Fist & Fern is a small webshop selling handmade soap and other unique products, while aiming to support activism for social and climate justice. 20% of the sales price of each product will be donated to selected mutual aid projects. https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/ MijnWebwinkel RSS 2.0 Feed v1.0 https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/ https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/ Fist & Fern is a small webshop selling handmade soap and other unique products, while aiming to support activism for social and environmental justice. 20% of the sales price of each product will be donated to selected mutual aid projects as described on the page Support the Resistance. This shop is still under development and new products will be added over time. Please check back again or follow us on Instagram or Facebook for updates. https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7536303/artisan-soap/ https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7536303/artisan-soap/ Fist & Fern artisan soaps are made with natural ingredients and lots of love. The soaps are gentle and nourishing. The wonderful, unique scents of essential oils are meant to make you happy, energize, and inspire. https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7543620/shampoo-bar/ https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7543620/shampoo-bar/ The Fist & Fern shampoo bar with conditioner is a favorite. This bar has ondergone a long development and testing phase to find the best balance between sustainable ingredients and an end product that is nourishing for your hair. https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7543623/soap-holders/ https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7543623/soap-holders/ These soap holders are not just incredibly beautiful, but also functional. They allow your piece of soap to dry well so that it will last extra long. https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7536306/lavender-eye-pillows/ https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7536306/lavender-eye-pillows/ These lavender eye pillows are wonderful to help you relax after a busy day, at the end of a yoga session, or before going to sleep. The soft pressure of the flax seed filling, the delightful scent of the lavender flowers, and the natural coolness of the fabric will certainly ease your mind. You can release fresh scent from the flowers by moving and rubbing the filling through the fabric. https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7647979/cards/ https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7647979/cards/ These cards are reproductions of original cyanotypes that I made based on plants and trees from my own yard and my neighborhood. Cyanotype is a sun print technique that was discovered in 1842. Paper (or another material) is treated with a mixture of iron salts, then covered with the object to-be-printed, and exposed to the sun, after which a negative print in blue emerges. https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7723050/accessories/ https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7723050/accessories/ Handmade accessories and patterns with an activist vibe ;) https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7604913/stickers/ https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7604913/stickers/ Free stickers (in Dutch only) of the XR Justice Now! Facts Campaign about the atrocities by Israel in Palestine and the complicity of the Dutch government. Help fill the gap in basic knowledge under the Dutch population by spreading these stickers. https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7546092/about-fist-fern/ https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7546092/about-fist-fern/ Fist & Fern emerged from my previous business Kusala, which I built and ran fulltime for almost 10 years. Old customers will recognize the artisan soaps, shampoo, and lavender eye pillows, even though they have a different look now. Why start again with similar products under a new brand? Fist & Fern is an experiment to combine small entrepreneurship and artisan production with radical activism for social and environmental justice. As some customers might still know, one of the soaps in the Kusala range was the climate soap. For each climate soap sold, I donated €1,50 to Extinction Rebellion. With Fist & Fern, I want to provide similar but more structural support for grassroots movements fighting for a more sustainable and just world. I further explain this on the pages Why To Resist, How To Resist, and About Mutual Aid. And you can find the causes you support when you purchase something in this shop on the page Support the Resistance. At the same time, it means that I won't be doing large-scale production for wholesale anymore and that the products will only be available here in the webshop as direct sale. https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7615947/about-karin/ https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7615947/about-karin/ Have you ever had that nagging feeling that things just don't add up? This feeling has been a driving force in my life. Resisting the persistent pressure to accept certain uneasy narratives about society as truth, I have pursued a more fundamentally critical perspective throughout the various shifts in my career path. Having gained such a perspective over time, and realizing how deeply messed up mainstream society is, it has also become harder to participate as if it's all normal and acceptable... I have now embraced my identity as an activist and an anarchist and my priority is to maximize my commitment to develop and practice these roles. Here's a quick overview of what I have been up to since high school: I got an MSc in biology from the University of Utrecht in the Netherlands (1999) and a PhD in anthropology from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in the US (2012). My dissertation research focused on moral negotiations in conservation and development around a national park in Uganda, a site with an intense history of violent and manipulative neocolonial governance. Not only did my research make me realize that capitalism and colonialism penetrate and corrupt every aspect human life on this planet, but also that universities themselves are intertwined and complicit. With some rare exceptions of relatively free scholarship here and there, universities are generally subservient to capital. Unable to land the prestigious professorship position, in part due to universities using graduate students for cheap labor and ending up overproducing PhDs who compete with each other for increasingly scarce academic job openings, I returned to the Netherlands in 2013 where I had to start again from scratch. Inspired by ideas about self-sufficiency, I made a switch to entrepreneurship, and launched a business called Kusala in 2014 to produce sustainable artisinal soaps using natural and circular ingredients. Between 2019 and 2023, Kusala was based in the circular economy hub BlueCity Rotterdam, where various beautiful collaborations emerged. However, I came to the conclusion that small social entrepreneurship is next to impossible in our harsh capitalist landscape. I decided to end soap production in the fall of 2023, started dismantling Kusala, and commited myself to research and activism for system change. Although I applied for a few jobs with various research institutes, I became increasingly skeptical of the possibility to combine a professional career with a pure pursuit of radical social change, without getting misguided by personal ambitions and/or by the capitalist expectations of employers and funders. This motivated me to apply for and accept a parttime job in financial administration in late spring 2024. Being able to support myself by working three days a week for a job that is fascinating, but doesn't absorb all my time and energy, buys me the freedom to study, write, and organize in whichever way I choose to for the rest of the week. I am a member of the Extinction Rebellion Netherlands: Justice Now! community, and regularly participate in actions by various activist groups for climate and/or social justice, and for a free Palestine. Starting Fist & Fern is an experiment to merge the various components of my background and interests, not just research and activism, but also small social entrepreneurship. As an anarchist, I believe in the importance of self-governance and the spirit and skills of entrepreneurship are incredibly valuable for this purpose. Our dependence on huge international companies that are driven by the pursuit of profits for shareholders, is making us incredibly vulnerable. Small producers have been outcompeted and it is probably not possible to revive them in any serious and healthy way in the current capitalist landscape, but I think we need to keep practicing creativity, self-sufficiency, and artisanship wherever we can, and to do so in ways that serve the pursuit of social and environmental justice in a post-capitalist world. You can read more about my professional trajectory and my reflections on the various obstacles I encountered in the blog post Frustrated Idealisms. You can also find me here on Linkedin. https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7543614/support-the-resistance/ https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7543614/support-the-resistance/ If you want to learn more about the motivations for supporting these types of mutual aid causes, read the pages Why To Resist, How To Resist, and About Mutual Aid. Below are selected mutual aid projects to be supported by Fist & Fern with 20% of the sales in this shop. Donations will be carried out to one or more of these every time €100 has been accumulated. The same cause may receive multiple donations. If you know of causes that could be suitable, please let me know by sending a message to info@fistandfern.nl. SOS Congo: Goma Actif FundraiserThis fundraiser supports Congolese volunteers of Goma Actif who bring food, water, shelter, and medical care to people in North Kivu displaced by rebels. They also bring creativity, moments of joy, sharing, and solidarity. Goma Actif formed in 2020 during the pandemic and has mobilized in Goma area ever since. Goma Actif is not an NGO or an association. It is a collective that spontaneously organizes in responses to challenges facing the city and the communities. They don't have an office or formal administration, but directly address the problems and needs. Go to fundraiser - Website - Instagram Article about Goma Actif The Solidarity CollectiveThis foundation was born out of the pro-Palestine movement in the Netherlands, launched by and for activists who have dedicated themselves to fighting Dutch complicity in Israel's genocide, as well as injustices elsewhere. Observing activists take personal risks, facing police violence, arrests, intimidation, and possible fines, the founders decided that there was a need for more structural financial support and community care. Go to fundraiser - Website - Instagram International Solidarity MovementThis movement was founded in 2001 and aims to strengthen the Palestinian resistance, particularly through the presence of international volunteers alongside Palestinians in West Bank villages that are being attacked by Israeli settlers and soldiers. This presence of foreigners provides some protection against the violence, helps document the crimes of the occupation, and contributes to sharing what is happening to global (social) media. The funds will be used for travel and living expenses for volunteers while in Palestine. Go to fundraiser - Website - Instagram https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7600494/why-to-resist/ https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7600494/why-to-resist/ As an activist, I regularly hear from people that they consider activism so negative. "Can't you do something positive, something more constructive?" This perspective comes from a place of privilege, where people feel like they contribute to a better world by gardening, recycling, and donating to charity every once in a while. For sure, there are wonderful people doing wonderfully positive things in this way, but they tend to ignore the systematic violence by the wealthiest and most powerful people who are holding humanity hostage and who are destroying the planet to serve their insatiable greed. This violence sadly cannot be stopped by creating a beautiful garden or even by people withdrawing from capitalism and trying to live off the land, even though such things could be part of the solution. Ultimately, what we need most is the dismantling of the systems of power and the end of capitalism as the primary force driving humanity off a cliff, turning the planet into a polluted wasteland. People who have been colonized have already known this for hundreds of years and have resisted out of pure necessity and struggle for survival. There is no hunting when the colonizer kills all the bison simply to subjugate you through starvation. There is no subsistence farming when you are dispossessed and displaced because the colonizer wants your land for resources. There is no quality of life when international companies come and destroy forests, pollute the water, build mines, and murder people who dare to stand up against the destruction, theft, and intimidation. The genocide Israel is committing on the Palestinian people, with financial, military, and political support from the US, the UK, and most European countries, has revealed more clearly than ever that international human rights institutions are powerless in the face of capitalist and geopolitical interests of the elites. And although the public opinion of Israel has plummeted worldwide and millions of people have walked in marches, calling on their governments to take action to pressure Israel to end the genocide, there has been zero progress in putting an end to the slaughter of Palestinians, to the horrific videos of shredded, traumatized, and starving Palestinian children that fill our phones every day. While of course the genocide in Palestine is horrific enough to organize and resist, it's also a litmus test for the future of humanity. As climate and ecological breakdown are accelerating and disasters and food insecurity will lead to global chaos and uprisings, the elites have tools and techniques for controlling, terrorizing, and genociding entire populations, tested in Palestine, at their disposal. Whoever actually believes that the insane militarization that is being promoted is for the purpose of our collective safety? Obviously it sounds pretty scary and no fun at all to try to put a stop to the people who pursue these levels of murderous power. No wonder folks would rather focus on picking littered cigarette butts off the street and call it a productive day. But if you're ready to become a real activist, where to even begin? And do we even stand a chance? Check it out on the next page: How To Resist https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7600509/how-to-resist/ https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7600509/how-to-resist/ There are 100s of ways to resist, and I am a big supporter of diversity of tactics, where various approaches can strengthen each other and everyone can find something to contribute that matches their abilities. That said, people tend to have a preference for low risk performative actions that also tend to be the least effective. I have myself joined marches and large blockades in city centers to demand change, and I think these are important forms of activism to draw people in, to organize, to share knowledge, and to practice skills. But it would be naïve to believe it is enough. I am convinced that the most powerful, effective, and promising type of action is "direct action". The anthropologist and anarchist David Graeber defined direct action as "the defiant insistence on acting as if one is already free." This means, instead of appealing to authorities to change something, actually organizing to change it yourself. Direct action means blocking weapons transports to prevent genocide, it means occupying trees to prevent them from getting cut down, it means filling a boat with humanitarian aid and sailing to Gaza to break the siege. Obviously these forms of action are more demanding and they can be more risky, but the more people engage in this way, the easier it becomes. There are already many activist groups doing direct action. And those who are not able to engage in direct action themselves can still provide essential logistical, financial, and moral support to others doing so. Let me emphasize that for many indigenous people worldwide, their very existence is direct action in itself since them literally "holding ground" tends to be in direct conflict with the interests of the capitalist system. Indigenous people have deep connections to ecologically crucial lands worldwide and end up being forced to defend those lands against aggressive capitalist efforts to steal resources. Indigenous land defenders living on the frontlines against extractive industries risk their lives on a daily basis. And not only do they form a physical and legal obstacle to the advancement of capitalism and its insatiable greed, they also keep alive very different cultural views and practices on the place of humans in nature and on social life and responsibilities to fellow human beings. These views and practices may well be a lifeline for the future of humanity. The same goes for many other marginalized people whose very existence is a threat to the capitalist system and who are targeted as a consequence. Transgender people, for example, pose a threat to the hypermasculinity associated with white supremacy and the escalation of capitalism into fascism. When I use the word "activist", it is intended to also include all the people who practice resistance by existing. However, this immediately reveals a painful tension, namely the one of privilege, with some practicing activism as a choice and others practicing activism as pure necessity, as a means to survive. It's important for those of us belonging to the first group to recognize our privilege and to be reflective on the most respectful and effective ways to practice solidarity with the second group. Now from this it already becomes obvious that direct action doesn't automatically involve civil disobedience, i.e. breaking the law as part of protest. Simply existing usually doesn't break any laws (but let's not forget that some people are considered and treated as "illegals"). However, since direct action challenges business as usual and the assumption that capitalist interests have the right of way, the reaction to it can be extremely violent. Indigenous people living their lives in a place with resources that are desired by outsiders are not doing anything illegal, but they often face severe intimidation, violence, and legal challenges to their rights, backed by big capital. Similarly, the Freedom Flotilla sailing to Gaza with humanitarian aid, aiming to break the siege, is in its right to move through international waters. However, Israel illegally attacks the boats, abducts the activists, and has even murdered ten activists on a Freedom Flotilla boat in 2010. Civil disobedience can certainly be part of direct action, especially when it means breaking certain laws that are either immoral (e.g. challenging segregation that is legally enshrined) or breaking laws to stop greater crimes from happening (e.g. destroying weapons factories complicit in war crimes). Civil disobedience is also often used as a powerful tool to appeal to authorities to change their ways, which per definition is not direct action. This is a very common form of activism, particularly by people who still believe that centralized governance could be made benign, to work for the people instead of for capital. When XR activists block roads in city centers and refuse to leave until they are dragged away by police, they are using civil disobedience to demand their government to do something about climate breakdown. XR and other similar groups like Just Stop Oil and Letzte Generation have definitely made tremendous contributions to reviving and building activist communities, and they have provoked intense public discussions about the climate and about activism, but they usually appeal to power more so than take action on issues themselves. While I think this style of civil disobedience does have a valuable role in the activist landscape, I believe direct action can be much more powerful, and activists should reflect much more on the strategic differences and on the ways they shape the outcome. After all, appealing to an authority that is complicit in maintaining the status quo means you recognize the power of that authority. And you become vulnerable to distraction and delays by empty promises of government action, such as declaring a climate emergency, after which nothing actually happens. Taking charge to solve a problem yourself means you are not only doing something concrete, you are also challenging the existing system of power. And isn't that ultimately what we want? To break that system down so that we can create more egalitarian and just forms of social organization? I already mentioned that direct action can face extremely violent reactions. Actually, different types of protest and/or groups that engage in them, which are considered threatening to the status quo, have been severely criminalized over the past years. Prominent climate and pro-Palestine activists have been targeted by intense police surveillance, harassment, and arrests, as well as court cases and imprisonment. The most recent example, of course, is the British government proscribing Palestine Action as a terrorist organization, based on their actions of sabotage against weapons factories and a Royal Air Force base to damage or spray red paint on equipment used in the genocide. Being active for Palestine Action or even just expressing support for the group could now lead to a prison sentence of up to 14 years. While the repression of activism, as has happened particularly clearly in the US, the UK, and Germany lately, can be seen as a measure of success of such activism, it of course does mean that some individuals end up paying a very high price for their pursuit of justice. It also leads to the question of how to respond to such repression and how to move forward. Getting all activists imprisoned is obviously not a smart move, and thus, strategies will need to be developed to become more stealthy. I think it is crucial that we keep building and strengthening global and local activist networks of solidarity to provide each other with moral, logistical, and financial support in the process of resistance and any consequences that may arise. This is why I would like to use a percentage of the revenue generated through Fist & Fern for mutual aid to activists on the frontlines worldwide. Read more on the next page: About Mutual Aid https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7600527/about-mutual-aid/ https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7600527/about-mutual-aid/ "Mutual aid is the radical act of caring for each other while working to change the world." Dean Spade (2020) in Mutual Aid: Building Solidarity During This Crisis (and the Next)Mutual Aid is a term that was popularized by the Russian anarchist Peter Kropotkin, particularly through his well-known collection of essays of 1902 called "Mutual Aid: A Factor of Evolution". He wrote it in reaction to social Darwinists who fixated on the importance of "the struggle for existence" or "survival of the fittest", i.e. competition for resources between individuals, as a force of evolution, even though Darwin himself recognized that this was a misleading oversimplification. Social Darwinists thought that life's purpose is to aggressively compete for resources and for mates in order to procreate, and that those successful in hoarding resources represent higher stages of human evolution. This wildly misrepresents the theory of evolution, but it has been a widely used justification for violent greed at the expense of others. Through an elaborate review of animal and human behavior, Kropotkin demonstrated that solidarity between individuals of a species is an immensely important factor for enhancing chances for survival and the quality of life more broadly. In our current capitalist societies, we are strongly conditioned to be individualistic and expect social services to be centrally organized by the state. However, when disasters strike and governments fail to provide swift and adequate help, people quickly shift to take charge themselves, immediately creating logistical networks for helping each other. This is when it becomes crystal clear how instinctive practicing mutual aid actually is, and how we have gotten out of shape, but can rather easily pick it back up again. Common examples of mutual aid include these types of community-led crisis responses, as well as community gardens, child care collectives, and free stores. Mutual aid is generally discouraged by the state as it undermines its power, it means the state loses control over a situation. So it becomes obvious that mutual aid is also a form of direct action - practicing solidarity between human beings instead of relying on social services organized by the government. And in this way, mutual aid also works to change the world, to reduce dependence on an authoritarian entity and to work towards more egalitarian social organization through solidarity. It is crucial to distinguish mutual aid from charity. Most importantly, charity is part of the capitalist system and reinforces this system, while mutual aid works to undermine it. Charity is top-down, unidirectional, and often conditional, while mutual aid aims to be egalitarian, reciprocal, and participatory, based on self-organization and self-governance. There are quite a few discussions online about the term mutual aid being diluted and too easily applied to people providing goods and services to other people in need, practices that are considered to be unidirectional and fail to challenge the structures that create the situation of need in the first place. While it's important to avoid supporting structures of power when you are really aiming to challenge them, I would caution against taking the term "mutual" too literally by assuming that it can only be mutual aid if the other person is able to reciprocate something of similar value. This goes against the unconditional nature of mutual aid that refuses to keep score, recognizing that helping each other can come in many many different forms that cannot always be recognized or quantified. I think that there is actually a simple way to determine whether something is mutual aid, namely through this well-known quote: “If you have come here to help me you are wasting your time, but if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.” Aboriginal activist group, Queensland, 1970s. Mutual aid in activist communitiesExamples of mutual aid often focus on local communities, but this doesn't have to be the case. There can be mutual aid within communities where members are physically dispersed but connected through shared identity, experiences, and/or values. An example could be an online forum for people suffering from a particular disease, where they share knowledge and experiences on medical, psychological, and social aspects. For the purpose of Fist & Fern, I will consider national and international networks of activists fighting for a sustainable and just world as a community. In this community, we help each other in various ways: by sharing information, skills, and experiences; by supporting each other's actions on social media; by taking on various key roles during actions that aim to protect the participants; by providing arrestee and court support for activists arrested and/or taken to court; and by providing financial support for activists in need. As I mentioned on the page Why To Resist, quite many people consider activism to be something rather negative - activists are seen to fight against rather than for something, activists are considered loud and disruptive. However, these people generally have no idea what goes on in activist communities behind the scenes. Not only are there lots and lots of meetings to strategize, to train, and/or to socialize, there are structures, values, and shared practices to guide the ways we collaborate. Activism isn't just disruptive resistance, it involves community building and practicing what we preach as much as possible. While I am personally involved in the activist community in various ways, through Fist & Fern, I primarily aim to provide financial support for activist mutual aid causes. Let's check out some of these causes on Support the Resistance. https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7543617/blog/ https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7543617/blog/ PATHWAYS TO SOCIAL & ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE IN A POST-CAPITALIST WORLDJUMP TO BLOG POSTSIntroduction Humanity is at a crossroads. Most people still don't realize the significance of Israel's genocide on the Palestinian people and the complicity of most Western governments, in terms of what it has revealed and unleashed. Why are we unable to put a stop of this horrific slaughter of a people, the endless murder, traumatization, and starvation of children, the deliberate torture of civilians, and the complicity of our own governments using our tax money to support Israel instead of instating a total boycott on this genocidal state? We are being held hostage by the relentlessly destructive and violent greed of the world’s elites, who stop at nothing to control the narrative, to silence dissent, and to block uprisings. All over the world, they are beating up and locking up protesters, they are strengthening laws to imprison activists for years, they are sending cops to military training camps in Israel, and they are boosting the military industrial complex to new heights. In the meantime, the escalation of climate crises is bound to lead to complete chaos, complete breakdown of the world’s systems. While it is all already horrifcally disastrous, it will definitely get much worse. That doesn't mean we can't still hit the brakes. In order to do so, however, we will need to get real very fast. The burning question is, will we allow ourselves to be herded-in under totalitarian fascist control, or will we seize any opportunity to challenge status quo and choose another path, to live in true solidarity