam will not have a white Christmas but this comes very close to this feeling. On my way to the supermarket late afternoon I walked along the Christmas tree on the Nieuwmarkt and wanted to take a picture. Since I was not the only one I diverted my attention. And then I saw that…

  • Must read – Teeming by Tamsin Woolley-Barker

    Must read – Teeming by Tamsin Woolley-Barker

    To stay up to date I read a lot of articles and books, but not very often am I so taken by a book that I feel like publicly praising it. Teeming, written by evolutionary biologist Tamsin Woolley-Barker is a grant exception. The book explains how superorganisms work to build infinite wealth and how organizations…

  • Chef’s that work from the source

    Chef’s that work from the source

    In general I find the way chef’s look at food and create new combinations an inspiration. But I get really excited when chef’s use their knowledge to innovate food production. Netflix released a serie about inspirational cooks around the world. The one that stood out for me was Dan Barber in the first series. Next…

  • SheDecides – a movement I support

    SheDecides – a movement I support

    I worked in Ethiopia during the W. Bush period and learned about the impact of the vision of a president in the US on family planning for individual women in countries receiving aid. During that time the Global Gag Rule was in force and it was, so to speak, the butterfly effect at it’s worst. When…

  • Cracking a problem – flowing honey

    Cracking a problem – flowing honey

    In my work I enjoy deducting a problem in such a way that the solution seems obvious. It excites me even more when I see the result of peoples ‘this should be solved’ attitude. An invention that has made it to my to do list (when I have a garden) is the Flow Hive. Invented…