Our Project

Our story

Hof vErde is a cross-generational farm project in the heart of Franconia—and at the same time a place under transformation.

Over the years, the Schmidtlein family farm had been used less and less for agriculture. When Lilly, the youngest generation of the family, moved back into her grandparents’ house in 2018, she quickly realized that this place still had so much life in it! Together with our long-time family friend Cori, she began to revive the farm and its land step by step in the spring of 2019. Lilly and Cori thus opened a new chapter in the history of the farm: from conventional, stagnant agriculture to a thriving, vibrant, and sustainable place full of diversity, encounters, and new ideas.

The old family farm became Hof vErde—a place that combines regenerative agriculture with education, culture, and social interaction. A farm that is rooted in the region while remaining open to exchange, new ideas, and shared learning. At its core, Hof vErde stands for ecologically sustainable living in community and in harmony with our environment. Based on this philosophy, another equally important pillar has emerged in recent years alongside the agricultural business: our non-profit association work. Since the official founding of our non-profit association vErde regenerativ e.V. in January 2025, we have been bundling our educational and community activities under this umbrella. These include workshops, learning opportunities for young and old, and international educational projects – among others, within the framework of Erasmus+. Here we create spaces for encounter, knowledge exchange, and personal development.

We therefore see agriculture not only as the production of food, but also as a field of learning and experience for climate activism, responsibility, and community action. In this way, the farm business and the non-profit association work hand in hand—supported by shared values that find a home here under the roof of Hof vErde.

Successes to date

A major milestone was the transition from conventional farming to ecologically responsible, regenerative agriculture. We stopped using pesticides, reduced the number of machines, and began to think in terms of cycles. We made a conscious decision not to seek organic certification. This was not because we reject ecological standards—on the contrary, we value the work of both organic and conventional farms. However, our syntropic agroforestry approach is based on different fundamental principles. Instead of input criteria, we focus on living processes, soil structure, and system development. This approach cannot be clearly classified within existing certification systems. Thanks to this work, our large field in Unterschöllenbach (affectionately known as “Uschi”) has been transformed from a sandy desert into a thriving, green permaculture and agroforestry paradise in recent years!

We continuously improve our soil through mulching, green manure, and humus formation with biomass. Mixed crops, flowering meadows, and deadwood hedges promote biodiversity. We are constantly trying out new ideas on test plots and learning more every year. With a colorful variety of vegetables from our market garden, we have been able to supply not only ourselves but also our local community with fresh, nutrient-rich food for many years now.

In 2022, we began establishing a syntropic agroforestry system, which we have been gradually expanding every year since then. This is creating a multi-layered, resilient cultivation system on our field in Uschi that builds soil, strengthens biodiversity, and produces healthy food for us and the region.

So much has also happened and grown on a social level: In recent years, we have been joined by over 150 international volunteers. People from Germany, Europe, and all over the world came to live, learn, and work with us. This exchange continues to shape our everyday life on the farm to this day.

In January 2025, we finally founded our non-profit association vErde regenerativ e.V.. Since then, we have been pooling our educational work and charitable initiatives there, creating a solid framework for carrying our vision of regenerative agriculture, lively learning, and value-oriented cooperation beyond the boundaries of our farm in the long term.

Our goals

In the coming years, our focus will clearly be on further developing our syntropic agriculture. We want to maintain and see the existing systems flourish, integrate new areas, and develop stable, multi-layered agroforestry structures that build soil, promote biodiversity, and produce healthy food.

An important part of this is also the processing and marketing of our syntropic products. We want to show that regenerative agriculture is not only ecologically sound, but can also be economically viable. We want our harvest to increasingly find its way to people in the form of high-quality, regionally marketed products – transparent, honest, and with a clear story behind each product.

At the same time, our non-profit association work remains a central pillar of our project and will continue to be expanded in the future. Through educational formats, workshops, and international Erasmus+ projects, we want to continue to offer learning spaces for young people and adults who want to explore topics such as regenerative agriculture, climate protection, community, and sustainable living. Cross-border exchange and collaborative learning will remain just as important to us as the work in the field.

In the long term, we also dream of converting our old barns into a cultural and accommodation barn and a seminar room. A place for encounters, events, and learning together—firmly rooted in the region and open to new ideas.

But one step at a time.

Our focus is on agriculture that regenerates—and a community that grows with it.