with each other and with the planet? I think we need to decisively commit to nothing less than the dismantling of capitalism and put a stop to the associated colonial theft of land and resources, the exploitation of people for labor and consumption, and the oppression or extermination of anyone getting in the way. We need to stop treading cautiously, stop assuming that we can reason with the aggressors, or that we can save the world with better policies for human rights and the environment. We have seen that none of that is working. October 7th has caused the masks to fall off and it has become extremely clear just how much violence can be unleashed onto civilian populations, onto children, with no one either willing or able to stop it. So what are we going to do about it? First and foremost, many, many more people need to become aware and enraged. Secondly, we need to be critical of our strategies and be imaginative and creative to find new ways to do activism that is surprising, destabilizing, and wonderful all at once. Thirdly, we need the same imagination and creativity, as well as persistance against cooptation, to form and embrace new (or perhaps old) ways of human organization, and to break with the state structures that have historically been deeply intertwined with capitalist & colonial agenda’s. And fourthly, we need to establish structures of deep solidarity between liberation movements to exchange information and skills, as well as financial and moral support. This includes taking the responsibility to educate ourselves and each other about the various ways colonized, enslaved, and oppressed people have resisted and organized, most of all by reading the work of BIPOC activists and scholars. It is my mission to contribute to these four aims and I hope to do so, in part, through this blog. I have currently posted a few older posts that I have originally written in 2023-2024, and new work is in the making. BLOG POSTS I wrote this true story back in spring 2005, based on an excursion I had made the preceding summer during three months of fieldwork deep into the forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo (the fieldwork was already deep into the forest, the excursion went even deeper). I had traveled to the area to study bonobos, also called pygmy chimps, as part of my PhD studies in biological anthropology through the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. I dug up this story because it can give us a tiny yet valuable glimpse into the lives of Congolese people in a remote area in the center of the country. It is also an opportunity to help shed light on the ongoing contemporary atrocities in the DRC, driven by a long history of foreign capitalist greed. Originally written spring 2005; posted here with small edits and a new introduction & afterword on 14 November 2025 In the past years, every time I planned to join a climate action, I asked myself whether I could do something creative beyond writing an improvised sign with marker on a shoddy piece of cardboard in the train on the way to the event, but I never found the time or inspiration. I consider artivism not just a valuable way to strengthen a social movement, but also as resistance against those capitalist forces pushing us all into the straightjacket of obedient, productive, and mindless consumerism and citizenship. So as soon as I found a window of time, I did some research and got creative at home for the next climate action! In this blog post, I describe my recent experiences building a big paper-mâché vampire head and making a protest sign, with practical tips. Originally published 21 February 2024; reposted here on 9 August 2025 ​​Ever since I started joining climate protests, I have been intrigued by the role of visuals and creative actions. Activists regularly come up with funny costumes, crazy constructions, beautifully made signs, and catchy slogans. Sometimes there is even a choreographed performance or a band singing protest songs. All this creativity adds strength to the movement, for example by conveying a sense of urgency, pointing to outrageous power relations, or revealing how ridiculous things we take for granted can be, doing so in ways that really grabs the attention. Such combinations of art and activism are often referred to as artivism. In this blog post, I discuss artivism and share some inspiring examples and helpful resources. Originally published 21 February 2024; reposted here on 9 August 2025 In January 2023, I learned that the Hoeksche Waard municipality wanted to cut down 13 large ash trees in a street in my village. Unconvinced of the need for the felling, over the course of that year, I filed an objection, submitted a request for a preliminary injunction (VOVO) to the court, spoke with tree experts, politicians, and the media, hired a lawyer, commissioned a second opinion, and attended a hearing before the appeals committee. This is a comprehensive account of my experiences to inform others who are also trying to do this, but unfortunately, it also reveals that the appeals process is largely a sham, and that citizens are sidelined as much as possible. Originally published 12 January 2024; reposted here on 14 August 2025 Apart from the shorter blurb about myself in About Karin, I want to get a little bit more real here and share some of my struggles throughout my professional trajectory. My CV may seem fascinating and somewhat impressive, or so I have heard, but the format hides a path filled with frustrations and rejections in my efforts to pursue a meaningful career. We don't often talk about these things, because we feel shame in failure and rejection. My career illustrates how difficult it is to find your path when you are critical about the ways societal problems are analyzed and managed. Originally published 11 August 2023; revised, updated & reposted here on 9 August 2025 https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7711139/an-excursion-in-congo-s-forest/ https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7711139/an-excursion-in-congo-s-forest/ Originally written spring 2005; posted here with small edits and a new introduction & afterword on 14 November 2025 Introduction I wrote this true story back in spring 2005, based on an excursion I had made the preceding summer during three months of fieldwork deep into the forest in the Democratic Republic of Congo (the fieldwork was already deep into the forest, the excursion went even deeper). I had traveled to the area to study bonobos, also called pygmy chimps, as part of my PhD studies in biological anthropology through the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, and was a guest researcher at the field site in Salonga National Park, set up and run by a foreign research institute. The field site itself was 25 kilometers from the nearest village and, during my time there, we were five researchers (three white foreigners and two Congolese from Kinshasa), usually supported by a rotating crew of around five men from the village working as guide or cook. Since the village was far away and we only passed it briefly twice, on our way in and out, my interactions with the locals primarily concerned the men working at the site, most of us speaking in broken French. As may become apparent from this text, I became increasingly interested in the people, their culture, the colonial and neocolonial history, and the context and local effects of the field site, which would later result in a rather drastic change in my focus of study. I dug up this story because I think it can give us a tiny yet valuable glimpse into the lives of Congolese people in a remote area in the center of the country. It is also an opportunity to help shed light on the ongoing contemporary atrocities in the DRC, driven by a long history of foreign capitalist greed, severely underreported and much less visible on social media than those happening in Palestine. Please see the afterword at the end for more reflections. All names in this story have been changed to protect people’s identities. An excursion in Congo’s forest My backpack was way too heavy, but I considered everything inside as absolutely essential. I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to keep up, that yet again I would be the one lagging behind. Ellen and Jack claimed that I was in a much better shape than two months before and that I surely wouldn’t have any problems walking 20 kilometers with a heavy load on my back. I still had some doubts. Ellen and I would walk to Ntaku, an open space in the forest with a large water body, where we would set up our tents and stay for two nights. It was impossible to ignore this opportunity, as Ntaku was known as a drinking spot for many large mammals, an excellent wildlife viewing area. But I was hesitant to leave the relative safety of the campsite for such an expedition, to leave the well-marked trails in the forest of the study area where we now recognized every fallen tree, every broken branch and every curve, to trade it for two uncomfortable nights in unfamiliar surroundings. It would become a nightmare if someone would break a leg or step on a poisonous snake. Jack had suggested that we should take Alongi as our guide, that it would enhance his status towards the other guys working for the project. I had previously experienced Alongi’s temperament while working with him in the forest, but after a couple of his nasty jokes and tricks it seemed that we actually started to get along quite well. Now he even called me his “petite soeur”, his little sister. And I by far preferred him over his younger brother Menga, who didn’t speak much French and who was often sleepy, or laughing his head off about something funny that he refused to share with us. Alongi was much more alert and would be better at keeping us away from the elephants that could sometimes mysteriously appear without nearly the noise you’d expect from such huge creatures in a dense forest. It would be four of us, as Boboto was coming too. I used to call Boboto “the singing cook”. He sometimes prepared our meals when both our regular cooks were unavailable. It was clear that he enjoyed the work more than anyone else. He was never annoyed by our requests for roasted peanuts or fried bananas and he sang beautifully and cheerfully, filling the camp with a happy atmosphere, bringing a smile on everyone’s face. And he always called Ellen and me if he spotted the black mangabey that so often hung around in the trees near the campsite. Boboto was just a very friendly guy. So this morning we would be on our way. Alongi seemed somewhat nervous and he started to shout at Boboto for not dividing up the stuff they needed to carry equally between their backpacks. There was a lot of laughter when the guys tried to decide whether one was heavier or not. Apparently there wasn’t much difference at all, but Alongi was only happy after a pineapple had been transferred from his to Boboto’s backpack. Immediately after this incident he became impatient, urging us to get going and exaggerating the time it would take us to get to Ntaku. At around 10 am we finally left the camp with the usual exchange of many “bajos” (goodbye in Lingala). As the trails were too narrow to walk next to each other, we had to form a row. As usual, I avoided being the first in line. Although it meant that I could not indicate the tempo myself, I could dream away easily and just follow the leader without having to pay much attention to spider webs and snakes. This time Ellen was walking ahead, just for the six kilometers on the P-trail that we knew so well. After leaving the study area, Alongi would take the lead. Talking was too exhausting and would scare all the animals away, so we were quiet. And we soon got into that meditative state associated with walking, walking, walking. After more than an hour we arrived at Laboka, a much smaller version of Ntaku, but also a drinking spot for large mammals. The guys had built a platform in one of the larger trees there for the project. Jack and I had once set up a tent there to stay overnight and watch for animals under a full moon. It had been incredibly uncomfortable, so high up in the tree, and an unbelievably large number of insects had kept us from going outside the tent. At 8 pm we heard elephants, wandering through the mud, splashing water. Although it had been too dark to see anything, just the sounds of these majestic animals had been enough to make us feel overwhelmed and humble. Soon after the elephants had left, we heard the roar of a leopard, so powerful that it made the entire forest tremble. Thinking back of that night still makes me wonder about the lives of these fascinating creatures, about the many aspects of the forest that we never even saw. But this time we would not stay at the platform; we would actually have to cross Laboka. I had been halfway once before and knew that there was a lot of mud, up to our thighs. Alongi would guide us through, but soon we noticed that we had gotten ourselves into a real deep patch. The elephants had been here again and had loosened and deepened the ground with their heavy footsteps. Alongi was convinced that there was no better way, so we waded and struggled further. Every step involved the sucking sounds of mud trying to hold on to our feet, every step we would wonder how much deeper we would sink. I started to feel slightly claustrophobic, asking myself whether there would be a way out of this mess. And then I took the step that caused me to get stuck up to my bellybutton. I immediately panicked. I did not see any branches or things to hold onto or pull myself up with. I could barely move my legs and I was afraid that any movement would just cause me to sink deeper. The world started to spin around me faster and faster, while I imagined choking to death by inhaling the mud that would soon surround my entire body. Alongi and Boboto were about 20 meters ahead, so they were of no help, but fortunately Ellen was not far behind me. She pointed out a tiny bit of short grass at a higher and dryer area of sand that I should just be able to reach. I struggled for a couple of minutes and I managed to pull myself and my heavy backpack out of this misery. My legs were shaking heavily, but I had to continue. This was no place to take a break and relax. It took ten more minutes before we reached solid ground, but it felt like I had spent half a day swimming in a pool of glue. The elephants of Laboka had certainly made it difficult for us to cross their territory. But then again, they had not shown their presence while we were in this vulnerable position, even though they could have attacked any time. People say that elephants have a very good memory, so I can imagine that in this area they are not very fond of humans at all. The village of Lampu, which is located a 25 kilometers walk from our campsite, knows a long history of elephant killing, for meat and for ivory. As far as I could tell, it was all in some way connected to Pappa Elombe. I had heard many things about his time as elephant hunter, which had been before machineguns were readily available due to the civil war. This short grumpy old guy had actually killed elephants with spears. Sometimes he would tell stories in Lingala to the other guys and, even though I could not understand the language, his singing and dancing, his tone of voice and animated body movements gave me an understanding of the dangers involved. Pappa Elombe was thought to have some sort of power over the elephants (just as Pappa Koko was thought to have power over the green mamba, a very poisonous snake). Jack, a rather down-to-earth guy, seemed convinced that Pappa Elombe had once sent elephants to chase him in the forest after a serious argument about money between the two. Previous camp managers had freely lent the pappa money, but now Jack tried to explain how much he owed the project. Pappa Elombe did not believe it and got extremely upset. The next day, Jack was in the forest with one of the local guys named Bondeko when they suddenly heard elephants behind them. They decided to change direction with 90 degrees, but the elephants kept following them. Again, they changed direction, but they couldn’t shake them off that easily. Finally, after about half an hour, they got rid of the elephants and returned to the camp. Bondeko told Jack about Pappa Elombe’s powers and explained that he should make up with the old guy, otherwise he would be in trouble. Pappa Elombe was very skilled in recognizing the most dangerous elephants, namely the ones that were not real elephants, but people who could change their physical appearance freely between human and elephant shapes. This was a very important skill, because killing such an individual would call for revenge from the other “shape-shifting” elephants. It would basically be the same as suicide. Alongi had once been Pappa Elombe’s student and they had gone out killing elephants together many times. Alongi’s impatience and reckless courage (or stupidity if you will) had gotten him into trouble on numerous occasions. If Pappa Elombe mentioned Alongi in his stories, he would always end by saying: “Eeh, Alongi, eh-eh-eh-eh.”, which would be repeated in chorus by everyone listening. I interpreted this as something like: “Alongi, that lucky dumbass.” Because, despite his careless actions, he was still alive and well. This fact had caused great admiration and fear by the people in the village. They concluded that Alongi must have very special powers. Even though he had killed the wrong kind of elephants, he had actually gotten away with it. Jean once told a story about Alongi at the dinner table. Jean was a friendly and educated guy from Kinshasa, working on the tree monitoring project. One day he was in the forest doing the phenology, or looking at the fruiting stages of the trees along the trails. Alongi had passed him late in the afternoon to look for bonobos (apes closely related to chimpanzees) and their night nests, so that the students would be able to observe them in the early morning. After a while, Alongi appeared before Jean again, looking as if he had seen a ghost. He was breathing heavily and his t-shirt was ripped apart. He told Jean how he had ended up right in the middle of an elephant group. All of a sudden he had been surrounded by four individuals, including a furious male. Mysteriously, Alongi had managed to escape and it was suggested that he must have made an incredible jump, flying from the Nkuma trail almost five kilometers back to the spot where Jean had been in only a few minutes. Clearly, because of his status, Alongi was a key character in the existence of the project. If he had not agreed to give up the poaching of elephants and to work with the institute by setting up the camp and supporting the research activities (while of course being paid for it), the project would never have been possible. So now we were walking with this guy, following his lead into a forest that we did not know. Sometimes it struck me that we were absolutely dependent on him, that basically he could do anything he wanted, he had total control over the situation. But then he would stop to carve our names in a tree, a local tradition that had resulted in special large trees at strategic positions, identifying who had been there and how long ago. It was especially disarming to see his sincerity in these efforts. On the other hand, he could sometimes enjoy our confusion or fear in certain situations. Once he called to me with a loud voice: “Karin, regarde là!”, wildly pointing to the ground as if there was a snake. When I froze and showed a frightened face, he started to laugh and laugh, repeating what he had just said over and over again “Karin, regarde là! Karin, regarde là!”. Another time, Ellen had walked straight into one of those huge sticky spider webs that harbor large and mean biting spiders. She screamed and ran, waving her arms high in the air. There had been no spider, but she had been so startled that she had panicked. Of course Alongi did not do anything to calm her down. Instead he burst with laughter and I thought he was close to rolling on the forest floor, shaking and holding his belly. This time, on our way to Ntaku, there was another such occasion. We had bumped into a so-called savannah patch, a weird round grassy area, a rare place that was not invaded by the forest. I had seen them from the plane when we flew into the area; they were sometimes more than ten kilometers in diameter. This was one of the largest continuous forests in the world, a national park of 36,000 km², but the seemingly never ending layer of tree crowns was interrupted by those mysterious circles. I had wondered why they existed. Did it perhaps have something to do with soil types? Was the earth in some areas not rich enough to sustain the trees? Although it was a relief to be able to see further than the 15 meters of sight we had become accustomed to in the forest, the sun was burning hot and the high grass was cutting our skin. Fortunately, this particular patch was not very large. Boboto asked for my lighter, which I gave to him wondering what he would do with it. It occurred to me in an instant: “Was he going to burn the savannah?” And immediately we saw the flames and the smoke caught by the wind. The fire was coming right at us and we were still in the middle of the patch! Ellen gave me a frightened look and asked “Don’t you think this is dangerous? Do you think we will be able to make it to the forest edge? Maybe we should run. I think we should run!” and she pushed me in the direction of safety. I was ready for a spurt, only Alongi was right in our way. He looked at us, feigning confusion, and asked what was the problem. Then he grinned and said that there was nothing to worry about. Meanwhile the fire was quickly coming towards us and I thought we would be fried alive. Then I suddenly realized that Boboto was lighting the grass over and over again, every few steps, while he was following us. I explained it to Ellen and, after some deep sighs of relief, we walked calmly to the edge of the patch into the cool protective forest where we waited until the fire reached the first trees and died out. We were maybe 15 kilometers away from our camp when we approached a small campsite near the river. Alongi pointed at some broken twigs along the trail and stated that someone had passed through not so long ago, that it might have been poachers. Ellen and I exchanged a few glances, expressing disbelief, doubt, and an edge of fear. We were wondering whether Alongi was pulling one of his tricks again, as he had claimed before that he wanted to stay at the campsite overnight and continue the expedition to Ntaku only the next day. This would be a good excuse to keep us from moving on. Of course we saw the tracks, but perhaps they weren’t poachers, perhaps they were long gone. But would we really want to take the risk of bumping into guys with guns in such a remote place in the forest? Alongi checked the sides of the river for more tracks. The three of us followed. He pointed out some footsteps that I could not distinguish from the natural patterning in the sand. Although Boboto gave an excited confirmation, I was not entirely convinced and Ellen looked skeptical too. Finally he found some real clear fresh footsteps. We could no longer deny that someone had been here fairly recently, within the last two days. We decided that it was too late in the afternoon to return to the camp, so we would set up our tents, eat, sleep, and return tomorrow. Boboto explained to us that it was too dangerous to continue. These men were unpredictable and Alongi and Boboto would not be able to guarantee our protection. After all we were “rich white girls”. Who knows what they would want to do with us, other than just steal out stuff. I was thinking “rape”, “kidnap”, “hostage”, “guns” and I started to believe that perhaps it would be better to return immediately. I would rather cross a muddy Laboka in the dark night than to wait in our tent to get attacked and abducted. But I calmed myself down, realizing that it was too late to do anything but enjoy a bath in the river and a nice dinner of sweet potatoes and pineapple. This is exactly what we did. Ellen and I went to a beautiful spot at the river where the water was clear and the sand was white. We immersed ourselves in the cool stream, splashing, and giggling, forgetting about our frustrations and concerns. After this refreshing bath, we set up our tent and retreated, while Boboto was cooking and Alongi went out fishing. We were chatting intensely about our experiences for the past months at the camp when Boboto came calling us with an excited voice. We had not even heard the forest pigs that had come to eat from the garbage that Boboto had just thrown about 20 meters from our tent. They ran away as soon as we approached, while Boboto was laughing about our poor sense of hearing. He made a fantastic dinner, but the bees came quickly, attracted by the smell of people and food. It was dangerous to eat with so many bees around, because you could accidentally swallow one and they could sting you in your mouth or throat. So we gorged our food and locked ourselves up in our tents. And suddenly it was night. It was probably one of the most fearful nights of my life. As soon as the darkness surrounded us and everyone else had apparently fallen asleep, I realized how vulnerable we were, with as our only protection a thin piece of fabric. The poachers could come back, or we could be trampled by elephants, or attacked by a hungry leopard. We were suddenly in the territory of all those creatures that would never approach us 15 kilometers back at our campsite. But here the rules were different. I heard the sound of snapping twigs around us, I felt the presence of a living being and I was paralyzed in my sleeping bag. I was afraid to make a sound and I wish I had closed the tent properly. We had only closed the gauze part of the “door”, which meant that we could be seen easily. I could not imagine going to sleep at all and thought I would be in this uncomfortable stiff position the entire night. Then, all of a sudden, out of nowhere, the campfire started burning again. I was shocked when I saw the flames reach high and I quietly woke Ellen by poking her in her arm. We exchanged startled looks and waited and listened. Perhaps the poachers had come back! But there was nothing to be seen or heard, except Alongi’s snoring from the other tent next to us, so we assumed that the fire had caught flame again by itself and Ellen went back to sleep. And me? I spent the rest of the night listening to some animal roaming around our tents and wishing it was morning. Then, when the morning finally arrived, I wished it was evening. I was sore and tired and grumpy and I wished that we had never bothered to come on this stupid expedition. Now we would have to walk the 15 kilometers back with our heavy backpacks, back through muddy Laboka, without even having seen Ntaku. All this effort for nothing. As soon as we were on our way, we heard a big bang. Ellen and I wondered “Was that a gun shot? Or perhaps a falling tree?”, but Alongi and Boboto did not say anything and we simply continued walking. Later we would hear that it had been a shot with a big caliber gun, the one used to kill elephants. The way back was much easier, especially since Alongi found a way through Laboka that didn’t involve much mud at all. When we reached the study area, they began to walk faster and faster. I was barely keeping up and had to ask Ellen to walk a bit slower. The last two kilometers were a nightmare, my legs almost collapsed, but I made it, back in the relative safety of the camp. Or was that feeling of safety just an illusion? Had we been living in a big bubble of an imagined world for the last two months? All I knew was that the camp had a radio and a satellite phone, two connections to the outside world. That was all that mattered to me really. Back in the camp, Alongi immediately started to tell Jack everything about the poachers. He provided the names of the six guys who he knew were involved in poaching activities, including one from the military. The weapons came from a commandant, while the chief of the national park, in charge of nature conservation efforts, was probably corrupt and paid by poachers and military. He mentioned that he had seen a sign on a tree, which indicated that 411 elephants had been killed. Poachers like to brag about their achievements and do this by cutting out their names and their kills. He spilled everything he knew and told Jack that Patricia and Peter, the researchers in charge of the field site, should inform their embassy and pressure the Congolese government to do something about this. It was odd to see Alongi so concerned about poachers, while everyone knew that he had been a poacher himself. Was he all of a sudden a converted conservationist? Did he actually care about the elephants? Jack suggested that Alongi must have felt threatened by his previous competitors. He had agreed to cooperate with the project and he now felt responsible for the study area and the inflow of legal money from the researchers. Also, the elephants might flee into our study area, which in turn would be dangerous for everyone walking around on our trails. I was wondering what was the effect of the project on the lives of the local guys. I had heard stories about Alongi being so obsessed with the elephant hunt that he had gathered many many tusks and, while the flesh of the bodies was rotting in Laboka, he had to knock on his neighbors doors to beg for food. Maybe now he was becoming a more responsible person. There was also the story of Esengo and Bondeko who once had stacks of guns stuffed underneath their beds. They had earned enough money with the ivory trade that they could afford to travel to Kinshasa and attend university. When they ran out of cash, they returned to the village to get more ivory in order to continue their education. But that was in 1997, when Laurent Kabila and his troops invaded Kinshasa to overthrow the dictator Mobutu Sese Seko. The First Congo War (1996-1997) was soon followed by the Second Congo War (1998-2002), bringing their plans to a definite end. The two men found themselves stuck in the village, unable to finish their degrees, so they had no other choice but to return to subsistence farming. Now they were rather happy with the presence of the project and the possibility to participate. Although there were still plenty of difficulties for the villagers in their daily lives, and there was always another potential war waiting around the corner, the project brought new imaginations of possibilities. At the same time, the influx of