Land of butter, pigs and eggs

Imagine yourself walking through a village in the province of Drenthe, some two hundred years ago. Most houses around you are unmistakably farms. The residents keep cows, sheep, horses, pigs and chickens. Near the farms you will find the brink, Dutch for village common or green, where the farmers gather their cattle before taking them to graze on the pastures. Some animals are drinking water from the dobbe, a water pool. In the background, the guests of the inn can be heard laughing, and from the blacksmith's workshop there is the rhythmic sound of steel on steel. There are vegetable gardens and small orchards in the village. A little further on you will discover the pasture for the cows, the hay meadows, the heaths for the sheep and the forest for the necessary wood for fire and construction. But the main thing is the arable land. There, the farmers mainly grow winter and summer rye. 

When you return to the village fifty years later, a lot has changed. Many farmers now specialize in butter making, pig fattening or egg production. Also, a lot of small farms have sprung up in the meantime, with peasants owning no more than one horse, a few cows and some fattening pigs. Apart from rye, farmers are now also focusing on growing potatoes. The farms themselves are also changing: wealthier farmers increasingly switch to living in greater luxury. They build beautiful stone houses in front of the wooden original ones, with stylishly furnished living rooms and colourful ornamental gardens. Weddings still take place in the barn and the kitchen. That hasn't changed – yet. Family and close friends get the best seats. As a distant friend you will have to make do with a place in the barn.