Zsámboki Biokert, Author at Agricultural and Rural Convention

Hungary | Hands on the Land to Grow Alternatives for Humanity

July 10, 2026 Zsámboki Biokert

Welcome back to Zsámboki Biokert, a market garden and alternative learning space, located close to Budapest. Young trainees flock here to learn how to work with nature and grow nutrient dense food. This knowledge-sharing is part of a broader strategy of resilience – for young people in pursuit of meaningful lifestyles grounded in wellbeing, but also for the farm team and wider community. When overwhelmed by the scale of the challenges, collective advocacy for agroecology can be a coping technique. A letter from the farm by Logan Strenchock. […]

Letter From A Future Farmer | Rethinking The Farm From The Ground Up

July 12, 2024 Zsámboki Biokert

For Matthew Hayes, a flying visit to Groundswell 2024, the UK annual festival for regenerative agriculture, provides a brief period off the farm in mid-season, and a moment for reflection. There he visits his son Kristof, who is forging his own path in the regen ag space. It’s a solid grounding in shared values that led this farmer’s son to give agriculture another go – on his own terms. A father and son letter by Kristof and Matthew Hayes […]

Rural Europe Takes Action | Creating Alternatives, Creating Community

July 25, 2022 Zsámboki Biokert

In June 2022, together with Forum Synergies, ARC2020 launched a book: “Rural Europe Takes Action – No more business as usual”. We’re spotlighting its stories of rural action and key messages for policymakers through a series of extracts.

In this extract, we are introduced to Cargonomia, a cargo bike delivery service and community collective based in Budapest. […]

Letter From The Farm | Investing In The Future

February 11, 2022 Zsámboki Biokert

We’re back on Zsámboki Biokert organic market garden in Hungary, where Matthew and Kata Hayes and the team are taking time to plan for the year ahead. January was a time to reflect on the year gone by, and the conscious effort that the farm is making to invest in the next generation, and to encourage young people to think about our food systems. In these uncertain times for micro-scale farmers, and for farming in general, Covid has driven home the need to build and maintain community and common values, writes Matthew. […]

Letter From The Farm | Rasputin The Ram & The Ethics Of Lamb For Easter Dinner

April 12, 2021 Zsámboki Biokert

We’re back on Zsámbok farm in Hungary, where Matthew, Kata and the team have been doing some deep thinking about the ethics of taking a life as they slaughter their first sheep. The farm is trying to strike a balance between respecting traditions while pursuing sustainability and efficiency, writes Matthew – and learning as they go. […]

Letter From The Farm | Between Hotbeds And The Hungary Gap

February 22, 2021 Zsámboki Biokert

Meet Matthew Hayes, an organic-biodynamic-biointensive farmer originally from the UK, who has lived and farmed in Hungary for the last 25 years. He runs a market garden with his wife Kata in Zsámbok, a village in Pest county to the east of Budapest. In his first Letter From The Farm, Matthew writes about the struggle between light and darkness, the hung(a)ry gap, and lessons in patience. […]