money also caused tensions and conflicts. Bondeko told us once that he could barely save parts of his salary, because family and neighbors all demanded a share. And in order to counter the increasing consumption of alcohol, which was one of the few items that money could buy in this area, the research institute regularly brought in goods from Kinshasa, such as clothing, baby bathtubs, and bikes, creating a small economy that was completely dependent on the field site. After three very intense months in the Democratic Republic of Congo, I left the country with mixed feelings, wondering what changes would be needed to improve the lives of the people who have been faced with a violent history of colonialism, warfare, corruption, poverty, and a lacking infrastructure for as long as they can remember. I once spoke about this with Peter. He seemed to think that rebuilding the economy would be the way forward for this country. Creating a sense of trust and confidence by the presence of Western companies. After all, if the Westerners return, it must be safe. Of course, he simply ignored the fact that all the problems had been caused by Westerners in the first place. Would bringing in a new load of us really change things for the better? And wouldn’t international logging companies be jumping at the opportunity to start cutting down that gorgeous forest, the home of our bonobos? Would such companies even contribute anything to the national and local economies? Ultimately, a lot depends on the characters of the people in power and their resistance to international and national lobby, blackmail, and corruption. Elections are planned for June 2005, but in the meantime there are still clashes between the military and rebels in the east of the country. The West has its own interests in the politics of Congo and is known to meddle and manipulate. Let’s not forget that the most promising postcolonial leader, Patrice Lumumba, had been murdered by separatists from the province of Katanga, with deep involvement of Belgium and the US. This was followed by more than 30 years of dictatorship and widespread corruption under the the Western-backed Mobutu, and then followed by two wars that caused millions of deaths due to violence, hunger, and disease. How could anyone even organize elections in a country so devastated by such horrors, in a country with no decent roads, in a country where it is unknown who even has the right to vote? How could safety be ensured when UN peacekeepers rape women and children in exchange for food and “protection”? Although the situation had been relatively stable since 2003, for the first time in decades, and people were cautiously optimistic about Joseph Kabila as president, it all remained immensely precarious. A week after the excursion, Ellen and I left the site and ended our time in Congo. We would go by charter plane from a small landing strip near Lapope village and we had been told that the “conservateur”, or the corrupt chief of the park, would be flying with us. He was dressed in suit and wore expensive shiny black shoes when we met him in the village. We were sitting in the house of a local teacher, supplied with roasted peanuts and bananas, when he started to harass Jack, asking him for money. According to some local guys, he had also been involved in the poaching of 40 red colubus monkeys, so we knew that he was not nearly as poor as most of the villagers. It was difficult for all of us to spend time with this man, who was becoming agitated and frustrated and red in the face, because we were not as respectful as he would have liked. Then, out of nowhere, Ellen said in English: “Maybe he should just sell his shoes!” We were all laughing and he was laughing with us, although he had not understood what Ellen had said. But five minutes later, he started to ask for my watch. This guy was incredible! Ellen and I left him behind at Kinshasa airport where he was bragging to the custom officials about the park. I overheard him say something about gorillas in the park, but I knew as a fact that gorillas do not even exist south of the Congo river. And then this was supposed to be one of the good guys! I don’t think that Patricia and Peter have been in touch with their embassy or the Congolese ministry about the corruption and the poaching. I think they do not want to endanger the fragile relationships and the presence of the project. Patricia once mentioned that, by “coincidence”, every expedition to Ntaku that included Alongi had returned because of “poachers”. She seemed to doubt his statements altogether, but I wondered if we would have ignorantly walked into a rain of bullets had we decided to take Alongi’s younger brother Menga instead. All I know is that the information has been delivered to the organization of a convention on the international trade in endangered species that has been collecting data on elephants and ivory trade for many many years. Whether they will be able to change anything in a country that is faced with more immediate concerns than conserving nature remains to be seen. Afterword I was reminded of this story while I was reading the book Lumumba's Dream by Sibo Rugwiza Kanobana (published in 2025 in Dutch), a book I had spotted and ordered in the webshop of The Black Archives in Amsterdam. This is a very important book about one of many postcolonial socialist leaders who showed potential for restoring justice and who were murdered or otherwise crushed and displaced by the empire to serve their own ongoing interests in the exploitation of former colonies. It remains valuable to revisit the visions of such leaders, who were often demonized as evil communists, but who showed tremendous wisdom and inspiring imaginations of a different kind of world. When Patrice Lumumba became prime minister in 1960, Congo had endured more than 30 horrific years (1877-1908) under the private “ownership” of Belgian King Leopold II. During this period, the Congolese were forced and tortured to work in rubber plantations, and eight to ten million people died through violence, forced labor, and starvation (Hochschild, 1998). Congo had also endured another 52 years as the colony of Belgium, a time during which the colonizer’s economic interests remained priority over the wellbeing of the colonized population, shifting from rubber trade to the mining of copper, gold, diamonds, cobalt, and other minerals. At this crucial moment of independence in 1960, which would set the stage for the future course for the country, Patrice Lumumba promoted complete self-determination for the Congolese, full control over their own resources, unification of all Congolese while recognizing cultural and linguistic diversity, collaboration with the Belgians on the basis of true equality, and similar revolutionary ideas. Of course these were all very dangerous ideas from the perspective of those who wanted to maintain control of the situation in the county and to maintain access to Congo’s valuable resources, even after the official end of colonialism. The colonial administration had already fed various divisions between Congolese, particularly on the basis of class and ethnicity. The separatist ambitions of the wealthiest province of Katanga, as promoted and supported by Belgium, as well as the US, were ultimately the downfall of Lumumba. It resulted in many decades of further exploitation, corruption, and violent conflicts, even up until today, all very far from what Lumumba envisioned for the country. Reading about Lumumba brought me back to my time in Congo more than 20 years ago and I dug through my folders to find this story that I had written for a writing course. Spending these few months in deep in one of the largest continuous forests in the world had been a fantastic opportunity and I considered myself lucky to have seen bonobos in the wild (even though the bonobos were not yet well habituated to the presence of human researchers and I spent much more time collecting, washing, and examining their poo than actually observing them). But I realized that I was less interested in the bonobos and much more captured by the colonial continuities in the existence of the field site, set up and run by white foreign researchers in a poor war-torn country that had never been able to recover from well over a hundred years of violent colonial and postcolonial, or rather neocolonial, rule. Thus, I ended up changing my subfield from biological to cultural anthropology so that I could specifically investigate these types of issues. I definitely considered trying to go back to the DRC as a cultural anthropologist and do a study from the perspective of the village to critically examine the presence and effects of the field site in this historical context. However, I suspected the researchers in charge of the site would not be interested to facilitate my stay there in that capacity. In addition, I had concerns about the remoteness of the area, about the rather narrow scope of study of a tiny field station and a tiny village, and about potential safety issues with armed poachers roaming around. In the meantime, the situation in the country remained precarious and unpredictable altogether. For these reasons, I ended up switching my research to Kibale National Park in Uganda, a site with a dense history of convergence of various conservation and development projects, often with a violent and manipulative character towards local communities (you can find the dissertation I wrote about that here; and more about my subsequent trajectory here). This did mean that I wouldn't be returning to Congo, I wouldn't be learning more about the special powers of Alongi and Pappa Elombe, I wouldn't be able to live with them in their village and understand more about the ways they saw their futures. Of course, I have often wondered what I might have learned and how their lives have turned out over the years. Now, since 2004, the DRC has experienced many more periods of violent conflicts, generally in the eastern part of the country where the interests of the national government, various rebel groups, foreign governments, and corporations converge and clash around the mineral resources of the area, while often feeding into ethnic divisions, exploiting children for hard physical labor, and involving horrific sexual violence against women. In the beginning of 2025, one of the rebel groups, M23, that has been backed by the Rwandan government, conquered the city of Goma and large areas of the province of North Kivu. Because of the conflicts in eastern Congo, 5.2 million people have been displaced, 1.6 of whom were displaced in 2025 alone, leading to widespread hunger and a large-scale humanitarian crisis. Multiple tech companies have been accused of complicity in atrocities committed in eastern Congo, particularly child labor for the mining of minerals, including Apple, Google, Microsoft, Dell and Tesla. Coincidentally, conflicts and poverty make it easier to exploit people for their labor and resources. For the past two years, the livestreamed genocide Israel is committing in Palestine has mobilized a growing worldwide movement of activists who have been demonstrating, boycotting, striking, and blocking for a free Palestine. Through the increasing awareness of the evils of Israel and the role of colonialism and capitalism, more and more people are waking up to the interconnectednesness of genocides and atrocities worldwide, including those in Congo and Sudan. Since the people of Congo and Sudan don’t have the same access to phones and social media as the people of Palestine, and while mainstream media similarly tends to ignore or downplay their suffering, activists often wonder what they can do to support the people who are exposed to horrific violence in these countries as well. Seeing the connections and asking such question are important developments to unite us all in resisting the worldwide escalation of capitalism and the rise of fascism. As for supporting the people of Congo specificially, I have listed a few things anyone can do: (1) Inform yourself! Here are some accounts you can follow on Instagram:∙ @congofriends ∙ @freecongo.now ∙ @teamcongo.rdc ∙ @wijzijncongolezen ∙ @focuscongo ∙ @freecongo.be ∙ @congobasinalliance ∙ @extinctionrebellionrutshurudrc I also created a Goodreads reading list of books about Congo. (2) Speak out, protest & boycott! ∙ Share posts about Congo on social media and talk about it with family, friends, and colleagues. ∙ Find out when there are protests in your area and join, or organize a protest yourself. ∙ Put pressure on governments to break ties with Rwanda for supporting M23. ∙ Buy refurbished phones and other electronics and use them as long as possible. (3) Donate! I found this wonderful collective of Congolese volunteers called Goma Actif who are doing mutual aid in the Goma Area. You can donate to them through their fundraiser. I have also added it to the mutual aid projects supported with 20% of the sales price of all purchases in the Fist & Fern webshop (see Support the Resistance). Go to fundraiser - Website - Instagram - Article about Goma Actif https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7611876/artivism-part-2/ https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7611876/artivism-part-2/ PAPER-MâCHé & PAINTOriginally published 21 February 2024; reposted here on 9 August 2025 In the past years, every time I planned to join a climate action, I asked myself whether I could do something creative beyond writing an improvised sign with marker on a shoddy piece of cardboard in the train on the way to the event, but I never found the time or inspiration. I suspect this goes for many activists, especially those, like me, who are not regularly creative in such ways. Creativity is often discouraged after elementary school, when kids are expected to focus on supposedly more serious matters and pursue a proper career. Because of this, I consider artivism not just a valuable way to strengthen a social movement, but also as resistance against those capitalist forces pushing us all into the straightjacket of obedient, productive, and mindless consumerism and citizenship. If we want to work towards a different kind of society, we need to go beyond just fighting to dismantle the system, but also nourish the values and skills that are important for healthier societies. (This also fits well with XR's focus on regenerative culture.) So as soon as I found a window of time, I did some research and got creative at home for the next climate action! In this blog post, I describe my recent experiences building a big paper-mâché vampire head and making a protest sign, with practical tips. This was just a little project I did by myself, since I live in a rural area a bit far from local activist groups, but obviously a lot more is possible when you can combine the creative imagination, skills, labor and materials in a group setting (see also the examples in Artivism Part 1: Introduction & Examples). Many XR groups have specific art circles and/or regularly organize art events. Making a paper-mâché vampire headAs an anti-capitalist, I really wanted to make a costume to portray the destructive and exploitative greed driving our consumerist societies. At first I considered making a pig head to be worn with a suit and briefcase, something I’d seen before, but a friend rightfully pointed out that it was discriminatory against pigs. Those poor animals are already horrifically abused in our meat industry and victims of capitalism rather than symbols for the evil behind it. So I realized it’s best not to use any animals for this type of representation, as no animal displays behavior that is so deliberately abusive as that of the humans accumulating wealth at the expense of every living being and the planet as a whole. So instead I chose the mythical creature of the vampire, former humans that have transformed into monsters without a a beating heart, without a conscience, and existing to suck the life force out of humans. When I decided to use the vampire, I found some images online that I used as a bit of an example to create a big head of paper-mâché. For this project, I wanted to use a material that was easily accessible and didn’t involve buying loads of supplies or even finished products in the shop. So I rediscovered the awesomeness of paper-mâché (more correctly but less commonly referred to as the proper French term papier-mâché). I think we have all played around with strips of newspaper and some kind of sticky mess to make an ugly bowl for our mums in kindergarten. But of course the big businesses of our society make no money when we know how to create things out of common household items, so we are tempted by fancy hobby materials and easily accessible finished products. For this reason, paper-mâché is a perfect material to object to capitalism and I gained a new appreciation for it in the process of making and using it. But first, I did some research on people sharing similar paper-mâché projects. I mostly ended up following the instructions shared by ArtsyDork (see also her students’ finished heads). I found additional inspiration on these pages by WVartist, MyArtLesson, and The Grove Guy. And these HubPages also provide loads of valuable links for paper-mâché recipes and fun projects. Let me describe how I did it and what I learned! Materials used Five steps ∙ Sturdy used boxes 1. Making a base structure ∙ Wide paper tape 2. Shaping it with filling & tape ∙ Old newspapers 3. Layering paper-mâché strips ∙ All-purpose flour 4. Using paper-mâché clay to mold the details ∙ Gesso & acrylic paints 5. Painting the project I mostly wanted to use eco-friendly and circular materials, so that meant using old boxes, paper tape, newspaper, and flour. Some projects use plastic fillings and paper-mâché recipes with glue, but I tried to keep it as simple and natural as possible. Obviously the acrylic paint is not quite so eco-friendly. I didn’t have the time to research possibilities for better alternatives and I am not sure whether that would be realistic. Any suggestions are welcome! As for the base structure, I used the simplest set-up by rounding pieces of cardboard around a bucket, scoring the outside part to make it bendy, and adding an x-structure on top. Lots of projects take a more 3-d approach from the start by putting together smaller pieces of cardboard or creating metal frames. I tried to give the head more shape by taping dry wads of newspaper to the structure, but found it a bit tricky for the facial details. In the meantime, I had discovered the possibility of making paper-mâché clay, so decided to cover the whole thing with paper-mâché strips and then using the clay to add more details. For the paper-mâché strips, recipes online generally follow this composition: Recipe paper-mâché paste for strips ∙ 1 cup of flour ∙ 1 cup of water ∙ 1 tsp of salt to prevent mold I cut newspaper strips and dipped them into the mixture, removing the excess with my fingers, and then adding the strips onto the project. This approach was terribly messy and wet, dripping all over the place. A better way would probably be to apply the paste with a brush onto the surface, then laying the dry strips over it, and covering it with more paste. Either way, don’t add too many layers at once and make sure to dry it really well. I put my head next to the radiator in winter and it took several days to dry properly. After I had covered the head with the strips, I started working with the clay. I used recipe 3 by A Piece of Rainbow with paper, flour, and a cooked flour paste and finetuned it a little bit: Recipe paper-mâché clay ∙ 30 newspaper pages cut into small pieces ∙ 2-2.5 cups of flour ∙ 1 cup of water ∙ 1 tbsp of salt ∙ 2 tbsp of vegetable oil Directions: Make the pulp: soak the pieces of newspaper in water for one hour, then use a stick blender to grind it all up, and drain the water using a sieve. I then used my hands to take portions of mushy paper to squeeze out the water as good as possible. You can also use a cheese cloth. Your hands will turn grey because of the ink in the paper, but it washes off pretty easily. Break the clumps of paper up into smaller pieces and put them in a bowl. Important note: if you use a plastic stick blender, it may turn grey because of the ink and it may not be so easy to clean, so best to use an old one that will not be used for food or to use one made of stainless steel. Make the flour glue: mix 1/2 cup of flour with 1 cup of water with a whisk and put it on the stove on low heat. Keep whisking well and scraping the bottom and edges as the mixture thickens to avoid burning. It thickens quite quickly. Take it off the heat source when it reaches the consistency of mayo. Let it cool. Add 1.5-2 cups of flour, the flour glue, the salt, and the oil to the pieces of paper pulp and mix it into a dough. I used my hands, but you can also use a dough scraper. The dough shouldn’t be too sticky. If it is, add some more flour. You can use the dough right away or keep it wrapped up in the fridge for 2-3 weeks or store it in the freezer. I made three or four batches of clay for the vampire head. Overall, I was quite impressed how easy it was to work with. The downside it that it is a little chunky, so there is some structure. And if the clay is rather wet, it will be difficult to create solid shapes. In my case, the teeth and ears were a bit tricky. I should have created the base for the ears earlier in the process. Now I basically taped thin pieces of cardboard to the head and added layers of clay. The cardboard absorbed the moisture and turned limp and bendy, so I had to support it in the right position while drying before adding new layers. Overall, it turned out much better than I’d expected for a first try! And I had a lot of fun in the process. Somewhere I came up with the idea to add a tongue on a stick, which I’d be able to stick out through the mouth and move side to side by turning the stick. I made it following the same steps: cut out cardboard in the right shape, taped on filling for shape, covered it with paper-mâché strips, and then with a layer of clay. Finally I covered everything with a layer of gesso, after which I painted it with acrylic paints. I didn’t use any kind of protective layer. The paper-mâché turns rock hard after drying and can certainly handle some moisture or other abuses. Normally, acrylic paint should also be able to manage some moisture or even a bit of light rain. Using this in a downpour for a long time will probably lead to problems though. So if there is a possibility that this will happen, you should research ways to waterproof your project. I stretched this project over the course of 1.5 month. I really liked the fact that I could work on this in small steps. Because of the drying required, paper-mâché is not really suitable for rush projects, but if you use few layers and keep it all quite simple and thin, it’s definitely possible to create something awesome in only a few days. Making a protest signNow, I also wanted to make a nice sign to go with the head and, since I was in a strong anti-capitalist mood, I went with “Capitalism is a Death Cult” for my slogan. I’d seen it on some stickers and it was a perfect match for my vampire, especially in combination with a Old English font. I made a sign by glueing and taping two large, equally sized sturdy pieces of cardboard on top of each other for added strength (our shoddy cardboard signs often become weak and bendy when used outdoors in crappy weather). I covered both sides in 2-3 layers of gesso and painted one side black. I got thick acrylic paint markers, which you can get in various sizes and colors at an art supplies shop. There was no way I’d be able to write the letters freehand, so I found a tip online to print your design on a piece of paper, cover the back with white chalk, put it on top of the surface print side up, and trace the design with a sharp pencil. You’ll then have the chalk outline of the letters on the background, which you can cover with the paint markers. Worked like a charm! For light backgrounds, you can use a darker color chalk or tracing paper. As I finished this side of the sign and had planned for a happier back side in a bright color, I realized that the XR protest I was about to attend, against €39.7-46.4 billion (!!!) annual subsidies from the Dutch government to the fossil fuel industry, required a more specific message. So I made a new sign with “End Subsidies for Fossil Fuel Vampires” on the dark side, and “Invest in People & Planet” on the happy side. Artivism in practice Now, of course, I put vampire head & protest sign together for the XR action against fossil fuel subsidies in The Hague on 3 February. It worked quite well and it was a lot of fun to see people’s reactions and smiles. Loads of people took pics or videos. The moving tongue especially was a big hit, see it in action in this XR video of the day at 0:18! The video also features the pump jacks I mentioned in the previous Part 1 post, and some other fun costumes, signs, banners, flags, music, and chants. This was the 36th edition of this particular action at this particular spot. It started about 1.5 years ago with a few people blocking the first section of a highway located between the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Climate and the temporary parliament building. More and more people started participating with each new edition, either inside the action itself (arrestables) or in the support demo on the side (non-arrestables), and more and more organizations publically announced their support. Last fall, in September and October, XR organized a marathon action and returned to block the highway every day for a total of 27 days, until there was some political movement towards ending fossil fuel subsidies. When those movements fell through in December, XR decided to return for the first time on 3 February and actions will continue regularly again as long as fossil fuel subsidies exist. I have joined this action several times before. This time, carrying big props that could be damaged or confiscated during an arrest, I decided to remain in the support demo on the side. Ultimately almost 1000 activists were arrested on this day. Here is a news item about it in English on NL Times. The experience has taught us that there is no solid legal basis for imposing fines. This means, activists are taken by police, put in buses, driven away to another location, where they may be processed (not always) and are released. As very common with XR actions, there was excessive use of force by police on peaceful protesters, using mean wristlocks and nose holds that cause a lot of pain. One activist had his ribs broken when a police office roughly and deliberately leaned a knee on his rib case, first on one side and then the other (see also this XR video in Dutch). Water cannons were standby, but thankfully not used this time. Politicians and police regularly complain about XR actions because of the police capacity supposedly needed and ask for tougher measures, even the criminalization of the entire organization. Of course, police interference in the action is a choice, not a necessity and the contrast with the attitude towards the Dutch farmers’ protests in the same week is extremely telling. The farmers blocked several highways, made big fires, dumped manure, trash, and asbestos, and created dangerous situations that led to one car accident where someone got badly injured, but there were no immediate police interventions to end the blockades and only two people were arrested days later… But I am getting sidetracked here. Back to the artivism! Of course, my vampire artivism was just a small project by one person with no real performance or bigger strategy. It was a fun experiment and I will probably use the head again some time. Most of all, I will keep thinking about potential creative ways to support or organize actions. New unexpected approaches to address issues keep the movement fresh and may draw in different audiences, as well as counterbalance the tensions around the arrests and police violence. https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7606557/artivism-part-1/ https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7606557/artivism-part-1/ INTRODUCTION & EXAMPLESOriginally published 21 February 2024; reposted here on 9 August 2025 Ever since I started joining climate protests I have been intrigued by the role of visuals and creative actions. Activists regularly come up with funny costumes, crazy constructions, beautifully made signs, and catchy slogans. Sometimes there is even a choreographed performance or a band singing protest songs. All this creativity adds strength to the movement, for example by conveying a sense of urgency, pointing to outrageous power relations, or revealing how ridiculous things we take for granted can be, doing so in ways that really grabs the attention. Such combinations of art and activism are often referred to as artivism.In this blog post, I discuss artivism and share some inspiring examples and helpful resources. Most of my own exposure to art in activism comes from the climate movement, as well as the global justice movement and indigenous resistances to extractivism, but surely there are also inspiring examples from other social movements. Introduction to artivismJay Jordan, who has been involved various memorable artivism projects (including the clown army and bike protest discussed below), and who currently collaborates with Isabelle Fremeaux as the Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination, wrote a wonderful chapter on artivism in the book Degrowth in Movements (2020), and provided the following description: “Artivism is not really a movement. It’s more an attitude, a practice which exists on the fertile edges between art and activism. It comes into being when creativity and resistance collapse into each other. It’s what happens when our political actions become as beautiful as poems and as effective as a perfectly designed tool.”“What it’s definitely not about is making political art, art about an issue, such as a performance about the refugee crisis, or a video about an uprising. It is not about showing new perceptions of the world, but about changing it. Refusing representation, artivism chooses direct action.” (Jordan, 2020: 60).Artivism often uses humor, confusion, and constant innovation of new tactics in order to keep the authorities a step behind and make it harder for them to figure out how to respond. There is also often a form of transgression by challenging or breaking social rules or even laws, doing things that are unexpected, surprising, slightly unsettling, possibly illegal. This type of transgression questions the existing conventions about what is proper and right, and who or what is truly served by such conventions. We take so many things for granted without wondering why they are the way they are. While doing research for this blog post, I started to recognize a few different forms of art that can feature in activism and turn into artivism: (1) characters & performances, (2) props & constructions, (3) music & dance, (4) culture jamming, (5) street art, and (6) indigenous art & ceremony. I will discuss examples in each of these categories. After that, I will talk a bit about the importance and dangers of finding funding for artivism, and I will end by sharing examples of slogans and links to organizations, resources, and literature. Characters & performancesAn amazing example of characters and performances in activism is the Clandestine Insurgent Rebel Clown Army (CIRCA), founded in 2003 by Jay Jordan, Lawrence Bogad, Hilary Ramsden, Jennifer Verson, Zoe Young, Matthew Trevelyan, Theo Price, and others. The aim was to bring playfulness and joy into the social justice movement, which had been experiencing intense times with protests around the WTO in Seattle in 1999, the G8 in Genoa in 2001, and the Iraq War in 2002 and 2003, among others. The development of the clown army involved lots of trainings and devising of creative tactics, combining clowning with direct action and civil disobedience, using chaos, confusion, and ridicule to undermine authorities. The first action was to welcome arch-clown President W. Bush visiting the queen in London in 2003. After this, the clown army grew fast. In 2005, two months before the G8 summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, in July 2005, the Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination went on the Ridiculous Recruitment tour, visiting nine cities in the UK. They ended up organizing an army of 200 clowns for the G8 protests in Scotland! The encounters between these clowns and police resulted in hilarious situations, some of which you can watch in the footage from July 6th, 2005 in the video below (poor quality sadly, but still a worthwhile watch). A day later, however, four suicide bombers in London Underground trains killed 52 people and injured more than 700, interrupting and overshadowing the G8 summit and the protests. After 2005, the clown army started to slowly dissolve, although the concept spread internationally and still circulates. In fact, Robyn Hambrook is building on the work of the clown army and bringing new life to the role of the clown in activism. In the meantime, quite a lot has been written about the CIRCA, including academic articles about the tactics and effects, some of which were written by former members (for titles and links for more in-depth reading check the references in the Wikipedia article). A fascinating and somewhat disturbing fact worth mentioning is that in the early 2000s, over the course of five years, an undercover police officer had infiltrated various activist groups in Leeds, including a clown group, supposedly to monitor domestic extremists, a bizarre focus and expenditure on peaceful protesters. The Red Rebel Brigade, pictured at the top, is another fantastic example of the use of characters and performances for a powerful visual communication. They regularly accompany actions by Extinction Rebellion and their red robes with headdresses, face paint, slow movements, and dramatic poses are hard to ignore. The color red symbolizes the blood we all share with humans and other animals, and the rebels can often be seen as mourning the great losses caused by the climate breakdown. Sometimes there are variations in the color they wear, like blue to represent water. Their calmness forms a deliberate de-escalating contrast with the XR rebels who are blocking roads or buildings and who may become subjected to violent reactions from bystanders or police. The Red Rebel Brigade was developed by Doug Francisco and Justine Squire from Bristol’s Invisible Circus for the Extinction Rebellion Spring uprising April 2019 in London. The Red Rebels emerged from characters created for demonstrations against the Iraq War in 2003, which in turn were developed from a slow-motion mime show from the 90s. Here is a wonderful video about the Red Rebel Brigade made by XR Netherlands (it’s mostly in Dutch but still worthwhile to watch, and a beautiful explanation in English towards the end). ​​A simpler example of a character would include these people in the picture to the left dressed up simultaneously as pump jacks and as representatives of the fossil fuel industry, regularly marching through XR actions in the Netherlands. These characters are mostly represented by the costume, which includes moving parts on the pump jacks and black strips of fabric flowing from their backs onto the ground. There is no deeper intentional strategy to confuse or de-escalate as with the clown army and red rebels, but it’s an effective visual way to remind the audience of the people and their motivations driving the climate crisis. Another example would include this set-up where climate protesters are standing on blocks of ice underneath the gallows with nooses around their necks and hands tied behind their backs. It creates a powerful image with a simple message and I have seen it copied in various cities in the past few years. And I would argue that the actions of people throwing soup at famous paintings in musea would also fall under the category of performative artivism. There are no characters or costumes, but it is a highly performative act. The point being made, and effectively so, that we tend to care more about famous paintings than about the planet we live on. Props & constructionsVarious protests have made use of props and constructions to complicate things for authorities and simultaneously make a particular point. One example is the bike bloc protest for the UN Climate Change Conference COP 15 in Copenhagen in 2009. Organized by Jay Jordan and Isabelle Fremeaux of the Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination, with various collaborations, discarded bikes were fixed and welded into new forms, i.e. machines of resistance, planned to be used in combination with a sound swarm during the protest. Activists on bike can move more quickly around police blockades or draw police away from certain spots. In this documentary, Pockets of Resistance, you can see footage of the work and police interference in the time leading up to the action as well as the day of the action itself. It also shows other amazing examples of artivism from around the world, including interactive theater in Nepal, feminist street art in Bolivia, and political singing in Egypt. Interestingly, the bike bloc project was initially part of a city-wide exhibition about art and climate change by the Copenhagen Contemporary Art Centre, but was dropped when the center realized it would involve civil disobedience. Lateron, one of the welded bikes, the double trouble sound swarm version, became part of a museum exhibition in London called 'Disobedient Objects'. It points to an interesting tension between the institutional art world and artivism in practice, something I will explore a bit further towards the end of this post under Funding Artivism. The idea of using bikes in civil disobedience was also applied during an action against the use of private jets at Schiphol Airport in the Netherlands, organized by Greenpeace and Extinction Rebellion in 2022. A few hundred activists managed to enter the part of the airport where private jets are kept and, while some of them blocked the wheels of an aircraft, others rode around on bikes, taunting and evading police. It resulted in humorous footage that quickly went viral (including a sped-up version on Benny Hill music) and the story was picked up by international media. However, the police was very rough on the cycling activists and at least one of them ended up with a head injury, reminding us of the potential safety issues with these kinds of actions. The book bloc is another cool idea for the use of props that was first launched by Italian students protesting Berlusconi's education reforms in 2010, holding shields that looked like giant books as protection against the police. The concept subsequently spread to various protests in other countries. The image of a clash between a police officer and a peaceful protester holding Huxley's Brave New World of course sends an incredibly powerful message. You can find instructions to make one here. Alternative versions have also been developed. For example, the Heathrow Climate Camp protesters used shields with photographs of people affected by the climate crisis, also hiding behind them pop up tents that could be used to block the authorities. Another memorable prop that was used during the April rebellion of Extinction Rebellion UK in London was the iconic pink boat, which was a tool to block Oxford Circus and simultaneously functioned as a stage for speeches and other performances, including a speech by actress Emma Thompson. Obviously it was quite a process to obtain a suitable boat and get it to the right location. After five days in the blockade, the police confiscated and removed the boat and it has been in police possession ever since, possibly destroyed by now. This also leads to two reservations about the use of big and complex props. First of all, there is always the possibility that the police may confiscate it before the actual action, leading to a lot of hard work getting lost. This happened with some of the bikes in Denmark mentioned above, and for example when London police seized hundreds of art works from XR in fall 2019, including a valuable giant skull made by established sculptor Ron Mueck and lent by him to XR. Secondly, there is the question of environmental impact of material use. While the bike bloc made use of discarded bikes and thus recycled materials, the XR boat was functional and purchased from the original owner while hiding the real intentions for its use. In addition, after it was seized, there was a collective decision not to bother retrieving it and XR actually purchased six more boats. Obviously, it is important to stay critical of the environmental impact of actions and action props, and to be creative in finding suitable natural and circular materials. A last example in this category is this very cool gigantic “speaking truth to power” fist made for an action by XR in Amsterdam in the fall of 2020. It was created in such a way that several activists could lock themselves in the top and it was fixed onto a trailer where more activists could be locked on. I was present at this particular action and could observe the police trying to figure out how they would remove the activists and dismantle the construction, which ended up being quite an operation requiring the right equipment to saw through the metal and remove activists from a precarious situation at a certain height. Of course, the more complex such a structure, the longer it can keep the police busy, the longer it can stretch the duration of the action. Music & danceMusic often plays quite an important part at demonstrations and actions. Chants and protest songs can connect protesters, keep their bodies moving and dancing, and keep them warm and entertained during sometimes lengthy and slightly boring sit-ins. Usually, it’s all quite simple and improvised, but sometimes serious musicians and/or dancers connect themselves to the cause and help out in this department. XR Netherlands was lucky when musicians from various backgrounds formed an actual orchestra with choir to support the regular highway blockades against fossil fuel subsidies in 2023. They often play Mozart’s version of Dies Irae, the day of judgment, with the entire orchestra in the middle of the road blockade, as you can see in this Twitter post with video by participating composer Michel van der Aa. On one occasion, the police confiscated the instruments, so the musicians decided to still perform with the choir while miming the playing of the music, an amazing improvisation, which went viral on Twitter. I think it’s fantastic how this shared concern about the future of the planet can pull classical music out of the orchestra halls onto the streets, adding emotional depth to the protest and at the same time legitimizing it with 'high culture'. While climate protesters are often assumed to be long-haired unemployed hippies, and comments of this nature are rampant on any social media posts about such protests, the presence of something like a proper orchestra (just like the presence of grandparents and scientists) can undermine such assumptions and reach a different audience. It illustrates the value and importance of solidarity across social groupings, including class, as well as race, gender, sexuality, religion, health, physical abilities, neurodiversity, and more. There is still so much that needs to be gained in this respect, but this is at least an inspiring example. Another fun example of music & dance as artivism is the concept of the Discobedience, which of course is a combination of disco and disobedience. It first popped up as an action by XR Australia in 2019 with people dressed up in extravagant disco-style (or with whatever silly wigs and colorful clothes could be dug up) and dancing to the song Stayin’ Alive by the Bee Gees while causing disruption for the climate. It quickly spread to other XR groups across the globe, but the Covid-19 pandemic limited its momentum as protest became impossible or incredibly restricted. Below is an awesome example from Venice. The Discobedience was not just a new protest strategy, but a bit like the clown army a way to bring joy back into the movement. Culture jammingCulture jamming is a form of activism that uses mainstream consumer culture against itself by subverting its messages and exposing corporate evils. One important form is changing branding and advertisements to instead share the hidden messages, goals, or results of companies or organizations. Adbusters, founded in 1989 in Vancouver, was an important early player in this regard and remains active today. Adbusters is a magazine, as well as a collective of activist artists. Among many other projects, they created the alternative American flag with corporate logos in place of the stars to represent corporate power over government. They were also behind Buy Nothing Day in the late 1990s and collaborated with anarchist anthropologist David Graeber at the roots of Occupy Wall Street in 2011. A similar collective of activist artists called Brandalism was launched around the Olympics in the UK in 2012, when they put their versions of corporate advertisements on various billboards in multiple cities. In 2017, Brandalism launched Subvertisers International to facilitate a transnational network. The Yes Men are a great example of culture jamming. Created by Jacques Servin and Igor Vamos, they became well-known with their first film “The Yes Men” in 2004. Their approach emerged when they started a fake, satirical website based on the WTO with a slightly different web address with content that formed an outrageous caricature of the organization. They quickly found that website visitors often failed to recognize the satire and would even send them invitations for conferences. Thus, they created the aliases Andy Bichlbaum and Mike Bonanno and started accepting such invitations, giving ridiculous and shocking performances in name of WTO and other organizations, often testing the limits of what the general public would consider acceptable, and regularly putting the actual organizations in a tough spots by making all kinds of outrageous statements and promises. They have managed to reproduce this act in various forms ever since, creating materials for two more films, “The Yes Men Fix the World” released in 2009 and “The Yes Men Are Revolting” released in 2015. One of the most iconic performances was when they represented Dow Chemical on BBC World in 2004 to take full responsibility for the horrible chemical disaster in Bhopal, India, in 1984, which caused thousands of death and many more illnesses over the following years, and to promise $12 billions of dollars to compensate the victims (see video below). The news quickly spread worldwide until the hoax was discovered. Obviously, the effect was that Dow Chemical had to announce that none of it was true, that they would not take responsibility, not compensate the victims. These actions are of course incredibly gutsy and require both nerves of steel and a strong legal team. All three movies can be watched through their website, together with a lot of other video materials. They also do coachings, trainings, and collaborations. Last year, Fossilfree Netherlands culture jammed a new advertisement campaign by Shell that aimed to greenwash its activities. The original campaign stated things like “It starts with one windmill. And before you know it you are building four windparks at sea.” Fossilfree made new posters resembling these advertisements with different statements, like “It starts with Greta. And before you know it, you need a 6 billion marketing budget.” And “It starts with an oil spill. And before you know it, nine Nigerian activists are hanged.” You can find all eight printable posters here. Shell summoned Fossilfree to remove the poster about the Nigerian activists, but instead Fossilfree created six more posters about Shell’s role in pollution and human rights violations in Nigeria, including a QR code linking to a page with more background info. Street artI suppose the most famous political street artists would include Keith Haring and Banksy. Haring gained recognition through his graffiti in New York subway stations in the 1980s and over the years incorporated more activist themes into his work about sexuality and AIDS, racism, and drug abuse. As he became famous and earned good money for his work, he continued to engage in street art and also did a lot of work for charity, until his death in 1990. Bansky became active as a graffiti artist in Bristol in the early 1990s and has spread his political art in public spaces throughout the world. His work is strongly anti-war, anti-capitalist, anti-fascist, and well-known pieces include the mural of the man throwing a bouquet of flowers in the West Bank. In 2010, he released the documentary “Exit Through the Gift Shop”, using footage recorded by Thierry Guetta who followed various street artists and documenting Thierry’s own transformation into a famous street artist Mr. Brainwash. The artivism in these types of works lies not just in the focus of the art pieces themselves, but also in the direct action of reclaiming of public spaces, especially in times when such spaces are plastered with corporate advertisements. There is often a tension for such artists between artivism on one hand and earning a living on the other, especially when the scale tips to fame & fortune. With some of the art works by Haring and Banksy now being worth millions of dollars, their art tends to get appropriated by the elite, who through their wealth may well be complicit in some of the issues addressed in one way or another, and pulled off the streets into institutional and private spaces. Artists may try to fight this, but once their work reaches ridiculous value, very little can be done to undermine it. Many people will have heard of Banksy’s stunt to shred the painting of the girl with balloon at a live Sotheby's auction the moment it was sold for $1.4 million in 2018. However, the value of shredded work only increased and was sold for $25.4 million in 2021. In addition to the elitist appropriation of work by certain artists, there have also been movements of co-optation of graffiti by corporations and governmental organizations in such ways that it can become difficult to distinguish between street artivism and advertising. In addition to graffiti, I would argue that postering and stickering can also be forms of street art and artivism. They are more easily accessible for people who lack the skills or interest to get busy with paint and a fast way to make a point in public spaces with little risk of getting caught, especially with an explosion of camera surveillance in the past decades. Of course, graffiti, but also postering and stickering, in public places is considered a form of vandalism in most countries, and thus illegal. It very much depends on the context to what degree it would be punishable with a fine or even a prison sentence. Last I read, you could get a fine of up to €140 for putting a sticker on a trash bin in the Netherlands. When you stop to think about it, it’s bizarre how we accept constantly being tempted with faraway travels, SUVs, meat, make-up, and other useless shit no one truly needs, wherever we go, but graffiti on a train is what really pisses people off and could put a person in prison. Ultimately, corporate advertising does much more harm to the world than graffiti ever will… Anyways, back to postering and stickering. If you are not too artistic yourself, you can always look for ready-made or printable posters and stickers that you’d like to share with the world. I have listed various organizations and websites that share art for this purpose under the section Resources towards the end of this blog post. One postering trend in the Netherlands that I remember well from my student days concerned the Loesje posters pictured above. Loesje is a fictional character, a young girl who shared her silly and critical insights with the world. According to the website, the key values of Loesje are: “showing solidarity, being anti-authoritarian, being sexually free, showing initiative, being decisive, being a-religious, and being independent.” Loesje considers itself a free speech organization and was founded in 1983. They went international in 1994. People can form local groups and create locally relevant texts in their own language. Although the texts can be pretty funny and sharp, it also happens quite regularly that it’s cringey or appears to go against the Loesje values. Last week, I saw this very clever and effective stickering campaign by XR’s Justice Now group on instagram where they put “genocide” stickers on stop signs in various cities in the Netherlands in support of Palestine. And I found various fun accounts on Instagram sharing stickers found in the wild, which are great for inspiration: radicalgraffiti, graffiti.from.palestine, brandalism_uk, brandalism_nl, stickeroorlog, plaktivisme, stickersnl, linkse_plak_activist. Indigenous art & ceremonyHaving done some research on indigenous resistances to extractive industries, I have come across powerful forms of indigenous art in activism, for example around the protests against Enbridge’s Line 3 pipeline expansion in Minnesota in 2020 and 2021. This pipeline was planned to cut through waterways and indigenous lands. Five Ojibwe tribes had legally challenged the pipeline in court, but in the end of 2020 permits for the construction were granted, unleashing a wave of protests and actions as a last attempt to build social pressure and stop the project. Despite all the resistance, the project still went through and the pipeline expansion was completed in October 2021. Although this may seem like a failure, all the effort invested has contributed to building knowledge, skills, and alliances that strengthen a broader movement against extractive industries. These types of resistances attract and mobilize increasing support from indigenous and non-indigenous allies (individuals and organizations), who share concerns about the climate, the environment, and indigenous land rights. As a protest group grows, media and supporter toolkits often get put together to make it as easy as possible for allies to have access to the right information, references, and materials. In case of the Line 3 protest, various artists provided art work for free use for the cause and for similar non-profit causes, even including a complete Defund Line 3 Art Kit with designs and lots of practical suggestions for making and using protest art. Two indigenous artists who contributed are Isaac Murdoch and Christi Belcourt who currently collaborate as the Onaman Collective, a community-based social arts and justice organization, working to reclaim indigenous heritage towards positive social change for the future. On this website, they share additional activist artwork, “free to download and use for all water and land protection actions by grassroots people”, not for profit. In addition to posters and banners, indigenous activism often also incorporates music, singing, dance, or even specific ceremonies, which helps to expose the colonial violence of extractivism and the ongoing erasure of indigenous rights and cultures. The performances of cultural practices become acts of resistance in and of themselves. One powerful example I have encountered was a performance of a 3-day ceremony to honor the ancestors by Wet’suwet’en people at the Unist’ot’en Camp in British Columbia, Canada, in the path of the planned Coastal GasLink Pipeline. As land defenders on unceded indigenous territory, the Wet’suwet’en people opposed the pipeline, but the BC government, the court, and the police supported the project and violently beat down any resistance over the course of the construction from 2019 until completion in 2023. In this example from 2021, the ceremony remembered missing and murdered indigenous women, girls, and two-spirit people who have been victims of sexual violence in Canada and the United States in shockingly disproportionate ways. The so-called man-camps that are established to house the many men working on the construction of pipelines create particularly unsafe situations for indigenous women in the areas concerned. The ceremony performed in the video involved the hanging of red dresses to hold the spirits of the women, girls, and two-spirit people. The ceremony was interrupted and broken down by police and several people were arrested. At this moment in time, and over the coming months, various people involved in protests against the Coastal GasLink Pipeline are still facing legal charges. You can donate to their legal fund here. Activities at the Unist’ot’en Camp to reoccupy the territory, revive indigenous practices, and heal trauma are still ongoing. You can find the Unist’ot’en Camp support page here. For more tips on supporting indigenous and grassroots resistances against extractive industry, see my living blog post Support the Resistance. Now of course, non-indigenous activists shouldn’t just use indigenous activist art in their own protests, since it would reproduce colonial practices of appropriation. Instead, it’s important to work on true solidarity with indigenous peoples who are on the frontline of extractivist industries and to support them in their resistance in ways that work towards decolonization of the climate movement itself. Although indigenous people form only about 5% of the global population, they safeguard 80% of the world’s biodiversity. We have a responsibility to educate ourselves about the history of exploitation and marginalization of indigenous people across the world, the ongoing consequences today, and the deep roots of the colonial mindset in our own thoughts and behaviors. In addition, indigenous people generally have more holistic views of humans’ place in relation to nature and to history, something that humanity desperately needs to embrace again, now more than ever. Funding artivismIt may be obvious that some of the artivism examples I have discussed above involved professional artists, either generously donating some of their time and skills or getting paid by the movement or through external funding. Such professional forms of artivism tend to be particularly sophisticated, thoroughly thought-out, and well executed, with multiple levels of meaning and strategy. I want to emphasize that professional artists donating their time and skills should not be taken lightly and, most of all, not be pressured or exploited. We easily take for granted that idealists freely share their work for the cause, but tend to forget that idealists also need to eat. So it's important to be mindful of sacrifices people make for the movement and to pursue opportunities for funding to support artists engaging in artivism, in particular artists who identify as BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) and LGBTQI+, or belong to other marginalized groups. Although of course movements often rely on volunteers and financial donations for materials, promotion, and legal assistance, it could definitely be worthwhile to invest in artivism when possible and strengthen alliances between activists and artists. Now, there may also be possibilities for artists to receive external funding for artivism. I haven’t done thorough research on opportunities available, but did see that the Center for Cultural Power organizes Disruptor and Constellations Fellowships for BIPOC artivists, and Beautiful Trouble has the Get Up, Rise Up (GURU) Direct Action Fund for up to $1000. Some of the other artivist organizations, like the Artivist Network and the Center for Artistic Activism, may also have leads with regards to sources of funding. A range of external funding sources might be available from governmental organization, art institutions, and businesses. However, as soon as the funders are not specifically aiming for social change and not quite aware of what is required to achieve such change, tensions may arise between the objectives of the movement and the expectations of the funders. As I mentioned above, the Laboratory of Insurrectionary Imagination collaborated with the Copenhagen Contemporary Art Centre on the bike bloc protest for COP15, but the art center withdrew when it realized the project would involve civil disobedience. The first leg of the same project, involving the construction of the prototypes for the bikes, took place at the Arnolfini Gallery in Bristol for the C -Words Exhibition (Carbon, Climate, Capital, Culture), and was funded by the Arts Council (and indirectly by the city council). A news article in the Guardian pointed out that public money would thus be used for climate protest involving civil disobedience. While there was no mention of any kind of outrage about this situation, it was recognized that the state funding anti-state activities was quite a unique situation and the gallery would have been more hesitant had the protest itself taken place locally. Although solid democracies have obligations to support a healthy civil society and a critical mass of people to keep the government in check, it generally doesn’t quite work so nicely in practice. Gaining external funding could be an interesting opportunity for new collaborations and for pushing funders into new territories, but it could also end up working in the opposite direction when the requirements associated with the funding become too restrictive for the activists. The reality is that activists often fight the status quo that is being maintained by the power of the wealthy, so it would be naïve to expect that plenty of funding would be made available to seriously undermine this power. However, art institutions in particular should reflect on their own power, positionality, and social responsibility in this regard. There is a tendency that they become too subservient to capital, but as they end up silencing and manipulating artists, eradicating critical and subversive voices, they themselves will lose relevance once the art they support becomes little more than propaganda, or “as interesting as a sack of porridge” according to the poet Anthony Anaxagorou. His remark was in response to a recent policy update by the Arts Council of England that emphasized that “overtly political or activist” statements might create “reputational risk” and endanger funding arrangements, just one example of an art institution exerting its power. The resulting outrage about this change has pushed the ACE to issue a statement and announce a revision of the language, but this is unlikely to truly reverse the damage done. Ultimately, for both activists and artists, it’s crucial to find solid funding directly from supporters as much as possible in order to maintain independence and strength. That said, very interesting things are also happening in the field of radical philanthropy, with generational wealth being inherited by young people who have very different ideas on the ways such wealth should be shared with the world. Resources & literatureSlogans Now, I didn’t include slogans in the categorization of artivism because I consider them more as potentially part of artivism projects rather than as artivism in and of themselves. I still do want to briefly discuss them separately here. Coming up with original slogans that may catch on does require creative thinking and it is a fascinating process to see how slogans can start to circulate widely and even become strongly associated with particular social movements. For example, “Black Lives Matter” started as a hashtag, went viral after several high profile cases of (police) violence and killings of black men and women, and became the actual name of the movement itself. Other examples of slogans representing particular movements include “We Are The 99%” for the Occupy Movement, “Make Love Not War” for the movement against the Vietnam War, and “We Shall Overcome” for the Civil Rights Movement. I have started collecting some good slogans I have seen around about capitalism, the climate, and social justice issues, so I wanted to share some of the best ones here for inspiration: ∙ Capitalism is a pyramid scheme ∙ Stop worshipping billionaires ∙ You can't eat money ∙ Fight corporate greed ∙ You don't hate Mondays, you hate capitalism ∙ Eat the rich ∙ There is no ethical consumption under capitalism ∙ Capitalism won't solve the climate crisis ∙ We can change by design, or change will come by disaster ∙ The sea is rising, so must we ∙ System change not climate change ∙ If the climate were a bank, it would have already been saved ∙ The climate is changing, why aren't we? ∙ There is no planet B ∙ Choose eco, not ego ∙ Destroy the patriarchy, not the planet ∙ You know it's time for change when children act like leaders and leaders act like children ∙ Your silence will not protect you ∙ No one is free when others are oppressed ∙ If you are not angry, you are not paying attention ∙ I can't believe I am still protesting this shit ∙ Will trade racists for refugees ∙ Nobody is illegal ∙ No borders, no nations, stop deportations ∙ Respect my existence or expect my resistance ∙ My favorite season is the fall of the patriarchy ∙ If you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem ∙ They tried to bury us, they didn't know we were seeds Useful resources This is a somewhat random list of useful and fun resources I found during my research for this blog post that might inspire you. Artivism: The Art of Subverting Power. This was a conference organized by the Disruption Network Lab, June 23-25, 2023 (in Berlin & streaming). Beautiful Trouble ToolBox, with stories, tactics, principles, theories, and methodologies. Justseeds repository of activist graphics XR UK Art Group downloads XR NL Art Group downloads & Design Guide Defund Line 3 art kit Onaman Collective banner downloads Fuck Yeah Anarchist Posters Anarchist Stickers Archive Anarchist Art Flyers for Falastin (instagram & linktree) OrganizationsArtivist Network Beautiful Trouble The Center for Artistic Activism The Center for Cultural Power Literature Here are some interesting book titles I found during my research. Apart from Degrowth in Movements, which I referenced in the introduction, I haven't yet read any of the others, but they are definitely on my reading list! ∙ Belarde-Lewis, Miranda (2021). Artivism: The Role of Art and Social Media in the Movement. In: Indigenous Peoples Rise Up: The Global Ascendency of Social Media Activism. Bronwyn Carlson and Jeff Berglund (eds). P. 157-169. Rutgers University Press. Goodreads link. There is only this one chapter on artivism in the book. Overall, the book focuses on indigenous movements building through the forming of international coalitions using social media.∙ Boyd, Andrew (2012). Beautiful Trouble: A Toolbox for the Revolution. OR Books. Goodreads link. ∙ Duncombe, Steve, and Steve Lambert (2021). The Art of Activism: Your All-Purpose Guide to Making the Impossible Possible. OR Books. Goodreads link. ∙ Fremeaux, Isabelle, and Jay Jordan (2021). We Are ‘Nature’ Defending Itself: Entangling Art, Activism and Autonomous Zones. Series: Vagabonds. Pluto Press. Goodreads link. This book is part if a series called Vagabonds: Radical Pamphlets to Fan the Flames of Discontent, striving “to publish an eclectic mix of long revolutionary essays and experimental works at the intersection of radical action, interventionist art, and critical inquiry.”∙ Jordan, John (2020). Artivism: Injecting Imagination into Degrowth. In: Degrowth in Movement(s): Exploring Pathways for Transformation. Corinna Burkhart, Matthias Schmelzer, and Nina Treu (eds). P. 59-72. Zero Books. Goodreads link. There is only this one chapter on artivism in the book. Overall, the book is a fascinating collection of essays from a wide range of social movements, discussing the ways they may connect with the degrowth movement. It's a reminder of the fragmented nature of the resistance on one hand and the way various groups work on shared values and visions.∙ Mitchell, Dave, Juman Abujbara, Marcel Taminato, and Andrew Boyd (2017). Beautiful Rising: Creative Resistance from the Global South. OR Books. Goodreads link. ∙ Neal, Lucy (2015). Playing for Time: Making Art as if the World Mattered. Oberon Books. Goodreads link. ∙ Notes from Nowhere (2003). We Are Everywhere: The Irresistible Rise of Global Anti-Capitalism. Verso Books. Goodreads link. ∙ Quiroz, Diana, Manon Stravens, and Eline Achterberg (2022). Art & Climate Justice: Voices for Just Climate Action. Profundo. More info & download. ∙ Sholette, Gregory (2022). The Art of Activism and the Activism of Art. Lund Humphries. Goodreads link. https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7620930/in-objection-to-tree-felling/ https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7620930/in-objection-to-tree-felling/ Originally published 12 January 2024; reposted here on 14 August 2025 SORRY I HAVEN'T YET TRANSLATED THIS. SINCE IT'S A LONG AND RATHER TECHNICAL TEXT SPECIFIC TO THE DUTCH SITUATION, IT'S NOT REALLY A PRIORITY TO DO SO. YOU CAN FIND THE AUTOTRANSLATION HERE, BUT BE AWARE THAT THERE CAN BE MISTAKES. FEEL FREE TO E-MAIL ME WITH QUESTIONS AT INFO@FISTANDFERN.NL. VoorwoordHet is alweer ruim anderhalf jaar geleden dat ik deze blog post schreef. Het was in eerste instantie een gedetailleerd verslag van mijn ervaringen met het aanvechten van bomenkap in mijn dorp om informatie te bieden aan andere mensen die dit ook proberen te doen. Maar helaas is het ook een tekst die laat zien dat het bezwaarproces vooral een schijnproces is en dat de burger zoveel mogelijk buitenspel gezet wordt. Bezwaar maken tegen plannen van de lokale overheid kan zeker hier en daar kans van slagen hebben, en het kan de geplande uitvoering van projecten flink dwars zitten, maar in mijn ervaring is het een kwestie van de slager keurt zijn eigen vlees, namelijk een bezwaarcommissie van de gemeente beoordeelt of de gemeente juist heeft gehandeld. Daarbij zijn onze wetten vaak zo lek als een mandje dankzij vrijblijvendheid en allerlei uitzonderingen, waardoor het voor burgers bijna onmogelijk wordt om overheden echt ter verantwoording te roepen. Als het toch misschien dreigt te lukken, wordt wat gesjoemel met de waarheid blijkbaar ook niet geschuwd (in dit geval fraude met inspectierapporten), iets wat zonder enige consequenties blijft. De grotere vraag is, wat kunnen we eraan doen? Ik denk dat we vooral moeten gaan inzien dat het om diepgewortelde systemische problemen gaat die niet met hetzelfde systeem op te lossen zijn. De organizaties die zich met bestuur (en handhaving) bezighouden en de bijbehorende processen van beleidsvorming zijn over een lange geschiedenis gevormd waarbij de belangen en inspraak van de burger zelden écht voorop stonden. Er ligt teveel macht bij degenen die posities in dit systeem innemen en de gemiddelde burger is te druk, afgeleid, en/of ongeïnteresseerd om hier iets aan te doen. Uiteindelijk ligt de oplossing bij alternatieve, egalitaire vormen van zelforganisatie en zelfbestuur, met ingebouwde mechanismen om accumulatie van macht tegen te gaan. Om te beginnen moeten we daarom eigenlijk allemaal iets politieker worden, en iets meer betrokken bij beslissingen die worden genomen over onze leefomgeving en onze levens. En uitvinden hoe we buiten de betaande corrupte systemen en procedures om gezamelijk problemen kunnen oplossen. InleidingIn januari 2023 spotte ik in onze lokale krant de aankondiging van een vergunningaanvraag voor het “verplanten, kappen en herplanten van diverse bomen” in mijn dorp. Het ging over twee straten en in één ervan staan 13 opvallende grote essen. Ik vind het altijd een heerlijke straat om doorheen te lopen met mijn hond. Het is één van de weinige straten met grote bomen in ons dorp. In de zomer brengen ze schaduw en verkoeling, wat erg waardevol is als je een hond met een dikke zwarte vacht hebt. Dus toen ik de aankondiging las dacht ik meteen, het zal toch niet over die bomen gaan? Ik vroeg via de gemeente de documenten van de vergunningaanvraag op en ja hoor, het plan was om alle 13 essen te kappen! Er werd erkend dat geactualiseerd bomenbeleid streeft naar het behoud van bestaande bomen, maar deze bomen zouden voor veel overlast zorgen bij bewoners door afbrekende takken, er zou hinder zijn door de omvang van de bomen in een relatief smalle laan, en de snoeiwerkzaamheden om takbreuk te verminderen zouden geresulteerd hebben in een aangetaste vitaliteit en een teruggelopen boomkroon. De bomen zouden het dus niet meer waard zijn om te behouden... Ik vond het allemaal zeer slecht onderbouwd en kort door de bocht, en het kwam niet echt overeen met mijn eigen observaties, dus deze vergunningaanvraag overtuigde mij niet van de noodzaak van de kap. Toen ik zag dat de vergunning ook daadwerkelijk toegekend was besloot ik meer onderzoek te doen en te zien of ik de kap tegen zou kunnen houden. In het afgelopen jaar heb ik bezwaar aangetekend, een verzoek voor een voorlopige voorziening (vovo) ingediend bij de rechtbank, gesproken met verschillende bomenexperts, politici, en de media, een jurist ingeschakeld, een second opinion onderzoek laten doen, en een hoorzitting van de bezwaarcommissie bijgewoond. Ik zal alvast verklappen dat mijn bezwaar en het bezwaar van een andere bewoner uiteindelijk op technische gronden afgewezen zijn, ofwel zogenaamd “niet-ontvankelijk” verklaard. Ik had nog via de rechtbank in beroep kunnen gaan, maar heb besloten hiervan af te zien, om redenen die hieronder duidelijk zullen worden. De bomen zijn op dinsdag 12 december 2023 gekapt... Ik heb ontzettend veel geleerd van het hele proces en ik wil dit hier graag delen met anderen die onnodige bomenkap in hun gemeente willen proberen tegen te houden. In deze blog post beschrijf ik daarom het pad wat ik heb afgelegd met mijn observaties, advies, en links naar relevante voorbeelden en onderzoeken. Procedures bij bomenkapZoals ik al aangaf zag ik de plannen voor de kap van de bomen bij de aankondigingen van vergunningaanvragen in onze lokale krant. Als je bezorgd bent over bomenkap in jouw gemeente loont het dus om iedere week de aanvragen en toekenningen te checken. Wanneer je een aanvraag voor kap ziet kun je de bijbehorende documenten al meteen opvragen en beoordelen of het een goed onderbouwd voorstel is. Soms is kap gewoon noodzakelijk; in zulke situaties in bezwaar gaan is dan een verspilling van waardevolle tijd en energie en kan een averechts effect hebben op de publieke opinie t.o.v. activisten tegen bomenkap. Aan de andere kant is de kap van bomen bij plannen voor reorganisatie, renovatie en huizenbouw vaak een gemakzuchtige keuze die goedkoper is (of lijkt te zijn) dan behoud, wat leidt tot veel onnodige kap. Als je een mogelijk omstreden vergunningaanvraag voor bomenkap ziet kun je al in actie komen en proberen te voorkomen dat de gemeente een vergunning verleent. Dan kun je bijvoorbeeld denken aan bewoners mobiliseren, lokale bomen- en natuurorganisaties inschakelen, een petitie opzetten, politici aanschrijven, en de kap onder de aandacht brengen in de krant en op social media. Dan is er meteen een netwerk dat kan helpen om een eventuele bezwaarprocedure te starten als er toch een vergunning wordt verleend. Hier is een voorbeeld van bewoners zie in verzet kwamen toen er plannen waren aangekondigd om zes bomen te kappen en te vervangen met twee bomen en een extra parkeerplaats. Na een petitie en de inschakeling van lokale politici en een expert is er besloten alle zes bomen te vervangen en van de parkeerplaats af te zien. Zodra een vergunning is verleend, wat apart in de lokale krant wordt aangekondigd, is er een periode van 6 weken waarin “belanghebbenden” (verderop uitgelegd) bezwaar kunnen maken. Zodra deze periode is verlopen kun je eigenlijk niet veel meer doen. Je kunt dan hooguit nog publieke druk op de vergunninghouder (degene aan wie de vergunning is verleend: dat kan de gemeente zelf zijn, maar ook een andere landeigenaar) opvoeren om te proberen diegene van gedachten te doen veranderen en te doen beslissen om de bomen toch te behouden. Soms is er een zogenaamde uniforme openbare voorbereidingsprocedure van toepassing en dan kun je geen bezwaar aantekenen via de gemeente. Dan kun je wel een zienswijze indienen tegen de ontwerpvergunning. Hiervoor hoef je geen belanghebbende te zijn. Als de vergunning dan toch verstrekt wordt kan hiertegen via de rechtbank in beroep gegaan worden, maar dan moet je wel eerst een zienswijze hebben ingediend én in dit geval wel belanghebbende zijn. In sommige situaties is er helemaal geen omgevingsvergunning nodig voor bomenkap. De precieze regels verschillen echter sterk per gemeente. Zo zijn er gemeenten waar bijvoorbeeld geen vergunning nodig is voor de kap van niet-monumentale bomen op privéterrein, terwijl dat in andere gemeenten wel het geval kan zijn. Het kan dus voorkomen dat er plannen zijn voor grootschalige bomenkap in jouw gemeente waar geen vergunning voor nodig is, waar je als bezorgde burger niet over geïnformeerd hoeft te worden, en waar je geen officiële stappen tegen kunt ondernemen. Dan kun je nog wel controleren of de regels zijn gevolgd en aan de bel trekken als dit niet zo lijkt te zijn. En je kunt overwegen om bewoners, natuurorganisaties, politici, en media mobiliseren om de druk tegen de kap op te voeren. Voor bomen en bossen die buiten de bebouwde kom staan gelden nog iets andere regels. Naast dat er bij kap mogelijk een omgevingsvergunning van de gemeente nodig is vallen deze bomen ook onder de Wet Natuurbescherming van 2017. Volgens deze wet heeft kap in beschermde Natura 2000 gebieden een vergunning van de provincie nodig, moet kap van overige bomen in veel gevallen gemeld worden en gecompenseerd worden met herplant, en kan kap verboden worden als bomen belangrijke natuur- of landschapswaarden hebben. Er zijn uitzonderingen voor de meld- en herplant plicht, bijvoorbeeld als het gaat om bomen van bepaalde soorten of om een dunning van een bos. Het is nog wel sterk de vraag hoe proactief provincies zijn in het controleren van de natuur- en landschapswaarden bij voorgestelde kap en mogelijke redenen om een verbod op te leggen. Op zoek naar medestanders en aandachtToen ik de aankondiging van de vergunningverlening in de krant zag besloot ik eerst meer onderzoek te doen naar de meningen van anderen over de kap. Op basis van de vergunningaanvraag en andere documenten die ik online vond kwam ik erachter dat veel mensen in de directe omgeving de bomen weg wilden hebben. In ons dorp geven veel mensen de voorkeur aan betegelde tuinen met weinig groen en weinig onderhoud. Dus er heerst een cultuur waarbij de natuur al gauw als rommelig en lastig ervaren wordt en er weinig erkenning is voor het feit dat we de natuur ook echt nodig hebben, nu meer dan ooit! Toch wilde ik peilen of er nog andere mensen waren die wel voor behoud van de bomen waren. Ik besloot een Facebook post te maken en op de pagina van het dorp te delen om dorpelingen op de hoogte te brengen van de plannen voor de kap en om te zien of er medestanders zouden zijn. Er waren verschillende reacties van mensen die heel fel tegen het behoud van de bomen waren. Sommigen zeiden dat de wortels van de bomen schade veroorzaakten aan riolering (iets wat niet in de vergunningaanvraag als motivatie voor de kap werd genoemd) en anderen waren in de veronderstelling dat de bomen zomaar op iemand's huis zouden kunnen vallen (terwijl de vergunningaanvraag aangaf dat de bomen veilig waren verklaard). Het leek erop dat er niet veel liefhebbers van de bomen in de buurt woonden. Via de Facebook post kwam ik in contact met de fractievoorzitter van GroenLinks Hoeksche Waard. Hij is nog op pad gegaan en heeft bij bewoners in de straat aangebeld om te vragen wat de ervaringen met de bomen waren. Van drie bewoners die hij sprak waren twee bewoners absoluut tegen de bomen. Eén van hen had problemen ervaren met schade aan riolering door boomwortels en had moeten opdraaien voor bijbehorende kosten voor reparatie. Ook waren er grote overhangende takken waardoor er bladeren en plakkerigheid in de tuin viel. Op zich begrijpelijke bronnen van frustratie, maar zouden er geen andere oplossingen mogelijk zijn zonder meteen alle 13 bomen te kappen? GroenLinks heeft vervolgens nog technische vragen over de vergunningverlening gesteld aan de portefeuillehouder bij de gemeente, maar daarop werd vooral herhaald dat de bomen “niet de moeite waard” zouden zijn. Er werd gesproken over kwetsbaarheid voor essentaksterfte, maar het bleef onduidelijk in hoeverre hier in dit geval sprake van was. Essentaksterfte was namelijk in het geheel niet in de vergunningaanvraag genoemd. Ook werd er plotseling gesproken over onveilige situaties door takbreuk, terwijl veiligheid ook niet als motivatie voor kap was aangevoerd in de vergunningaanvraag. Bovendien werden de bomen regelmatig geïnspecteerd en waren ze veilig verklaard. Ik kom verderop uitgebreid terug op essentaksterfte en veiligheid. Ondertussen had ik flyers aan de bomen gehangen met de aankondiging dat ze gekapt zouden worden en dat belanghebbenden nog binnen een aantal weken bezwaar zouden kunnen maken. Deze flyers werden steeds binnen een dag weggehaald door bewoners die de bomen weg wilden hebben en die natuurlijk niet zaten te wachten op aandacht en weerstand. Ik hoopte dat ze toch gezien zouden worden door mensen die ook bezwaar zouden kunnen maken. Ik had overwogen om in een straal van 100 meter om de bomen bij mensen aan te bellen om te zien of we ons zouden kunnen organiseren, maar ik had weinig tijd en ik zag het ook niet zo zitten om heftige reacties op mijn dak te krijgen van voorstanders van de kap. Dus ik zag af van dat idee. Ik zocht nog contact met een lokale Bomenwerkgroep Fraxinus Excelsior en met de Bomenridders Rotterdam om te zien wat experts van deze kap vonden en of ik een goed punt had om het aan te vechten. Ik stuurde foto's en informatie uit de vergunningaanvraag en beide organisaties waren verbaasd over de voorgenomen kap en waren niet overtuigd van de noodzaak. De Bomenridders stuurde een schriftelijke reactie met opmerkingen en vragen die ik op kon nemen in mijn bezwaarschrift. Naar aanleiding van mijn Facebook post werd ik benaderd door een journalist van het AD voor een artikel over de kap. Ik probeerde hem naar GroenLinks te verwijzen, maar hij wilde er graag een “persoonlijk verhaal” van maken (zucht). Dit zou betekenen dat ik met naam en foto in de krant zou komen. Ik zat er niet echt op te wachten, maar tegelijkertijd wilde ik de kap onder de aandacht brengen, dus ik gaf toe. Ik kreeg niet veel reacties op het artikel en het waren vooral mensen die verder weg woonden die zich ook zorgen maakten om de kap. Uiteindelijk kreeg ik weinig concrete bijval, maar ik vond dat de vergunningaanvraag sowieso niet door de beugel kon door de belachelijk slechte motivering, dus ik besloot te onderzoeken of ik zelf in bezwaar zou willen en kunnen gaan. Status als belanghebbendeHet grootste obstakel om bezwaar aan te kunnen tekenen tegen een kapvergunning in je gemeente is dat je moet kunnen aantonen belanghebbende te zijn. Je komt hiervoor in aanmerking als je binnen 100 meter van de bomen woont of op een afstand tussen 100 en 200 meter én ook zicht hebt op de bomen. Dit wordt op veel websites zo aangegeven, maar het er komt echter meer bij kijken. Laten we even naar de relevante uitspraken van rechtbanken en de Raad van State. Allereerst is er de uitspraak van de Rechtbank Utrecht van 13 februari 2009 (ECLI:NL:RBUTR:2009:BH3305) waarin het volgende wordt gezegd: “In aansluiting op hetgeen is overwogen door de rechtbank Amsterdam in haar uitspraak van 1 september 2008 (LJN:BF3709), op welke uitspraak door verweerder een beroep is gedaan, heeft te gelden dat:- personen die op meer dan 100 meter afstand van de bomen wonen en geen zicht hebben op deze bomen; en- personen die weliswaar zicht hebben op de bomen, maar op meer dan 200 meter van de bomen wonen,niet als belanghebbende kunnen worden aangemerkt ten aanzien van het besluit waarbij voor die boom of bomen een kap- of velvergunning wordt verleend. Van deze hoofdregel kan en moet worden afgeweken indien bijzondere omstandigheden daartoe nopen. Van bijzondere omstandigheden kan sprake zijn indien het gaat om de kap van een beeldbepalende of monumentale boom, die bijzondere waarden vertegenwoordigt, of bijvoorbeeld bij de kap van grote aantallen bomen in een stadspark of bos. Dan zal aan de hand van de concrete omstandigheden van het geval moeten worden beoordeeld of de betrokkene zich kwalificeert als belanghebbende.”In sommige gevallen kan er dus een ruimere definitie van belanghebbende worden toegepast, vooral als het gaat om bomen met een bredere sociaal-historische betekenis. Dit is eigenlijk het enige goede nieuws. Logischerwijs hebben alle bomen een brede sociaal-historische én ecologische betekenis, en zou in deze tijd iedereen belanghebbende moeten zijn als het gaat om de kap van bomen, maar helaas hebben volgende uitspraken alleen maar gezorgd voor een vernauwing van de definitie. Sinds een uitspraak van de Raad van State van 16 maart 2016 (ECLI:NL:RVS:2016:737) wordt er een correctie toegepast waardoor je alleen als belanghebbende wordt gezien als je “gevolgen van enige betekenis” ondervindt door de activiteit. Wat dit precies betekent is ingevuld door een uitspraak van de Raad van State van 23 augustus 2017 (ECLI:NL:RVS:2017:2271), namelijk als volgt: “Het uitgangspunt is dat degene die rechtstreeks feitelijke gevolgen ondervindt van een activiteit die het besluit - zoals een bestemmingsplan of een vergunning - toestaat, in beginsel belanghebbende is bij dat besluit. Het criterium ‘gevolgen van enige betekenis’ dient als correctie op dit uitgangspunt. Gevolgen van enige betekenis ontbreken indien de gevolgen wel zijn vast te stellen, maar de gevolgen van de activiteit voor de woon-, leef- of bedrijfssituatie van betrokkene dermate gering zijn dat een persoonlijk belang bij het besluit ontbreekt. Daarbij wordt acht geslagen op de factoren afstand tot, zicht op, planologische uitstraling van en milieugevolgen (o.a. geur, geluid, licht, trilling, emissie, risico) van de activiteit die het besluit toestaat, waarbij die factoren zo nodig in onderlinge samenhang worden bezien. Ook aard, intensiteit en frequentie van de feitelijke gevolgen kunnen van belang zijn.”Deze uitspraken maken het erg lastig om als burger een belanghebbende te zijn in het geval van bomenkap als de betreffende bomen niet pal naast je huis staan. Er is zelfs een recente uitspraak van 29 juni 2022 door de Raad van State (ECLI:NL:RVS:2022:1832) waarbij iemand die op 50 en 90 meter afstand woonde van kaplocaties voor de kap van 50 en 59 bomen niet als belanghebbende werd erkend omdat het zicht op de bomen te beperkt zou zijn (zie punt 3.3 in de uitspraak). Hij zou zich niet voldoende “onderscheiden van anderen”. Ook werd zijn punt dat de kap zou leiden tot waardedaling van zijn huis niet geaccepteerd omdat hij dit niet had onderbouwd. Ik vind het een zeer slechte ontwikkeling dat het burgers op deze manier op technische punten worden uitgesloten uit het bezwaarproces, vooral omdat het meer over technische definities gaat dan over de daadwerkelijke noodzaak van de bomenkap. Ingediende bezwaren die niet-ontvankelijk verklaard worden, bijvoorbeeld als een bezwaarmaker niet als belanghebbende wordt gezien, hoeven niet meer inhoudelijk behandeld te worden. Op deze manier komen gemeenten dus erg gemakkelijk weg met slecht onderbouwde vergunningaanvragen voor kap en lijkt het bezwaarproces niet veel meer dan een schijnvertoning. Er is wel enige tegenbeweging en dit artikel laat zien dat recentere uitspraken in gevallen van twijfel de burger toch als belanghebbende zien. Er is dus een grijs gebied en het kan lonen om de grenzen op te zoeken van wat er geaccepteerd wordt. Ook al is het ontmoedigend om te zien hoe je als burger wordt tegen gewerkt en buitengesloten als je een stem wil in wat er in je omgeving gebeurt, toch heeft het zin om bezwaar aan te tekenen tegen onnodige bomenkap, ook als je twijfelt of je binnen de categorie belanghebbende zou vallen. Allereerst is het een signaal naar de gemeente toe dat er wel degelijk weerstand is, en als er meerdere mensen zijn die bezwaar aantekenen kan het de druk opvoeren op de gemeente om de bezwaren serieus te nemen en de plannen te heroverwegen. Als er meerdere mensen zijn die bezwaar zouden willen maken tegen de kap kun je ervoor kiezen om aparte bezwaren in te dienen of om gezamelijk één bezwaar in te dienen. Hoe dan ook is het slim om de krachten te bundelen om één tekst op te stellen die inhoudelijk zo sterk mogelijk is. Op deze manier voorkom je dat iemand met de meeste kans om als belanghebbende te worden erkend misschien net belangrijke inhoudelijke punten mist in het bezwaarschrift en hierop alsnog wordt afgewezen. Als je gezamelijk één bezwaar in wil dienen, dan moet er één persoon door de anderen gemachtigd worden om het ook namens hen te doen. Dit betekent dat de volledige namen en adressen van alle bezwaarmakers op het bezwaarschrift staan en dat iedereen een machtigingsbrief ondertekent die bijgevoegd kan worden. Als alternatief kan iedereen met min of meer dezelfde tekst een apart, individueel bezwaar indienen. Als niemand in de buurt overtuigend belanghebbende én tegen de kap is, maar de bomenkap zeer zorgwekkend lijkt, kun je nog onderzoeken of een lokale bomen- of natuurorganisatie actief in jouw gemeente (zie hier een overzicht van bomenorganisaties) bezwaar zou kunnen en willen maken. Dit soort organisaties hebben vaak beperkte middelen, dus als ze zich al bezig houden met bezwaarprocedures zullen ze zich vooral richten op zaken waarbij het gaat om grote aantallen bomen en/of monumentale bomen. De landelijke Bomenstichting gaat soms ook in bezwaar tegen bomenkap van monumentale bomen aangezien ze hierin op landelijk niveau belanghebbende zijn. Deze organisatie beheert namelijk het Landelijk Register Monumentale Bomen waar je kunt checken of een boom geregistreerd is en, zo ja, foto's en waarnemingen kunt vinden. Ook kun je bomen aanmelden voor opname als ze 80 jaar of ouder zijn, gezond zijn met een levensverwachting van minstens 10 jaar, en bepaalde bijzondere waarde hebben. Toen ik probeerde te beslissen of ik in bezwaar zou kunnen gaan was ik nog niet op de hoogte van alle details die ik hierboven heb besproken. Ik wist alleen dat je ofwel binnen 100 meter moest wonen ofwel tussen 100 en 200 meter mét zicht op de bomen. Ik checkte de afstand op google maps en vond dat ik zo 134 meter op afstand van de eerste boom woonde en op 198 meter van de verste boom. Vanuit mijn slaapkamerraam had ik zicht op de kronen van 5-6 van de bomen. Er was geen duidelijkheid over hoeveel zicht er precies nodig was en of het uitmaakte vanuit welk deel van het huis. Ik vond wel een zaak waarbij iemand in een vergelijkbare situatie, met zicht op de kroon van een boom vanuit een zit-slaapkamer, in een hoger beroep bij de Raad van State op 11 januari 2012 gelijk kreeg en alsnog als belanghebbende werd aangemerkt (ECLI:NL:RVS:2012:BV0559). Op basis daarvan leek het erop dat ik in de juiste positie was om bezwaar aan te tekenen. Echter ik kan nu alvast verklappen dat mijn bezwaar uiteindelijk toch niet-ontvankelijk werd verklaard omdat ik niet als belanghebbende werd erkend. Er werd door de bezwaarcommissie gesteld dat mijn zicht op de bomen te beperkt was, dat tussenliggende bebouwing het zicht belemmerde, en dat ik mijzelf niet voldoende zou onderscheiden van anderen. Dit alles op basis van de correctie van 2016, de invulling van 2017, en de uitspraak van 2022. Dat ik dagelijks meerdere malen met de hond door de straat loop zou geen belang aantonen aangezien vele anderen ook door de straat lopen. Juridische hulp inschakelenAls je een rechtsbijstandsverzekering hebt is het slim om die in te schakelen zodra je overweegt om een bezwaar in te dienen. Ik had er zelf niet aan gedacht en kwam pas tot het besef dat ik juridische hulp kon gebruiken tijdens de vovo zitting (zie hieronder). Een jurist kan hulp bieden bij het indekken van je status als belanghebbende en bij het voorbereiden van een inhoudelijke argumentatie voor het bezwaarschrift. Ik heb een rechtsbijstandsverzekering bij via Interpolis bij Achmea en na het aanmelden van de zaak duurde het 3 weken tot ik een jurist kreeg toegewezen (normaal zou je na melding binnen 5-10 werkdagen bericht moeten krijgen). Het is dus slim om hier rekening mee te houden en een zaak op tijd aan te melden. Als je geen rechtsbijstandsverzekering hebt kun je zien of je juridisch advies kunt inwinnen bij een lokale bomen- of natuurorganisatie of bij de landelijke Bomenstichting. Of als geld geen obstakel is kun je natuurlijk zelf juridische hulp inschakelen. Twee nadelen van een jurist via een verzekering zijn dat diegene niet persé is gespecialiseerd in rechtszaken rondom behoud van bomen, en dat er ook een financiële afweging wordt gemaakt over de kans dat een zaak gewonnen wordt. Nadat de bezwaarcommissie mijn bezwaar had afgewezen concludeerde mijn jurist dat een beroep via de rechtbank niet veel kans zou maken. Op basis hiervan zou de verzekering dus de kosten van een beroep en een vovo niet vergoeden en geen verdere juridische steun verlenen. Als zo'n zaak gewonnen wordt dan kunnen de kosten namelijk verhaald worden op de gemeente en dan kost het de verzekering weinig tot niets. Dit is in de praktijk helaas wel een rem op de vechtlust om toch te proberen een gelijk te halen. Als je een laag inkomen hebt en geen rechtsbijstandsverzekering kun je mogelijk nog in aanmerking komen voor gesubsidieerde rechtsbijstand. Dan is er echter wel een eigen risico en moet je de griffierechten nog betalen. Op de griffierechten kun je een vermindering aanvragen en als je de zaak wint dan krijg je dit terugbetaald. Bezwaar indienen en vovo aanvragenOp 18 februari, binnen zes weken na de aankondiging van de verleende vergunning, stuurde ik mijn bezwaarschrift naar de gemeente. Mocht het zo zijn dat je tegen de deadline voor het indienen van je bezwaar aanzit, maar al je argumenten nog niet goed hebt uitgewerkt of wacht op input van een expert, dan kun je het bezwaar alvast indienen als een pro forma bezwaar waarin je aangeeft dat de onderbouwing later volgt. Vermeld dan duidelijk de term “pro forma” op het bezwaarschrift. De onderbouwing kan dan na de deadline nagestuurd worden. De gemeente zal daar een maximale termijn voor stellen. Zorg in ieder geval dat je (pro forma) bezwaar op tijd binnen is, want al is het maar 1 dag te laat dan zal het niet-ontvankelijk worden verklaard. Ik heb het al even over een zogenaamde vovo gehad, ofwel een voorlopige voorziening. Dit is een ontzettend belangrijke stap die je naast het indienen van een bezwaar moet nemen en dat gaat via de rechtbank. Het vraagt de rechter namelijk om te beslissen dat de vergunning voor de kap niet mag worden gebruikt voordat er een belissing is genomen op het bezwaarschrift. Gek genoeg mag een gemeente anders gewoon tot kap over gaan ook al zijn er 20 bezwaren ingediend. Dit komt omdat een bezwaar bij de gemeente (of een beroep bij de rechtbank of de Raad van State) geen opschortende werking heeft. Pas kapte de Gemeente Groningen nog een gezonde 20 meter hoge ginkgo biloba uit 1960 voor de bouw van een kunstcentrum terwijl bezwaarmakers een hoger beroep bij de rechtbank hadden ingediend tegen de niet-ontvankelijkheidsverklaring van hun bezwaren door de bezwaarcommissie. Het is natuurlijk een zeer onsympathieke actie van de gemeente, en bovendien loopt die het risico dat er later nog een schadevergoeding betaald moet worden als het beroep toch wordt toegekend en de kapvergunning wordt ingetrokken, maar als de bezwaarmakers een verzoek voor een voorlopige voorziening hadden ingediend hadden ze de voorbarige kap kunnen voorkomen. Bij een verzoek voor een vovo is het overigens wel van belang dat er een spoedeisend belang is en dat er onomkeerbare gevolgen zouden zijn. Nu is bomenkap sowieso onomkeerbaar, maar als de kap pas voor 6 maanden later gepland staat dan is er geen spoedeisendheid en is een vovo niet nodig en zou ook niet toegekend worden. Binnen die 6 maanden zou een bezwaarprocedure namelijk afgerond moeten kunnen worden. Het is dus handig om een idee te hebben van de planning van de kap en als dit in de verdere toekomst zou liggen zwart op wit te krijgen dat de kap niet zal plaatsvinden voor een bepaalde datum. Ik diende mijn vovo verzoek ook meteen op zaterdag 18 februari in. Dit kan digitaal met je DigiD via deze website. De rechtbank heeft hierop zeer snel gereageerd. Voor zover ik me kan herinneren kreeg ik op dinsdag een telefoontje hierover en werd de gemeente ook meteen gebeld om ze te informeren dat er een vovo was ingediend en dat ze niet tot kap over mochten gaan tot er door de rechter over was besloten. Ik kreeg een nota voor griffierecht van €184 en diezelfde week werd er nog een datum geprikt voor de hoorzitting voor 9 maart. Je kunt dan tot een dag voor de hoorzitting nog nieuwe stukken indienen ter ondersteuning van je zaak. Ik had ondertussen meer onderzoek gedaan en stuurde aanvullende informatie over de ecosysteemwaarden van essen, de juiste procedures voor boominspecties, beoordeling van conditie en vitaliteit van bomen, en mogelijkheden tot groeiplaatsverbetering (of standplaatsverbetering) om bomen een betere toekomst te geven. Dit waren allemaal factoren die in de vergunningaanvraag niet waren behandeld en overwogen. Ik ging in mijn eentje naar de hoorzitting, vooral voorbereid op de inhoudelijke argumentatie. Toen ik in de ontvangsthal voor de rechtszaal aankwam waren er vijf mensen namens de gemeente. Twee van hen waren van de juridische afdeling en één van de uitvoerende organisatie. Twee mensen waren meegekomen omdat ze het interessant vonden om te observeren. Ze vonden het blijkbaar allemaal een fascinerende en grappige vertoning. Het leek alsof ze het zagen als een bedrijfsuitje. De zitting begon en de rechter legde eigenlijk meteen uit dat ze de dag ervoor door de gemeente was geïnformeerd dat de kap van de bomen zou worden uitgesteld tot het najaar i.v.m. het naderende broedseizoen. Dit betekende dat de spoedeisende factor verviel en dat de aanvraag voor de vovo niet langer nodig was. De gemeente had mij hier niet over geïnformeerd en de rechter had besloten de zitting toch door te laten gaan. Zij gaf aan dat ik ter plekke kon beslissen om mijn verzoek voor een vovo in te trekken, met de mededeling dat als ik dat niet deed hij toch niet zou worden toegekend. Dus ik trok mijn verzoek in en de zitting was voorbij... De rechter was duidelijk geïrriteerd door de houding en het gedrag van de gemeente. Ze vroeg tijdens de introducties wie van hen vergunningverlener en wie vergunninghouder was, waarop werd gereageerd dat ze het allebei tegelijk waren, iets wat niet echt werd gewaardeerd (ook al is de gemeente beide hoort er een onderscheid gemaakt te worden tussen de afdelingen/ personen die de relatieve rollen aannemen). Ze benadrukte ook dat de gemeente met deze late beslissing de tijd van de rechter en van mij had verspild, dat ik voor niets naar de rechtbank was gereisd en een dagdeel aan tijd kwijt was. De woordvoerder van de gemeente reageerde door te stellen dat ze met z'n vijven ook voor niets waren gekomen, blijkbaar niet realiserend dat ze er zelf verantwoordelijk voor waren. Ik dacht te zien dat de rechter met haar ogen rolde... Achteraf leerde ik dat ik op dat moment nog had moeten vragen om vergoeding van de €184 griffierechten. Bij het winnen van de zaak zou ik die terug krijgen van de gemeente, maar nu ik me door verandering van de situatie terug moest trekken was dit niet het geval. Toen ik later een jurist toegewezen kreeg via mijn rechtsbijstandsverzekering zei zij dat dat ter plekke geregeld had moeten worden en dat ik er achteraf niets meer aan kon doen om het terug te krijgen. De rechter had er blijkbaar niet aan gedacht en ik was zo verrast door de gang van zaken dat ik daar op dat moment niet mee bezig was. Na de zitting raakte ik in gesprek met de juridische medewerkers van de gemeente. Zij zeiden dat ik een uitnodiging zou ontvangen voor een informeel gesprek over de vergunning. Ik gaf aan dat de vergunning zeer slecht onderbouwd was, maar als er betere en overtuigende informatie beschikbaar was die een slechte gezondheid van de bomen zou aantonen ik natuurlijk bereid zou zijn om mijn bezwaar in te trekken. Echter, zij stuurden het gesprek naar mijn status als belanghebbende en stelden dat ik te ver weg woonde en niet voldoende zicht had op de bomen. Het kwam over als een aanval en het werd me meteen duidelijk dat de gemeente erop aanstuurde om mijn bezwaar op technische gronden te diskwalificeren, ofwel niet-ontvankelijk te verklaren. Ik werd gezien als een tegenstander die moest worden uitgeschakeld en niet als een bezorgde burger met gegronde zorgen over mogelijk onnodige bomenkap. Later begreep ik dat de gemeente niet had voorzien dat het uitstel van de kap zou leiden tot intrekking van mijn vovo verzoek. Als zij de kap niet hadden uitgesteld, dan had ik als onderdeel van de zitting mijn status als belanghebbende moeten onderbouwen, iets waar ik niet volledig op was voorbereid. Ik wist de afstand van mijn woning tot de bomen en dat ik zicht had op de kronen van verschillende bomen, maar ik had bijvoorbeeld geen foto's meegenomen om dit te onderbouwen. En zelfs al had ik die wel meegenomen is het goed mogelijk dat de vovo was afgewezen, ook al leek de rechter sympathie te hebben voor mijn zaak. Het afwijzen van de vovo is dan meteen een signaal dat de rechter verwacht dat het bezwaar ook zou worden afgewezen op dezelfde gronden. Als er geen vovo wordt toegekend, dan heeft de gemeente in principe een vrijbrief om te gaan kappen, ook als de bezwaarprocedure nog loopt. Dan heeft het voor de bezwaarmaker eigenlijk weinig zin meer om die nog door te zetten. Hier is een voorbeeld van een uitspraak van 17 maart 2023 door de Rechtbank Midden Nederland (ECLI:NL:RBMNE:2023:1337) over een vovo betreffende de kap van acht bomen waarbij het verzoek wordt afgewezen omdat de eiser te ver weg van de bomen woonde (110 meter) en te weinig zicht zou hebben (belemmerd door tussenliggend groen). Naar aanleiding van deze ervaring en de vijandige houding van de gemeente in de rechtbank heb ik mijn rechtsbijstandsverzekering ingeschakeld, waarna ik een jurist toegewezen kreeg. Ondertussen wachtte ik op een uitnodiging voor het aangekondigde informele gesprek. Gemeente in gebreke stellenZo'n drie weken na de hoorzitting ontving ik een brief dat de termijn voor de beslissing op mijn bezwaar met 6 weken zou worden uitgesteld - dat zou dan voor 16 mei moeten gebeuren. Vervolgens was het weer radiostilte en op 20 mei stuurde ik een formulier ingebrekestelling naar de gemeente. Dit is een manier om overheidsinstanties aan te sporen op het nemen van een beslissing. Na ontvangst van het formulier heeft die instantie dan nog twee weken om alsnog te beslissen en als het langer duurt zal die instantie een dwangsom moeten gaan betalen aan de betreffende burger. Die dwangsom loopt op hoe langer de vertraging, tot maximaal €1442 bij 42 dagen vertraging. Ik had me bedacht dat ik een eventueel verschuldigde dwangsom zou kunnen gebruiken om de kosten van het hele proces te dekken, inclusief een mogelijk second opinion onderzoek en een rechtszaak. Echter, er is geen dwangsom verschuldigd als je geen belanghebbende bent of als je zaak om een andere reden niet-ontvankelijk wordt verklaard of ongegrond is. Mijn ingebreke stelling werd dus uiteindelijk bij de beslissing van de bezwaarcommissie over de zaak ook afgewezen. Zo lang de gemeente hier niet zeker van is is de mogelijke dwangsom wel een stok achter de deur om het proces in beweging te krijgen. En mocht je een dwangsom toegekend krijgen kun je het bedrag altijd alsnog gebruiken om kosten te dekken of bijvoorbeeld doneren aan een organisatie die zich inzet voor bomenbehoud. Informeel gesprekDrie dagen na het verzenden van de ingebrekestelling kreeg ik een uitnodiging voor het informele gesprek voor 7 juni (dit werd later weer met twee weken uitgesteld naar 21 juni). In de uitnodiging stond dat er andere reacties waren van bewoners uit de straat en niet kort daarna werd ik benaderd door iemand die met haar partner ook bezwaar had aangetekend en een andere bewoner die ook tegen de kap was maar geen bezwaar had aangetekend. Ineens waren we met z'n vieren en ik voelde me gesterkt dat er mensen uit de straat zelf toch ook tegen de kap waren. Ik hoorde wel dat het andere bezwaar een dag te laat was ingediend en vermoedde dat het op die basis afgewezen zou worden. De bezwaarmaakster was ervan overtuigd dat het geldig was omdat de gemeente het in behandeling had genomen. Echter, bij de uiteindelijke hoorzitting van 30 oktober werd haar bezwaar alsnog op die gronden niet-ontvankelijk verklaard. Mijn jurist had al aangegeven dat het gesprek waarschijnlijk vooral een poging zou zijn om ons te overtuigen van de noodzaak van de kap zodat we onze bezwaren zouden intrekken. Ik stond er op zich voor open dat er informatie zou kunnen zijn waaruit zou blijken dat de bomen inderdaad beter gekapt zouden kunnen worden. Maar gezien de houding van de gemeente tot nu toe was ik ook skeptisch en kritisch. Je bent overigens niet verplicht om aan zo'n gesprek deel te nemen en kunt simpelweg de bijeenkomst van de bezwaarcommissie afwachten. Als je wel deel neemt dan is kan het handig zijn om het gesprek op te nemen (vraag hiervoor wel even toestemming aan iedereen). In ons geval zijn er notulen gemaakt en nagestuurd, maar deze waren zeer summier en incompleet. Tijdens het gesprek waren aanwezig: ik en drie andere bewoners tegen de kap, twee bewoners voor de kap i.v.m. overlast door takken en wortels, twee vertegenwoordigers van een lokale natuurbeschermingsorganisatie (op verzoek van de andere bezwaarmaakster), de projectmanager van de gemeente die de vergunning voor de kap had aangevraagd, de bomenexpert van de gemeente, een vertegenwoordiger van juridische zaken, en een projectondersteuner die notulen maakte. Het grootste deel van de bijeenkomst, die 1,5 uur duurde, bestond uit een langdradige uiteenzetting door de bomenexpert. Hij besprak het bomenbeleid in de Hoeksche Waard en wilde ons er allereerst van overtuigen dat hij een échte bomenliefhebber was. Er werd vooral ingespeeld op de nieuwe argumenten van essentaksterfte en veiligheid, welke al door de portefeuillehouder waren aangevoerd in de beantwoording van de vragen van GroenLinks, maar welke niet in de vergunningaanvraag waren genoemd. Nieuwe argumenten kunnen trouwens niet zomaar worden aangevoerd om een vergunningaanvraag beter te onderbouwen; hiervoor zou een formele aanpassing aangevraagd moeten worden. De bomenexpert zei dat alle 13 bomen geïnfecteerd waren met essentaksterfte en dat dit niet te genezen was. We kregen een bomenpaspoort van één van de bomen te zien, maar de informatie was vaag en de bomenexpert kon geen duidelijk antwoord geven op onze vragen over hoe de diagnose gemaakt werd. Aangezien dit nieuwe informatie was wilde ik graag meer weten en vroeg of het mogelijk was dat wij inzage zouden krijgen in de inspectiedata. Ik moest hier twee keer om vragen en er werd omheen gedraaid tot het uiteindelijk werd toegezegd. Essentaksterfte zou niet persé reden zijn voor kap, maar impact kunnen hebben op de toekomstverwachting van een boom. De bomenexpert kon echter geen prognose geven over hoe lang de bomen nog mee zouden kunnen. De optie van groeiplaatsverbetering die ik voor de vovo zitting al had aangedragen werd afgedaan als te duur (het zou vele tienduizenden euro's kosten) en niet de moeite waard. De mogelijkheid dat het de conditie van de bomen zou kunnen verbeteren zodat ze beter bestand zouden zijn tegen essentaksterfte werd niet besproken of overwogen. Er werd vooral benadrukt dat essentaksterfte zou leiden tot takbreuk en mogelijke veiligheidsissues. De bomenexpert stelde, wat als je daar onder de bomen loopt met je kinderwagen met een tweeling en er valt een grote tak naar beneden? Met dit voorbeeld verloor deze “expert” voor mij meteen alle respect. Het was pure angstzaaierij waar een echte bomenexpert en -liefhebber zich verre van zou houden. Er zijn duidelijke protocollen voor het bepalen van veiligheid van bomen en mogelijke risico's die daarbuiten vallen kunnen niet voorkomen worden, maar zijn relatief zeer klein. De andere bezwaarmaakster reageerde dat de essen in een volgende straat er slechter aan toe waren dan deze. Wat als je daar met je kinderwagen loopt dan? Waarom worden die bomen niet gekapt? De bomenexpert gaf toe dat dit soort bomen niet preventief gekapt worden, maar als die betreffende straat gerenoveerd zou worden dan zouden dat waarschijnlijk ook overwogen worden. Met andere woorden, de veiligheidsrisico’s waren toch niet van die aard dat ze kap zouden rechtvaardigen. Door van mogelijke takbreuk een veiligheidsissue te maken werden wij als bezwaarmakers wel plotseling gepositioneerd als een obstakel om de veiligheid van omwonenden te waarborgen. Echter als een boom is afgekeurd tijdens de boomveiligheidscontrole kan die zonder vergunning gekapt worden, dus dan was bezwaar aantekenen ook niet eens mogelijk geweest. Er was bovendien geen enkele poging om het probleem van takbreuk in kaart te brengen bijvoorbeeld door te kijken naar het aantal meldingen in de afgelopen jaren geweest en te bepalen of die uitzonderlijk waren in vergelijking met andere bomen. In de twee jaar dat ik dagelijks door de straat liep had ik nog nooit overdreven takbreuk gezien en een enkele keer dat er een tak was gevallen was dit in een situatie van storm of ernstige droogte, momenten dat vele andere bomen in en rond het dorp takken lieten vallen. Als we iedere boom met takbreuk zouden kappen blijven er weinig bomen over. De bewoners die voor de kap waren spraken over een tak die in hun tuin was gevallen vlakbij iemand die in de tuin bezig was. Zij waren duidelijk bang voor vallende takken en waren de overlast die zij van de bomen ervaarden door overhangende takken, wortelopdruk, en plakkerigheid van luizen op hun tuinmeubilair meer dan zat. Zij haalden artikel 5.44 van het Burgerlijk Wetboek aan waarmee ze het recht zouden hebben om takken en wortels die over de erfgrens heen komen zelf te verwijderen, ook als desbetreffende bomen van de overheid zijn (zie ook Bomenrecht Takken en wortels over de erfgrens en Bomen en overheden). Hieruit bleek dus dat, ook al is overlast geen reden om tot kap over te gaan, de gemeente al jaren had verzuimd iets te doen aan de takken die over erfgrenzen van de woningen hingen en aan de wortelopdruk in tuinen. De bewoners waren huiverig om dit zelf aan te pakken, ook al hadden ze daar het recht toe, aangezien het om grote bomen gaat met dikke takken en wortels en verwijdering vanaf de erfgrens zou niet zonder risico zijn. Gezien het feit dat de gemeente alleen tot kap over wilde gaan door de geplande renovaties en al die tijd geen maatwerk had geleverd om de problemen voor deze bewoners op te lossen (en dit dus waarschijnlijk ook niet had gedaan zonder de renovaties en kap) is het enigszins begrijpelijk dat zij de bomen graag weg wilden hebben. Echter, terwijl wij tegenover deze bewoners werden gezet als tegenstanders, was het eigenlijk de gemeente die de situatie zo ver had laten komen door verantwoordelijkheden jaren lang uit de weg te gaan. Naast de strategieën van angstzaaijerij, verdeel-en-heers, en overdrijven van problemen, probeerden de bomenexpert en projectmanager ons ook enthousiast te maken voor de nieuwe bomen die ter compensatie aangeplant zouden worden. Er werd geen aandacht besteed aan de ecosysteemwaarden van de bestaande bomen, maar de nieuwe bomen zouden van verschillende soorten zijn en dus biodiversiteit verhogen. Het probleem is natuurlijk dat je tegelijkertijd oudere bomen verliest en er een bredere trend is waarbij de diversiteit in leeftijden van bomen vermindert door constante verjonging. Dit terwijl de ecosysteemwaarden van oudere bomen vele malen hoger liggen. Het lijkt me duidelijk dat deze bijeenkomst niet bijdroeg aan mijn vertrouwen in de gemeente en oprechtheid met betrekking tot interesse in bomenbehoud en goed onderbouwd bomenbeheer. Bomeninspecties en gesjoemel met infoIn de week na de bijeenkomst kregen we een excel file toegestuurd met de inspectiedata van de bomen die door de bomenexpert “1 op 1” zou zijn overgenomen uit de inspectierapporten. Ik vond het vreemd dat hij de moeite had genomen om die al die data celletje voor celletje over te typen en vroeg me af waarom we de originele rapporten niet hadden ontvangen. Het leek er ook op dat de data niet compleet waren, dus ik vroeg naar de complete bomenpaspoorten welke we uiteindelijk door de projectmanager toegestuurd kregen. Ik was al achterdochtig over het hele gebeuren, maar kwam er pas een paar maanden later achter dat de bomenexpert data had toegevoegd aan de laatste inspecties. Terwijl bij de inspecties van september 2020 bij iedere boom essentaksterfte was geconstateerd was dit in mei 2022 nog maar bij 3 van de 13 bomen het geval. Dit betekent dat de tussentijdse snoei van februari 2021 de aantasting dusdanig had verwijderd dat deze ruim een jaar later bij 10 van de 13 bomen niet meer waarneembaar was. Ook al betekent dit niet dat de bomen niet meer geïnfecteerd zijn, het is een indicatie van een herstellend vermogen in de bomen, iets wat de bomenexpert blijkbaar probeerde te verdoezelen. Toen ik hier later, tijdens de hoorzitting van de bezwaarcommissie van 30 oktober, opherdering over vroeg werd het gemakkelijk afgedaan met de opmerking dat de inspecteurs echt niet steeds weer “essentaksterfte” gaan invullen bij iedere boom als het eerder al geconstateerd was en dat hij het daarom had aangevuld. Echter, inspecteurs horen wel degelijk secuur te zijn over dit soort zaken en bij iedere inspectie en iedere boom de aantasting te noteren. De second opinion die ik heb laten doen bevestigde overigens bij 2 van de 3 bomen mogelijke aantasting door essentaksterfte, en dus niet bij 13 van de 13. Het feit dat de bomenexpert ervoor had gekozen om alle data in een excel file over te nemen i.p.v. ons de originelen te sturen met een korte toelichting bevestigde alleen maar dat de noodzaak werd gezien om de aantasting erger te doen lijken dan die daarwerkelijk was. Blijkbaar vond hij het zelf al niet overtuigend genoeg. Het onthult ook iets over hoe wij als bezwaarmakers werden gezien, namelijk als lastige burgers die met enige manipulatie wel afgepoeierd zouden kunnen worden. Overigens waren de inspecties zeer summier en standaardformulieren die ik had gezien bevatten veel meer datapunten. Daarbij had ik voorbeelden gezien waarbij gemeenten besloten over bomenkap op basis van zeer gedetailleerde evaluaties van de gezondheid van bomen, wat hier duidelijk niet het geval was. Ik besloot dus om op zoek te gaan naar iemand die een second opinion zou kunnen doen. Second opinion onderzoekIk schreef berichten naar verschillende organisaties voor boomverzorging en -inspecties en kwam er snel achter dat bomeninspecteurs niet snel een second opinion onderzoek in een bezwaarprocedure tegen een gemeente zullen doen omdat gemeenten belangrijke opdrachtgevers zijn. Soms kunnen ze zelfs bij eerdere inspecties betrokken zijn geweest waardoor er natuurlijk een belangenverstrengeling onstaat. De Bomenstichting heeft een handige pagina met specialisten voor technisch onderzoek/ advies die je voor een second opinion kunt benaderen, maar het is dus mogelijk dat je om deze reden niet snel iemand zal kunnen vinden. Ik vond uiteindelijk via via een inspecteur die bereid was de bomen te komen bekijken. Hier zijn natuurlijk kosten aan verbonden en die zullen sterk verschillen tussen inspecteurs en situatie, afhankelijk van het aantal bomen. Het is mogelijk dat een rechtsbijstandsverzekering deze kosten vergoed. Anders kun je geld ophalen bij bewoners of een online crowdfunding opzetten. Toen onze specialist naar de bomen keek zei hij meteen dat de groeiplaats niet goed was door een zeer verdichte bodem en competitie voor water met het gras. Hij bevestigde de observaties uit de bomenpaspoorten grotendeels, namelijk dat de bomen in matig tot redelijke conditie waren. Maar hij zag de renovatie van de straat juist als een goede kans om de conditie van de bomen te verbeteren. Een betere afwatering bijvoorbeeld door een mulchlaag zou overlast door dwalende wortels bij woningen verminderen. Daarbij raadde hij aan om de mechanisch belaste takken die over aangrenzende woningen en tuinen hingen te snoeien. Dit soort maatregelen zouden prima binnen het budget passen en de situatie voor zowel de bomen als de omwonenden verbeteren waardoor de bomen nog een poos mee zouden kunnen. Na de inspectie stuurde hij eerst een voorlopig rapport en na de vakantieperiode een uitgebreid eindrapport. Deze stuurde ik allebei direct door naar de projectmanager. Ondanks dat de rapporten specifieke suggesties bevatten met alternatieve oplossingen kregen we geen enkele inhoudelijke reactie. Het was duidelijk dat de projectmanager geen interesse had om in gesprek te gaan en de procedure van de bezwaarcommissie wilde afwachten. Over essentaksterfteOndertussen had ik ook de kans gezien om meer onderzoek te doen over essentaksterfte en vond ik waardevolle informatie van organisaties die er uitvoerig onderzoek naar hadden gedaan. Essentaksterfte wordt pas sinds 10-15 jaar waargenomen in Nederland. Het is een schimmel afkomstig uit Azië en leidt tot afsterving van takken die vervolgens kunnen afbreken. Er is nog geen oplossing om bomen weer helemaal vrij van deze schimmel te krijgen. Toen de ziekte zich begon te verspreiden in Nederland en Europa was er in eerste instantie veel paniek en vroegen bomenbeheerders zich af of alle aangetaste essen gekapt zouden moeten worden. In Nederland staan ontzettend veel essen, dus zo'n beslissing zou tot een gigantische kaalslag leiden die natuurlijk niet wenselijk zou zijn. In de afgelopen jaren is er dus veel aandacht besteed aan geïnfecteerde bomen om uit te zoeken wat de beste aanpak is om die bomen zo goed mogelijk te behouden. Door bomen niet meteen te kappen krijgen we nu steeds meer inzicht in resistentie en herstelvermogen van bepaalde bomen waar toekomstig beleid op aangepast kan worden en wat bijdraagt aan het behoud van de soort in het algemeen. Op deze manier is onder meer vastgesteld dat oudere bomen minder kwetsbaar zijn voor de ziekte. De Universiteit van Wageningen zegt bijvoorbeeld het volgende: “Tegelijkertijd lopen vooral oudere bomen weer uit op de nog levende, gezonde delen. Hierdoor kunnen oudere bomen meerdere jaren overleven en soms ook weer (deels) herstellen. Bij jongere bomen en hakhoutscheuten is de kans op sterfte groter. Bomen in de stedelijke omgeving lijken wat minder vaak en zwaar aangetast te worden dan bomen in bossen en gesloten beplantingen en vooral ook hakhoutgebieden.”“Bovendien sterven met name grotere bomen in gebieden met een lage infectie druk, zoals in het stedelijk gebied, niet snel helemaal af. Daarom wordt aangeraden om zo terughoudend mogelijk te zijn bij het ingrijpen en gezonde bomen te laten staan.”De Vereniging van Bos en Natuurterreineigenaren zegt iets vergelijkbaars, namelijk: “Bij bomen in laanverband duurt het wat langer voordat de volledige laan aangetast is. De infectiedruk in lanen is lager dan in een bos, omdat de wind veel van de blaadjes wegblaast waarop de vruchtlichamen van de schimmel zich ontwikkelen. Daar hoeven dus geen speciale maatregelen voor genomen te worden. Bovendien bestaan veel laanbeplantingen uit cultivars van essen waarvan inmiddels is gebleken dat ze gemiddeld genomen toleranter zijn voor de ziekte dan zaailing essen.”“Ga pas kappen wanneer duidelijk is dat de bomen niet in staat zijn om uitbreiding van de ziekte in de boom te stoppen. Bij sommige bomen blijft de aantasting beperkt tot de dunnere twijgen en treedt soms kroonherstel op. Ook is veel taksterfte in lanen niet aan de schimmel te wijten, maar wordt veroorzaakt door andere ziekten en plagen of slechte groeiplaatsomstandigheden.”Zij zeggen ook: “Er is een grote genetische diversiteit bij de essen in Nederland. Het is nog onbekend welke bomen resistent zijn voor essentaksterfte. Het is daarom van groot belang om elke es die maar enige vorm van resistentie lijkt te hebben te laten staan. Deze essen zijn de mogelijke toekomstige zaadbron voor toekomstige essen of voor natuurlijke verjonging.”Wetenschappers en boomspecialisten hebben voor de Universiteit van Wageningen een Protocol beoordeling essentaksterfte opgesteld voor een uniforme opname van aantasting, met 22 op te nemen gegevens om de mate van aantasting te kunnen categoriseren ten behoeve van onderbouwde boombeheeradviezen. Dit protocol maakt meteen duidelijk hoe minimaal de evaluatie van de bomen op de Marijkelaan is geweest en hoe slecht onderbouwd de conclusie om tot kap over te gaan. De Gemeente Utrecht heeft een uitgebreid plan van aanpak opgesteld met betrekking tot beleid rondom essentaksterfte. Zij maken bijvoorbeeld een onderscheid in de leeftijd van de bomen, omdat oudere bomen minder vatbaar zijn en de impact van het verwijderen van oudere bomen groter is in vergelijking met jongere bomen. Ze hebben stroomschema's opgesteld om te helpen beslissen wat de beste aanpak is bij een boom die aangetast is met essentaksterfte en zijn ook zeer terughoudendmet kap (zie p. 15-16). Ook zij benadrukken het belang van monitoren en kennisopbouw ten behoeve van behoud van de soort. Ze zeggen namelijk: “Bovendien is het belangrijk om te kijken welke essen weinig effecten van de ziekte laten zien, zodat we mogelijke tolerante essen kunnen behouden. Dit kan ons juist helpen bij het zoeken naar en het kweken van essen die tolerant voor de ziekte zijn. Na een zorgvuldige afweging aan de hand van de stroomschema’s is duidelijk geworden welke bomen gekapt moeten worden.” (p. 19).De Gemeente Utrecht heeft duidelijk al veel ervaring opgebouwd met beleid rondom essentaksterfte en staat open voor kennisuitwisseling (zie p. 7). Overigens zijn zowel de Hoeksche Waardse Bomenwerkgroep Fraxinus Excelsior als het Waterschap Hollandse Delta ook toegewijd om de essen in de Hoeksche Waard zoveel mogelijk te behouden. De bomenwerkgroep heeft vijf jaar lang acht groepen essen in de Hoeksche Waard geobserveerd en beperkte aantasting gevonden. Ook zij concluderen dat sommige kweekvormen van de es maar beperkt vatbaar lijken te zijn voor essentaksterfte. Het waterschap controleert zelfs alle 13.000 essen in hun werkgebied met als doel de bomen te behouden en hebben gevonden dat de bomen overwegend goed uit de test komen. Al deze informatie stuurde ik ook naar de projectmanager en ook hier kreeg ik geen enkele inhoudelijke reactie op. Oude bomen & compensatieIn mijn bezwaarschrift en in de aanvullende informatie voor de vovo hoorzitting benadrukte ik al het belang van oude bomen en het feit dat er in de vergunningaanvraag geen enkele aandacht was besteed aan de ecologische waarden van de oude essen m.b.t. het bieden van een habitat aan vogels, insekten, en vleermuizen, de opslag van CO2, het bieden van schaduw en het verlagen van de temperatuur in de straat tijdens de steeds heter wordende zomers. Helaas wordt kap nogal gemakkelijk gerechtvaardigd met de belofte van herplant, maar het duurt natuurlijk tientallen jaren tot nieuwe aanplant het verlies enigszins kan compenseren. Als de kap van bomen in een gemeente sneller gaat dan veroudering en hergroei van jonge aanplant zal de gemiddelde leeftijd van bomen lager worden en verlies je belangrijke functies. Dan blijft het aantal bomen misschien gelijk, maar kan het effect hebben op de totale CO2 opslag, voedsel en nestplaatsen voor vogels etc. En als herplant wordt gedaan met kleinerblijvende soorten, zoals in het geval van de Marijkelaan dan zal de compensatie nooit 100% kunnen worden. Onderzoekers krijgen steeds meer inzicht in de waarde van oude bomen en die blijkt zelfs nog belangrijker dan vaak gedacht. Een recente studie heeft aangetoond dat een oude zogenaamde Methusalem boom die meer dan duizend jaar oud kunnen worden evenveel milieudiensten levert als 400 jonge bomen bij elkaar. Dan gaat het om diensten als luchtfiltering, zonwering, koeling, en CO2 opslag. Dit laat dus zien dat oudere bomen dusdanig belangrijk zijn dat een beslissing over kap niet al te lichtzinnig gemaakt moet worden en niet zomaar goed gepraat kan worden met de belofte van compensatie. Er heerst een aanname dat zorg voor oudere bomen kostbaar is, maar er wordt dan geen rekening gehouden met de kosten van het verlies van ecosysteemwaarden, die eigenlijk niet in geld uit te drukken is. Overigens zijn er ook veel signalen dat compensatie niet altijd wordt uitgevoerd of dat jonge aanplant slecht verzorgd wordt en vervolgens afsterft. Werkzaamheden rondom bomenVoordat ik de hoorzitting zal bespreken, even een kleine detour over een belangrijk onderwerp wat tijdens de werkzaamheden in ons dorp zichtbaar werd. Terwijl er werd gewacht op de uitslag van onze bezwaren waren de werkzaamheden in andere straten alvast begonnen. Ik zag dat er regelmatig zwaar materieel op de grond onder boomkronen werd geplaatst. Als de ondergrond niet bestaat uit bestrating of niet beschermd wordt met rijplaten maar bestaat uit kale aarde of gras kan dit leiden tot verdichting van de bodem en beschadigingen aan de wortels van de bomen. Dit kan op langere termijn mogelijk ziekte en afsterven van een boom tot gevolg hebben (zie een bespreking van dit probleem door Boom7). Omdat het een poos kan duren tot zulke schade zichtbaar wordt aan de boom is het vaak al niet meer te herleiden naar de werkzaamheden van maanden of jaren terug. Toch zijn er duidelijke protocollen voor het werken onder bomen. Het Handboek Bomen 2022 bevat een heel hoofdstuk over Werken rond bomen (hoofdstuk 2, vanaf pagina 45) met duidelijke afbeeldingen om de kwetsbare boomzone te visualiseren als kroonprojectie + 1,5 meter (zie een aparte pdf van de bomenposter). Hieronder een aantal voorbeelden van overtredingen die gemaakt zijn door de aannemer GKB groep en hun leveranciers. De eerste keer dat ik zoiets zag sprak ik een van de medewerkers aan die skeptisch reageerde, maar beloofde het door te geven aan de leidinggevende. Er werd echter niets ondernomen, dus ik besloot de overtredingen te rapporteren aan de projectmanager van de gemeente. Ik heb in een periode van twee maanden, van augustus tot oktober, vijf e-mails met dit soort foto's gestuurd. Hij beloofde dan in gesprek te gaan met de aannemer en ik zag inderdaad dat het materieel binnen enige dagen werd verwijderd. Echter binnen de kortste tijd was er weer een nieuwe overtreding. Na vijf keer leek het erop dat het een beetje begon door te dringen dat bomen vrijgehouden moeten worden. Toch worden de grenzen steeds weer opgezocht, bijvoorbeeld door net aan het randje van de boomkroon materieel te plaatsen, terwijl er eigenlijk 1,5 meter afstand gehouden moet worden. De laatste foto is zelfs nog gemaakt op de dag van schrijven (12 januari 2024)… Het probleem is dat zodra materieel is neergezet de schade al is berokkend. Weghalen zal dit niet meer ongedaan maken. Daarom is het belangrijk om dit soort praktijken zoveel mogelijk te voorkomen. Het is op zich begrijpelijk dat de gemeente hier niet altijd zicht op heeft, al horen ze er natuurlijk proactief op te controleren. Als je dit soort situaties tegenkomt is het belangrijk om foto's te maken en het te melden. Overigens geldt dit niet alleen voor werkzaamheden door de gemeente. Bewoners realiseren zich ook niet altijd hoe schadelijk het kan zijn om met de auto in het gras onder een boom door te rijden.Het feit dat het vijf e-mails kostte voordat er enige verandering leek te komen in de praktijken van de aannemer deed me realiseren dat aannemers en waarschijnlijk ook projectplanners bestaande bomen vaak vooral als obstakels zien en het liefste met een lege lei werken. Er is gelukkig enige beweging om zorgvuldig en creatief om te gaan met bestaande bomen ten behoeve van behoud. De Bomenstichting en VHG, de branchevereniging van ondernemers in het groen, hebben hierover een gezamelijke publicatie Bouwen met Bomen uitgebracht met tips en voorbeelden. Maar er is wel echt een stok achter de deur nodig bij planners en uitvoerders. Het is namelijk nog maar de vraag of GKB groep de gedragsverandering gaat vasthouden, verbeteren, en toepassen op andere locaties, als ze weten dat er niemand meer rondloopt die het checkt en rapporteert… Hoorzitting bezwaarcommissieToen er op het second opinion onderzoek en mijn e-mails naar de projectmanager geen enkele inhoudelijke reactie kwam realiseerde ik me dat het op de bezwaarcommissie zou aankomen en bereidde ik een overzicht van alle argumenten voor die onderbouwden waarom de kapvergunning ingetrokken zou moeten worden. Door alle vertragingen had ik ruim de tijd gehad om onderzoek te doen, zoals hierboven beschreven. Op 20 september kregen we een uitnodiging voor de hoorzitting voor 26 oktober. Op 3 oktober werd die hoorzitting verplaatst naar 30 oktober. Volgens de uitnodiging kregen we 10 dagen om aanvullende informatie toe te sturen, wat ik dus met het overzichtsdocument namens mij en namens de andere bezwaarmaakster deed. Ik ontving zelf op donderdag 26 oktober (vier dagen, inclusief een weekend, voor de hoorzitting) een verweerschift van de gemeente als reactie op het originele bezwaarschrift, het informeel overleg, en het second opinion onderzoek. Allereerst werd hierin gesteld dat ik geen gevolgen van enige betekenis zou ondervinden van de kap en dus geen belanghebbende zou zijn. Dit werd onder meer onderbouwd met het argument dat “Uit navraag blijkt dat bezwaarmaker slechts de top van een van de bomen ziet op de Marijkelaan (van de 13 bomen).” Mogelijk is dit gebaseerd op het gesprek na de vovo zitting, maar ik heb nooit gezegd dat ik zicht had op maar één boom. Dit is namelijk niet waar: ik kan vanuit mijn slaapkamerraam de kronen van 5-6 bomen zien. Het illustreert maar weer hoe gemakkelijk de gemeente met feiten omgaat en informatie bij verzint... Verder werd gesteld dat er geen “gevolgen van enige betekenis” zouden zijn omdat de bomen vervangen zouden worden met nieuwe aanplant. Ondertussen werd er de belofte gemaakt om 14 ipv 13 bomen te planten, dus ik had er eentje bijgescored (skeptische hoera...). Dit zijn echter kleinerblijvende boomsoorten die waarschijnlijk nooit in het uitzicht vanuit mijn slaapkamerraam terecht zouden komen, dus in dat opzicht mijn verlies niet zouden compenseren. Er was nu wel een summiere inhoudelijke reactie op alles tot en met het second opinion onderzoek. Er werd gesteld dat de essentaksterfte (die nooit in de vergunningaanvraag was genoemd) “doorslaggevend” was geweest bij de beslissing om te kappen. En er werden onder meer de volgende uitspraken gedaan: “De afweging is echter gebaseerd op het feit dat investeren niet meer opweegt tegen de reeds besmette bomen die niet meer gered kunnen worden.”“Wegsnoeien van zwaar aangetaste delen helpt om het gevaar van vallende takken te verminderen, maar is verder geen garantie dat de aantasting niet doorzet. Deze essen zijn in 1955 geplant, volgens de bomenspecialist zouden ze in theorie nog tien jaar mee kunnen gaan, alhoewel er geen behandeling bestaat waarmee de aangetaste bomen zouden kunnen worden genezen. Gelet hierop is onder andere het besluit op gebaseerd om de bomen te kappen en niet onnodig langer te laten staan. Vanwege de herinrichting is nu eenmaal een budget beschikbaar gesteld om de kap te realiseren en andere soorten bomen aan te planten op de Marijkelaan.”“Er zijn juist aanwijzingen dan sterke snoei de essen extra gevoelig maakt voor de infectie. Groeiplaatsverbeteringen kunnen mogelijk de ziekte vertragen, maar zijn relatief erg duur en niet rendabel gelet op de staat van deze essen.”Het is interessant hoe de bomen zowel “niet meer gered kunnen worden” en nog “tien jaar mee zouden kunnen gaan” terwijl er voor beide uitspraken geen onderbouwing wordt gegeven anders dan dat ze besmet zijn met essentaksterfte. Wie zegt dat de bomen niet nog 20 of 30 jaar mee zouden kunnen? En waarom is 10 jaar niet de moeite van een investering waard? Het lijkt hier dus vooral om het risico te gaan dat er na de renovaties toch nog kosten voor beheer van de bomen bij zouden komen als het budget geïnvesteerd zou worden in groeiplaatsverbetering i.p.v. kap. Dat snoei de bomen extra gevoelig maakt voor verdere infectie is een mogelijkheid, maar er is in het verleden met succes gesnoeid waardoor de aantasting bij ten minste 10 van de 13 essen was weggenomen. Terwijl het second opinion onderzoek had laten zien dat de aantasting op dat moment zeer beperkt was zou snoei voornamelijk nodig zijn om mechanisch belaste takken die over erfgrenzen hingen te verwijderen en hierdoor overlast te verminderen. Nu naar de hoorzitting zelf. Tijdens de hoorzitting waren aanwezing: de hoorcommissie bestaande uit de voorzitter en een lid, mijn jurist en ikzelf, de tweede bezwaarmaakster, derdebelanghebbenden (twee bewoners die voor de kap waren), de projectmanager, de bomenexpert, een juridisch medewerker, en een toehoorder. Zoals verwacht begon de hoorcommissie meteen over de ontvankelijkheid van onze bezwaren. Ze concludeerden al meteen dat het bezwaar van de andere bezwaarmaakster niet-ontvankelijk werd verklaard door het te laat indienen. In mijn geval lag het iets complexer en kwam er een discussie over “gevolgen van enige betekenis”. De commissie wilde hier vervolgens even over beraadslagen en suggereerde dat, indien de verwachting was dat mijn bezwaar niet-ontvankelijk zou worden verklaard, er verder niet inhoudelijk op mijn bezwaar ingegaan zou hoeven worden en de hoorzitting beëindigd zou kunnen worden. Mijn jurist pleitte voor om hoe dan ook een inhoudelijke behandeling te doorlopen zodat, in het geval dat mijn bezwaar alsnog ontvankelijk verklaard zou worden (ofwel door de bezwaarcommissie zelf ofwel door een rechter), er geen nieuwe hoorzitting georganiseerd zou hoeven worden. Nadat de commissie even de tijd genomen had om te overleggen gingen ze akkoord om tot een inhoudelijke behandeling over te gaan. Er werd op dat moment nog geen conclusie genomen over de ontvankelijkheid van mijn bezwaar. Aangezien alle argumenten hierboven al behandeld zijn zal ik alleen twee opvallende uitspraken van de gemeente benoemen. Allereerst zei dat bomenexpert verschillende keren dat de bomen “terminaal” zouden zijn, een bizarre overdrijving aangezien hij zelf had erkend dat de bomen nog wel 10 jaar mee zouden kunnen. De projectmanager stelde dat als de bomen alsnog gekapt zouden moeten worden na de renovatie van de straat, de straat open zou moeten om de bomen en boomwortels te verwijderen. Ik kan nu al verklappen dat de bomen ondertussen gekapt zijn en er nog geen tegeltje in het trottoir verschoven is. Dit waren dus weer uitspraken die de geloofwaardigheid van de gemeente nog verder ondermijnden, maar die een buitenstaander mogelijk zouden overtuigen. Toen de hoorzitting eindigde gingen wij en alle andere bezoekers weg, maar de projectmanager, bomenexpert, en juridisch medewerker bleven met de leden van de commissie zitten. Het gaf de indruk dat ze alles onderling nog even zouden nabespreken of dat er dingen gezegd zouden worden die niet voor onze oren bestemd waren. De onpartijdigheid van een bezwaarcommissie is sowieso al lastig te beoordelen, aangezien het medewerkers van eenzelfde organisatie betreft die vergunning aanvragen, vergunning toekennen, en bezwaren tegen die toekenning beoordelen, medewerkers die elkaar in de gangen tegen komen, een praatje maken, misschien zelfs samen lunchen. Door te blijven zitten werd er niet eens een poging gedaan om de schijn van onpartijdigheid op te houden... Laatste pogingIn afwachting van de uitslag van de hoorzitting deed ik tegen beter weten in nog een laatste poging om de projectmanager te overtuigen. Ik nam contact op met de groenafdeling van de Gemeente Utrecht om, gezien hun ervaring met essentaksterfte, te zien of zij de Gemeente Hoeksche Waard advies zouden kunnen geven. Ik hoopte dat een reactie van iemand van een andere gemeente misschien meer gewicht zou hebben dan wetenschappelijke studies en een second opinion onderzoek. Ik ontving een reactie van de bomenexpert uit Utrecht die voor terughoudendheid pleitte bij de kap van bomen met essentaksterfte, zeker van deze leeftijd, afhankelijk van aantastingsgraad, ecologie, beeld, functievervulling, etc. Hij erkende dat gemeenten verschillende afwegingen maken, maar gaf de volgende input: “Is het zo dat de bomen zijn aangetast dan kijken wij of de boom te snoeien is en veilig is te maken, uiteraard houden we daarbij rekening dat de boom na snoei er nog wel uitziet als een boom met de daarbij behorende functies. Mocht dit niet zo zijn dan zullen ook wij overgaan tot verwijderen en vervanging. Afgaande op de bijgevoegde foto, zouden wij bomen van dat formaat en ogenschijnlijk redelijk conditie ten allertijden trachten te behouden. [...] Bomen van deze omvang en problematieken zouden in Utrecht zeker het voordeel van de twijfel krijgen, het snoeien van overlast veroorzakende taken zou zeker af en overwogen worden.” Ik mocht zijn antwoord doorsturen naar onze gemeente en deed dat op 20 november met de vraag of ze, los van de bezwaarprocedure, toch echt niet bereid zouden zijn om de kap te heroverwegen, en met de mededeling dat zowel de bomenexpert van de Gemeente Utrecht als die van onze second opinion graag vragen zouden beantwoorden en zouden willen meedenken om tot de best mogelijke oplossing te komen. Natuurlijk kreeg ik weer geen reactie. Uiteindelijk, nadat de bezwaarcommissie in een brief van 27 november mijn bezwaar niet-ontvankelijk had verklaard en nadat de fractievoorzitter van GroenLinks mijn klachten over de onbereidheid tot gesprek op 7 december bij de portefeuillehouder had neergelegd kreeg ik op diezelfde 7 december ineens toch een reactie van de projectmanager, als mosterd na de maaltijd. Hij haakte in op de mogelijkheid dat de snoei van de overlastgevende takken te drastisch zou zijn en zei het volgende: “Het voorstel om de bomen te snoeien is bij ons uiteraard ook overwogen. De bomen zijn echter al zo ver teruggesnoeid in het verleden, dat hier geen mogelijkheid meer toe is, zonder (ik citeer de gemeente Utrecht) “dat de boom na snoei er nog wel uitziet als een boom met de daarbij behorende functies” . Kijkend naar bijvoorbeeld de eerste 2 bomen vanaf de Tuinweg: De over de stoep en tuinen hangende takken afzagen, levert een dermate grote aantasting op van de boomkroon, dat de stabiliteit (en daarmee de veiligheid en vitaliteit) van de bomen in het geding komt en er van een normale boomvorm geen sprake meer is.” Had hij een punt? De expert van het second opinion onderzoek zag deze snoei wel als oplossing. Op dit moment had de projectmanager voor mij allang iedere geloofwaardigheid verloren. Als ik mij in een soortgelijke situatie zou bevinden en geen mogelijkheid zag om bomen te behouden terwijl ik dat wel graag zou willen, en er zouden experts zijn die oplossingen zagen en bereid waren mee te denken, dan zou ik op zijn minst in gesprek gaan om te zien of zij inzichten en ervaringen konden delen waar ik tot nu toe geen toegang toe had gehad. Die kans werd niet benut en dat zei voor mij genoeg. Afwijzing & kap van de bomenOp 28 november ontving ik de brief met de beslissing van de bezwaarcommissie dat mijn bezwaar niet-ontvankelijk was verklaard. Op dat moment twijfelde ik nog sterk of ik in beroep zou gaan via de rechtbank. Ik wilde natuurlijk eerst een reactie van mijn jurist afwachten. De week erna hoorde ik van haar dat ze geen hoop had dat de rechtbank anders zou oordelen en dus dat de rechtsbijstand een beroep niet zou steunen. Mocht ik het zelf willen ondernemen zou ze me hierbij wel op weg kunnen helpen. Aangezien het me €184 voor een beroep én €184 voor een nieuw vovo verzoek zou kosten én aangezien ik weinig steun had van andere buurtbewoners (en door sommigen met de nek werd aangekeken) besloot ik er vanaf te zien en te accepteren dat de bomen gekapt zouden worden. Een beroep zou er waarschijnlijk hooguit toe leiden dat het project nog enigszins vertraagd zou worden, maar de niet-ontvankelijkheid zou dan binnen enkele weken in een vovo zitting alsnog worden bevestigd. En los van de ontvankelijkheid was het ook waarschijnlijk dat zowel een bezwaarcommissie als een rechtbank op inhoudelijke gronden in het voordeel van de gemeente zouden beslissen, simpelweg omdat er in de praktijk niet zo veel voor nodig is om kap te rechtvaardigen én omdat de zwakke Bomenverordening van de Hoeksche Waard ook geen houvast zou bieden. Dus ook al had ik nog vechtlust en was ik natuurlijk ontzettend gefrustreerd over de houding en het gemanipuleer van de gemeente leek het me niet de moeite waard om verder te gaan. De bomen zouden op woensdag 13 december gekapt worden. Als laatste actie besloot ik nog wel een follow-up artikel in het AD te regelen zodat de kap niet stilletjes zou plaatsvinden. Helaas presenteert het artikel de situatie als een conflict tussen buurtbewoners, word ik door voorstanders van de kap neergezet als doorgeslagen klimaatactivist die niet eens in de straat woont (terwijl andere bewoners in de straat zelf ook tegen de kap waren), en krijgt de gemeente de mogelijkheid om zonder wederhoor te overdrijven over veiligheidsrisico's. Maar het verhaal is openbaar en dat wilde ik in ieder geval bereiken. Terwijl de kap voor woensdag 13 december gepland was zag ik op dinsdag 12 december, de dag van de publicatie van het AD artikel, ineens dat ze al begonnen waren. Blijkbaar was er enige nervositeit dat het artikel tot last-minute weerstand zou kunnen leiden. Toch wel weer typisch dat de kap van 15 meter hoge bomen plaatsvond zonder dat het trottoir was afgesloten voor voetgangers, dat terwijl onze gemeente zich zo druk maakt over de veiligheid van bewoners en de mogelijkheid van vallende takken op kinderwagens met tweelingen... Belangrijkste observatiesIk wil nog even een aantal observaties die ik tijdens het bezwaarproces heb gemaakt op een rijtje zetten. Sommige punten heb ik hierboven al min of meer behandeld, maar wil ik nogmaals benadrukken. Andere punten zijn bredere realisaties over het bezwaarproces en bomenbeleid en -beheer in het algemeen. ∙ De gemeente heeft erkend dat de kap van de bomen alleen werd overwogen omdat de straat gerenoveerd zou worden. De bomen stonden niet in de weg en de werkzaamheden hadden zonder kap uitgevoerd kunnen worden, maar de gemeente zag het als een goed moment om ze meteen weg te halen. Als er geen renovatie was geweest waren de bomen niet voor kap in aanmerking gekomen. Dit betekent dus dat alle andere argumenten die aangevoerd werden (afgenomen vitaliteit, overlast, takbreuk; later ook essentaksterfte en veiligheid) op zichzelf geen redenen waren geweest om te kappen. ∙ De kap was uiteindelijk vooral een bezuiniging op toekomstige onderhoudskosten, al werd dit nergens zodanig geformuleerd. Door de renovatie was er budget beschikbaar om de bomen weg te halen en dus op de langere termijn geld te besparen op onderhoud. Oudere bomen hebben meer onderhoud nodig dan nieuwe jonge aanplant en deze bomen hadden iets meer aandacht nodig ivm essentaksterfte. Terwijl onze expert met een second opinion aangaf dat de renovatie juist een goed moment was om de gezondheid van de bomen te verbeteren én tegelijkertijd overlast voor omwonenden te verminderen, en dat dit binnen hetzelfde budget gedaan zou kunnen worden, werd dit door de gemeente verworpen. Er werden allerlei tegenargumenten aangedragen (te duur, niet mogelijk) en er was geen interesse in een inhoudelijk gesprek. Ook al stelde de gemeente voor behoud van oudere bomen te zijn werd hier alles op alles gezet om die langere-termijn bezuiniging te realiseren door middel van kap. Al mijn pogingen om de gemeente te overtuigen voor behoud met literatuur en input van experts waren tegen dovemansoren gericht. ∙ Dat de bomen het niet waard waren om behouden te worden kon (naast de uitgevoerde second opinion) weerlegd worden door beleidsadviezen en handleidingen van de Universiteit Wageningen en de Gemeente Utrecht die adviseren tegen de kap van volwassen essen met beperkte aantasting van essentaksterfte. Het behoud van oudere bomen heeft nu eenmaal budget nodig en dus politieke wil om er budget voor uit te trekken. Hier schort het blijkbaar aan in de Gemeente Hoeksche Waard. ∙ Als bezwaarmakers tegen de kap werden wij tegenover bewoners vóór de kap gezet en werd de suggestie gewekt dat wij met het tegenhouden van de kap de veiligheid van omwonenden in gevaar brachten. Aangezien de Bomenverordening van de Gemeente Hoeksche Waard expliciet zegt dat overlast op zich geen reden is om over te gaan tot kap werd deze overlast al snel gereframed als een veiligheidsissue. Ondanks dat de bomen veilig waren verklaard en er in het afgelopen jaar misschien twee takken zijn gevallen in situaties van storm en extreme droogte (momenten dat er in het hele dorp vele en veel grotere takken van bomen vielen), werd er nu gesproken alsof je je leven niet zeker was als je onder de bomen door moest lopen. Als dit een serieus gevaar was zouden de bomen ook gekapt worden zonder de renovatie van de straat, wat dus niet het geval was. ∙ Het argument dat grote overlastgevende takken die over erfgrenzen heen hingen niet gesnoeid zouden kunnen worden omdat het tot een te grote aantasting van de boomkroon en mogelijk de instabiliteit van de bomen zou leiden roept de vraag op hoe de gemeente dit probleem had opgelost als er geen renovatie was geweest, aangezien de bomen dan niet voor kap in aanmerking waren gekomen. Het lijkt er sterk op dat er in dat geval helemaal niets gedaan zou zijn om maatwerk voor desbetreffende bewoners te leveren. Dit soort lastige beslissingen werden namelijk al jaren uit de weg gegaan. ∙ Naast het verdeel-en-heers gestook over overlast en veiligheid is er doelbewust informatie toegevoegd aan data uit inspectierapporten van de bomen om ze zieker te doen lijken dan ze waren. Deze actie alleen al suggereert dat de gezondheid van de bomen niet overtuigend slecht was om kap te rechtvaardigen. Daarbij is het zeer zorgwekkend dat gesjoemel niet geschuwd wordt om bezwaarmakers tegen te werken. ∙ De originele tekst ter onderbouwing van de noodzaak van de kap in de vergunningaanvraag was dusdanig beneden niveau dat er blijkbaar geen druk werd ervaren om dit goed te doen. De ecologische en sociale waardes van de bomen werden op geen enkele manier benoemd en er was geen structurele afweging van factoren. Er werd duidelijk niet geanticipeerd op kritische evaluatie van de vergunningaanvraag of op bezwaarmakers uit de omgeving. Hieruit zou je kunnen opmaken dat het bomenbeleid in de gemeente niet heel veeleisend is en dat de meeste bewoners zich hier ook niet al te veel zorgen over maken. Dit is niet zo verbazend als je kijkt naar het hoge gehalte betegeling in de lokale tuintjes: er heerst een stevige netheidscultuur. Toch is er regelmatig flinke ophef over grote operaties in de gemeente waarbij honderden bomen worden gekapt. Maar uiteindelijk komt het zelden voor dat zulke ophef leidt tot het intrekken van vergunningen of het serieus aanpassen van de plannen. ∙ Het hele bezwaarproces is een voorbeeld van de slager keurt zijn eigen vlees. De gemeente is vergunninghouder, vergunningverlener, en bezwaarcommissie. Het gaat weliswaar om verschillende personen, maar die zijn allemaal werkzaam voor de gemeente en komen elkaar tegen in de wandelgangen en aan de lunchtafel. Het is lastig vertrouwen te hebben in onpartijdigheid en er werd in de praktijk ook weinig moeite gedaan om de schijn op te houden. De gemeente verborg zich achter de bezwaarprocedure en had er duidelijk vertrouwen in dat onze bezwaren zouden worden afgewezen. Daarom was er geen motivatie om onze zorgen en onze second opinion serieus te nemen en in gesprek te gaan. Deze ervaring kan er toe leiden dat burgers gedemotiveerd raken om zich uit te spreken, maar ik zou willen benadrukken dat het toch ontzettend belangrijk is om dit te blijven doen. Ook al krijgt de bezwaarmaker geen gelijk kan het proces wel bijdragen aan veranderingen in publieke opinie en druk op de lokale politiek voor verandering. ∙ De status van belanghebbende is dusdanig nauw gedefinieerd dat het lastig is om in aanmerking te komen. Dit lijkt een algehele bestuurlijke beweging om de lastige burger de mond te snoeren. Ik heb verschillende rechtszaken bekeken en het komt zeer weinig voor dat de bezwaarmaker alsnog gelijk krijgt. Er is wel enige tegenbeweging hierin, maar er is nog geen echte omslag in zicht. Daarom is het waarschijnlijk toch waardevol dat mensen in beroep blijven gaan tegen nauwe toepassingen van het begrip door bezwaarcommissies (bij de rechtbank) en zelfs door rechtbanken (bij de Raad van State) om op die manier druk te zetten op verandering. Hier is wel een lange adem voor nodig en er komen bovendien kosten bij kijken. Dan is het zeker handig om juridische, financiële, en morele steun te krijgen van bomenorganisaties en andere bomenliefhebbers en activisten. Overigens is het nog de vraag of, en zo ja hoe, de nieuwe Omgevingswet die in januari 2024 in werking treedt het bezwaarproces zal gaan beïnvloeden. ∙ Een hoopgevend lichtpuntje: er zijn gemeenten die het wel goed doen! Ik zag een bezwaarcommissie in de Gemeente Epe besluiten om een extra ruime definitie van belanghebbende toe te passen; ik zag diepgaande onderzoeken door de Gemeente Zaanstad om bomenbeleid zorgvuldig te informeren; ik zag stroomschema’s (p. 15-16) in gebruik bij de Gemeente Utrecht die ervoor zorgden dat beslissingen over de toekomst van een boom op een consequente manier genomen zouden worden; en ik zag dat de Gemeente Rotterdam specifiek investeerde in groeiplaatsverbetering zodat bomen groot en oud zouden kunnen worden. Eigenlijk zou er een soort van database moeten worden opgezet van goede voorbeelden waar gemeenten en activisten uit kunnen putten om elders ook verbeteringen aan te brengen. ∙ De Bomenverordening van de Hoeksche Waard 2022 zal begin 2024 worden herzien, dus hopelijk gaat dat tot verbeteringen leiden. Momenteel bevat onze bomenverordening namelijk geen specifieke toetsingskaders om te bepalen of een kapvergunning wel of niet verleend kan worden. Mijn jurist refereerde aan het beleid van de Gemeente Soest als een goed voorbeeld van vooruitstrevend bomenbeleid (zie Algemene Plaatselijke Verordening Soest 2022 en Nota Bescherming en Kap van Bomen 2012). Ik heb ook een publicatie gevonden van de Stichting Bomenmakelaar en de Stichting Groenkeur “Bouwstenen voor Bomenbeleid” wat een handige leidraad lijkt te zijn (ik heb het zelf nog niet gelezen). ∙ Helaas hangt lokaal bomenbeleid erg af van lokale politiek en dus ook van de bewoners en wat zij belangrijk vinden als ze naar de stembus gaan. Dit is waarom het kan lonen om de media te betrekken bij situaties van onnodige bomenkap. Artikelen over dit soort onderwerpen zijn helaas wel vaak erg oppervlakkig, hebben de neiging om sensatie te scheppen, en delen eenzijdige verklaringen van gemeenten zonder kritische vragen. Het wordt al gauw een belichting van verschillende kanten zonder enige waarheidsbevinding. Je kunt je dus afvragen of zulke artikelen veel waarde hebben in het verhogen van bewustwording over het belang van bomen en goed bomenbeleid. Op zijn minst zorgen ze ervoor dat bomenkap zichtbaar wordt gemaakt en niet stilletjes wordt uitgevoerd. Ook kunnen ze tot nieuwe allianties leiden en de lokale beweging versterken. ∙ Toen ik onderzoek deed naar bomenkap en wetgeving in Nederland ontdekte ik dat het Klimaatakkoord van 2019 stelt dat gemeenten moeten streven naar 1% meer bomen per jaar tot 2030. Het is geen harde eis en de Bossenstrategie van 2020 erkent dat veel gemeenten niet eens bekend zijn met deze verwachting. Ook al is het een behoorlijk slap beleidspunt is het belangrijk om dit bij gemeenten aan de orde te stellen, ze te bevragen over de voortgang en de plannen om dit te bereiken. Helaas zegt deze 1% helemaal niets over het belang van het behoud van oudere bomen en zou kap en herplant met jonge sprietjes dus geen verschil maken. Maar het is een extra stok achter de deur om aantallen bomen op peil te houden en uit te breiden. ConclusieIk kan nog een algehele conclusie aan bovenstaande opsomming toevoegen, namelijk dat beslissingen over bomenbehoud vragen om durf en creativiteit bij beleidsmakers en -uitvoerders. Het zijn juist de bomen die in dat grote grijze gebied vallen, tussen gezond en onherstelbaar ziek of gevaarlijk, waar een oprechte wil om bomen zoveel mogelijk te behouden kan bijdragen aan vooruitstrevend beheer. Er is altijd die aanname dat behoud duurder en lastiger is dan kappen, maar die wordt eigenlijk nooit met feiten onderbouwd. Nieuwe aanplant krijgt vaak niet de juiste verzorging waardoor jonge boompjes het niet redden en later alsnog vervangen moeten worden. Daarbij is het verlies van ecosysteemwaarden van oudere bomen in deze tijden zeker niet in geld uit te drukken. Veel Nederlanders houden van maakbaarheid, van controle, en van netheid. Ik kan me nog goed de college's en excursies als studente biologie herinneren, waarbij de creatie van landschappen en biodiversiteit werd geprezen en gevierd als een geweldige prestatie. Toen al had ik moeite met de vreselijke koloniale drang naar controle waar alles voor moest wijken, inclusief dat wat al bestond. Dit karakteriseert nog steeds veel lanschapsbeheer waarbij al vele bestaande bomen, bossen, en ecosystemen zijn gesneuveld omdat ze niet voldeden aan de verwachtingen voor biodiversiteit. Vaak gaat het dan om oude eentonige productiebossen, maar wordt er niet voldoende erkend dat die ook belangrijke ecologische en sociale functies zijn gaan vervullen, noch dat er andere manieren zijn om naar meer biodiversiteit toe te werken zonder meteen alles tegen de vlakte te gooien. Natuurlijk begrijp ik als biologe het grote belang van biodiversiteit, maar ik zie ook een geweldige arrogantie en disrespect voor de manier waarop de natuur haar eigen weg vindt. Laten we eindelijk eens uitvinden hoe we het beste met bestaande natuur mee kunnen werken in plaats van altijd maar weer een schone lei te willen maken om helemaal naar onze eigen visie iets nieuws neer te kunnen zetten. https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7605435/frustrated-idealisms/ https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7605435/frustrated-idealisms/ Originally published 11 August 2023; revised, updated & reposted here on 9 August 2025 "It is no measure of health to be well-adjusted to a profoundly sick society." Apart from the shorter blurb about myself, I want to get a little bit more real here and share some of my struggles throughout my professional trajectory. My CV may seem fascinating and somewhat impressive, or so I have heard, but the format hides a path filled with frustrations and rejections in my efforts to pursue a meaningful career. We don't often talk about these things, because we feel shame in failure and rejection. However, I do consider myself a true anthropologist and as such see valuable information in these experiences. After all, the personal is political and our personal struggles will tell us things about how society works. Mostly my career illustrates how difficult it is to find your path when you are critical about the ways societal problems are analyzed and managed. It shows that our institutions are so strongly built on capitalist principles that they become unwilling or unable to deal with the roots of the big existential crises our societies are facing. No critical thinking at universityWhen I studied biology at the university in the Netherlands back in the mid to late 90s, I was incredibly bored and uninspired most of the time. I had a strong interest in nature conservation, but found that the field of conservation biology was uncritically focusing on 'sustainable development' in the Global South, blaming environmental destruction on poor subsistence farmers without any reflection on the devastations caused by our own consumer society. It was assumed that technological innovation would solve it all. Although I did establish a solid foundation of knowledge in the field of biology in general, I felt that my studies failed to provide me with the analytical tools and opportunities to address issues of environmental destruction in ways that felt right. I completed the program with three 6-7.5 month internships, one on moth ecology, one on primate behavior, and one on the international trade in live bears and in bear body parts as hunting tropies or Asian medicine. No funding to study controversial topicsAfter completing the MSc, I tried to set up a research project to study the problem of escalating attacks by sloth bears on people in India, which were leading to many injuries and hardships, as well as deaths. I had heard about this problem from an Indian researcher from the Wildlife Institute of India who presented about it at an international bear conference in Romania, which I had attended as part of my last internship. I booked a trip to India and spent several weeks with him and his team to learn more about the problem of people encroaching into bear habitat and not knowing how to best avoid or handle encounters with bears. I then spent two years applying for funding with all sorts of conservation grants in order to do a year of field research, but I failed to secure any money and ultimately had to give up my efforts. While surely there were various reasons why my proposals were rejected, I also suspected that the controversial topic of protected animals attacking poor people was not something conservation grants were very eager to engage in. Most projects that received funding focused on wildlife ecology and the management of protected areas rather than addressing the complexities of human-wildlife conflicts. The bureaucratic world of NGOsIn the meantime, I landed a job as a research officer with the NGO TRAFFIC Europe in Brussels, working on the analysis and regulation of international trade in endangered species in close collaboration with national governments and the European Commission. I had already done an internship with them during my studies, researching the international trade in live bears and bear parts. As a full-time employee, I worked on various projects, from live reptile trade to more generally the implementation of relevant EU legislation in Member States and Candidate Countries. It was a fascinating job and perhaps, in hindsight, I should have stuck with it, but I became frustrated with the bureaucracy of it all, with the tight format for our research reports, and language, and the large distance between our rather theoretical work and the actual issues on the ground. I found myself unequipped to inform international policy while not having the field experience to grasp the consequences of such policies on the ground. So I decided to pursue a PhD. Great knowledge coming at a great priceBy strange but fortunate coincidence, I ended up in a four-fields anthropology department at the University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign in the US in 2003. While I started out as a biological anthropologist and did some fascinating preliminary field research on the ecology of bonobos (pygmy chimps) in the Democratic Republic of Congo, I remained more interested in complex conservation issues. Getting exposed to cultural anthropology opened my eyes and gave me the tools and answers I had unknowingly craved all along. The painful history of anthropology's role in the colonial agenda and scientific racism through the assumption of racial hierarchies has eventually motivated the emergence of postmodern anthropological reflectivity about the illusion of objectivity, about researchers' positions of power, about racial and global inequalities, about the persistence of colonial institutions, practices, and beliefs, and so on. These approaches motivated me to switch to cultural anthropology and I ultimately focused my own research on the moral negotiations in the design and implementation of governance in conservation and development by various international, national, and local organizations working around a national park in Uganda. So instead of looking at ways to best achieve sustainable development in Africa, as my biology instructors would have liked to see, I now looked back at the institutions designing such governance, 'studying up', to understand the reproduction of problematic assumptions about poor subsistence farmers in the Global South somehow being the biggest threat to nature on this planet. While I felt extremely fortunate to have found the opportunity to develop my critical thinking and theoretical grounding, it came at a high price. Doing a PhD in the US generally means supporting yourself with severely underpaid part-time teaching assistantships that are not reliably and consistently available. In addition, anthropologists are expected to find external funding for their year of field research through highly competitive external grants. Although I managed to secure a few small grants, I failed to land a proper one to fund the entire field work. I got a loan from my parents in order to continue, or else would have had to walk away with a second Master's degree. I made the investment with the expectation that the PhD would help my career, not yet realizing that it would be pretty worthless outside of academia. The colonial nature of governance in UgandaI spent a 2-month period and an 11-month period doing field research in Uganda. During the second period, in 2008, I hired a field assistant and we lived in our tents on the compounds of eight different host families in three villages neighboring the national park. The aim was to do participant observation from the perspective of the villagers, examining the conservation and development governance they had been subjected to since the last two decades. This governance was heavily influenced by massive influx of international donors and funding when Yoweri Museveni became president in 1986, as well as by the researchers, NGOs, and tourists who followed. It included the violent eviction of 30,000 people in 1992 before the formation of the park, during which people were dispossessed, houses were burnt, women were raped, people were murdered, people died of starvation and disease in the aftermath. It also included a wide range of projects for conservation education, tree planting for carbon credits, development through income-generating schemes, conditional agreements for resource use, and so on. The results were a sharp boundary between nature and humans, a policing of who was allowed inside the park (tourists, researchers, tree planters, and rangers) and who was not (most locals), and an increased socio-economic inequality in the adjacent villages. Some local people benefited tremendously from living near the park, while others suffered as a consequence of the evictions, loss of access to natural resources, and crop raiding elephants and monkeys, for which they received no compensation. I found that there was definitely potential for interesting and creative alternative approaches to conservation of the forest and the generation of income for local communities, that would also be more democratic and egalitarian. However, it would require the various organizations involved in governance to hand over a lot of their power, responsibility, and funding to the communities, and to listen and support instead of lecturing and criminalizing, something highly unlikely to happen. I once brought up the violence and injustices of the evictions during a research meeting in the park and was met with outrage and accusations of exaggeration, even though I had quoted from an official government investigation. The evictions had largely been erased or minimized and depoliticized in most writings about the park. An officer from the organization in charge of national parks in Uganda even subjected me and my research to an 'investigation' with the threat of getting my research permit withdrawn if I wouldn't become more collaborative... Ultimately, I concluded that the source of the issues could be located pretty much entirely in the racist, colonial, and capitalist views of mostly white, Euro-American conservationists and funders, directing and affecting everything on the ground with their money and programs. For this reason, I decided that the most useful thing I could do would be to pursue that academic career, continue writing and teaching about my research, and hopefully give a new generation of socially engaged students the handles for reflectivity and critical thinking, and the motivation to pursue radical social justice in our approaches to societal problems. I would facilitate access to the insights, tools, and inspiration that had been out of reach for me in my own education for so long. However, it would turn out that such an academic career was not accessible to me. Rock bottom and treated like a parasiteAfter the field work, I wrote my dissertation, partly in the Netherlands and partly back in the US, and started applying for academic jobs. But none of us graduate students had been sufficiently prepared for the extreme competitiveness of the academic job market. We were also unable to envision jobs outside of academia, let alone market ourselves in that way. The neoliberalization of the university in the US and elsewhere has led to an overproduction of PhDs. Graduate students are important to research departments as a source of vibrancy and of cheap labor. And even though it's understandable that the academic career won't be available for everyone with a PhD, I think it's particularly distressing that society at large sees no value in the knowledge produced and many PhDs end up in jobs that are completely unrelated to their field of research. The system generally makes no room for people who ask difficult fundamental questions, for people who want to address elephants in the room. I applied for close to 100 academic jobs in the US and the EU and eventually managed to land a one-year part-time adjunct teaching position at Appalachian State University in North Carolina with no chance for renewal. With future possibilities and visa perspectives looking bleak and my mother developing Alzheimer's at age 63, I decided to return to the Netherlands in 2013. There, I applied with increasing desperation for at least 100 more jobs, from assistant professor to student administration to postal delivery. It was a terrible job market at that time; I only managed to get a few interviews and no offers at all. In the meantime, I had to apply for welfare in order to survive and was entered into a program for so-called participation, where you are required to spend a day a week for some months to pick up litter from the streets. It aimed to discourage people from applying for welfare with the assumption that picking up trash is a demeaning activity and the association with community service suggests similarities between people in need of welfare and people who committed a crime. In the meantime, this uncontracted labor displaced actual employees working for the trash service for a salary with benefits. Over the course of that year, I was increasingly pressured to find a job or alternatively I would be required to clean people's homes for 20 hours per week under a similar uncontracted arrangement, in return for receiving welfare. I saw my escape when I learned about a program for people on welfare to start their own business, with a course to write a business proposal and supplemented income to welfare levels for the first three years. I applied and got accepted. The barriers to small social entrepreneurshipMy time in Uganda had inspired me to explore self-sufficient living and I had played with the idea of getting a piece of land and starting an ecovillage. However, being completely broke, I instead started with a veggie garden on a rented plot with my mother upon my return to the Netherlands. I did a lot of research on permaculture and rolled into soap making. Having done various experiments with my own recipes and seeing the opportunity to start a business through the city program, I decided to start producing and selling natural artisinal soaps scented with blends of essential oils. I got yet another loan from my parents (yes, I recognize the privilege), and I dove into the world of small entrepreneurship. It was a steep learning curve to build a customer base, to find the most reliable and affordable suppliers, to increase efficiency and scale in production, and to ensure enough sales and margins to pay for overhead and create some income for myself. As an anti-capitalist, I was suddenly forced to play the capitalist game and I resented the pursuit of money. I often had to complement my income with odd jobs, freelance research, and entrepreneurial subsidies. After the first couple of years, I increasingly engaged with the zerowaste movement and developments in the circular economy. Although I was always skeptical about both since there was a lot of greenwashing going on, I eventually started working with circular ingredients myself and I moved my business Kusala to BlueCity, an old swimming paradise where many circular businesses are housed and collaborate. I could probably write another dissertation based on the Kusala years, but for now I want to highlight some observations of systemic forces working against small social entrepreneurs who aim to engage with societal problems and who value impact over profit. ∙ Capitalist externalization of environmental and social costs: a piece of soap from the supermarket is cheaper than a piece of circular soap from Kusala because the supermarket soap is often made with palm oil and cheap labor. The ecological costs of deforestation for palm plantations are paid for by society at large, as are the social cost of exploitation of people for labor. Any decision to make a product more sustainable and just is an internalization of costs and causes the price to increase. This is why organic and fair trade products are much more expensive when they should really be cheaper. ∙ Large businesses taking over: Our societies have become more and more dependent on large businesses flooding our markets. Because of larger scales of production and sales, they are able to buy larger quantities of supplies for better prices and can become hyperefficient with machines and streamlined processes. They have outcompeted many small businesses by offering better prices. ∙ Greenwashing confusing customers: Many businesses with serious marketing budgets can present a fantastic green image of their products by overemphasizing certain positive aspects and hiding the negative ones. Small idealistic businesses often can't afford much marketing and may be hesitant to use it in ways that feel manipulative and dishonest. For customers however, it is not easy to recognize greenwashing and it may be hard to find or access small conscious brands. ∙ Creation of need in pursuit of income: In many cases, it would be best for the environment and for humans if certain businesses and their products didn't exist at all. Even the most idealistic people will end up producing and selling junk that society doesn't really need simply because they had to find a way to generate an income for themselves. Perhaps this junk is made out of recycled plastic, but we could still easily do without it altogether. Of course the biggest players in this game of need-creation are the big brands in pursuit of the big bucks playing into our fears and desires, but social entrepreneurs often also fall into this trap. Are they truly addressing a societal problem or did they need an income first and tried to do it in an ethical way second? Imagine the possibilities if incomes were guaranteed and our economies were primarily need-driven... ∙ Government policies favoring large dirty businesses: Although the Dutch government has committed to reducing use of primary resources with 50% by 2030 and to becoming fully circular by 2050, it is severely lagging behind in achieving that (see PBL 2023). I have seen many innovative start-ups failing to make it to the next level because of lack of financial support and guidance. In the meantime, the same government is still subsidizing the fossil fuel industry with €30 billion per year and continues to go easy on businesses responsible for incredible pollution, such as Tata Steel and Chemours, causing very serious threats to the health of citizens and to the environment. ∙ Investors upscaling and derailing businesses: I have found that even small idealistic entrepreneurs tend to embrace the capitalist vision of entrepreneurial success, involving upscaling, usually with the help of investors. I have seen start-ups managing to land millions of euros of investments without having a solid business model only to go bankrupt several years later. Although there are certainly things to say for upscaling of circular and sustainable solutions, the barriers mentioned above already interfere heavily with the potentials for success. In addition, the motives and conditions of investors should always be carefully evaluated before handing them significant power over the future of your business. Let me first emphasize that life as an entrepreneur was not only incredibly challenging and insecure, it was also tremendously fascinating and rewarding. It was wonderful to build something from scratch and to experience the appreciation from returning customers. The Kusala brand matured and professionalized over time and sales increased a bit every year, even during the first year of Covid in 2021. However, when Russia invaded Ukraine in early 2022 and prices of fuel and by extention prices of everything went through the roof, I noticed a big shift and I sensed things would start getting harder again. Exhausted after years of slogging for bare survival, afraid that the few savings I had managed to accumulate would be eaten away by a faltering business, I decided to quit soap production, cancel the lease of the kitchen and office, and announce the end of Kusala in fall 2023. Committing to resistanceI applied for a few research jobs at universities, think tanks, and NGOs during that time, but quickly realized that that world was just not for me. I was reminded of my time working for the NGO TRAFFIC Europe in Brussels, where I felt so constrained in my research activities and the expected output. Let's be real: paid jobs where one can explicitly commit to system change are extremely rare. Even at universities and NGOs, a lot of the work is being dictated, nudged, or at least constrained by donors. No way I could see myself spending 40 hours a week in an office doing research that I felt was uncritical and thus pretty useless. I decided to take some time off to reflect, read, write, and focus on activism. During this period, I read quite a few books, three of which turned out to have a profound impact on my perspective and decisions for shaping my future, in particular the book by Klee, an indigenous anarchist who fought extractive industries destroying and polluting his ancestral lands throughout his lifetime: ∙ No Spiritual Surrender: Indigenous Anarchism in Defense of the Sacred, by Klee Benally (2024) ∙ The Revolution Will Not Be Funded: Beyond the Non-Profit Industrial Complex, by INCITE! Women of Color Against Violence (2007) ∙ Direct Action: An Ethnography, by David Graeber (2008) I will probably write more elaborately about these books another time, but here I just want to highlight that they made me decide to completely squash any lingering desire for some form of a career, and instead to find ways to commit to resistance, to activism, untainted by capitalist forces and by personal pursuits of status, to the best degree possible. This lead to me taking a part-time job in fincancial administration for three days a week that pays for rent and groceries and leaves enough time to spend on whatever I want and consider valuable. I had engaged in climate activism since 2018 and participated in quite a few demonstrations, sit-ins, and road blockades, mostly through Extinction Rebellion. Now, no longer an overworked entrepreneur, I could invest more time to engage with the activist world and became involved more specifically with the XR Justice Now! community. XR Justice Now! advocates for the need to integrate a focus on justice into the climate movement, especially the unfolding genocide by Israel on the Palestinians, something that sadly has been very controversial for many activists. In the past two years, however, we have seen a much-needed shift in recognition that the climate crisis is connected to many other problems in the world, including the exploitation, oppression, and genocide of people, usually people of color and/or people in the Global South. There is tremendous work to be done and the world is beginning to wake up to the horrific threat of increased militarization of capitalism, which we see play out in Palestine, but also in the US, through the mass abductions of anyone who might look like an immigrant. With climate breakdown accelerating, causing more and more destructive climate disasters, as well as a collapse of food security, we can expect that the elites of this world are preparing to use the same genocidal military force and technological currently tested on Palestinians to surpress uprisings and control the masses. Way too many people are still comfortably asleep. I certainly will continue to participate in actions, particularly those based on principles of direct action (see How to Resist), but I also see a need to move beyond reactive activism that often leads to burnout. This means working on growing the movement, better strategizing our activities, and having a clearer vision of the kind of society we aim to build. This is what I aim to contribute to with Fist & Fern, by integrating research, writing, activism, and entrepreneurship, in ways that should become more obvious over time. 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The effective date of these terms and conditions is March 30, 2020; the publication of a new version cancels all previous versions. This privacy policy describes what information we collect about you, what this information is used for, and with whom and under what conditions this information may be shared with third parties. We also explain how we store your data, how we protect your data against misuse, and what rights you have regarding the personal data you provide to us. If you have any questions about our privacy policy, please contact our privacy contact person. You will find their contact details at the end of our privacy policy. About data processing Below, you can read how we process your data, where we store it, what security techniques we use, and who has access to the data. Webshopsoftware MijnWebwinkel: Our online store is developed using software from MijnWebwinkel. Personal data you provide to us for the purposes of our services will be shared with this party. MijnWebwinkel has access to your data to provide us with (technical) support; they will never use your data for any other purpose. MijnWebwinkel is obligated to implement appropriate security measures under the agreement we have with them. MijnWebwinkel uses cookies to collect technical information regarding your use of the software; no personal data is collected or stored. Webhosting MijnWebwinkel: We purchase web hosting and email services from MijnWebwinkel. MijnWebwinkelprocesses personal data on our behalf and does not use your data for its own purposes. However, this party may collect metadata about the use of the services. This is not considered personal data. MijnWebwinkel has taken appropriate technical and organizational measures to prevent the loss and unauthorized use of your personal data. MijnWebwinkel is obligated to maintain confidentiality under the confidentiality agreement. MijnWebwinkel: We use MijnWebwinkel for our regular business email communications. This party has taken appropriate technical and organizational measures to prevent misuse, loss, and corruption of your and our data as much as possible. MijnWebwinkel does not have access to our mailbox, and we treat all our email communications confidentially. Payment processors Mollie: We use the Mollie platform to process (part of) the payments in our online store. Mollie processes your name, address, and city of residence, as well as your payment information such as your bank account or credit card number. Mollie has implemented appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data. Mollie reserves the right to use your data to further improve its services and, in that context, to share (anonymized) data with third parties. All the aforementioned safeguards regarding the protection of your personal data also apply to the parts of Mollie's services for which it engages third parties. Mollie does not retain your data for longer than is permitted by law. PayPal: We use the PayPal platform to process (part of) the payments in our online store. PayPal processes your name, address, and city of residence information, as well as your payment information such as your bank account or credit card number. PayPal has implemented appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your personal data. PayPal reserves the right to use your data to further improve its services and, in that context, to share (anonymized) data with third parties. In the event of a request for a deferred payment (credit facility), PayPal shares personal data and information regarding your financial position with credit rating agencies. All the aforementioned safeguards regarding the protection of your personal data also apply to the parts of PayPal's services for which it engages third parties. PayPal does not retain your data for longer than is permitted by law. Shipping and logistisc MyParcel and PostNL: When you place an order with us, it's our responsibility to have your package delivered to you. We use the services of MyParcel and PostNL to carry out deliveries. For this purpose, we must share your name, address, and city of residence with MyParcel and PostNL. MyParcel and PostNL use this information solely for the purpose of fulfilling the agreement. If MyParcel and PostNL engage subcontractors, they will also share your information with these parties. Invoicing and bookkeeping E-Boekhouden: We use the services of E-Boekhouden to manage our administration and accounting. We share your name, address, and city of residence, as well as details regarding your order. This information is used to manage sales invoices. Your personal data is transmitted and stored securely. E-Boekhouden is obligated to maintain confidentiality and will treat your data confidentially. E-Boekhouden will not use your personal data for purposes other than those described above. External sales channels Etsy: We sell (some of) our items through the Etsy platform. If you place an order through this platform, Etsy shares your order details and personal information with us. We use this information to process your order. We treat your information confidentially and have implemented appropriate technical and organizational measures to protect your data against loss and unauthorized use. Purpose of data processing General purpose of processing We use your data solely for the purposes of providing our services. This means that the purpose of processing is always directly related to the order you place. We do not use your data for (targeted) marketing. If you share data with us and we use this data to contact you at a later date—other than at your request—we will ask for your explicit consent. Your data will not be shared with third parties, except to comply with accounting and other administrative obligations. These third parties are all bound by confidentiality based on the agreement between them and us, an oath, or a legal obligation. Automatically collected data Data automatically collected by our website is processed for the purpose of further improving our services. This data (e.g., your IP address, web browser, and operating system) is not personal data. Cooperation with tax and criminal investigations In certain cases, Fist & Fern may be legally obligated to share your data in connection with government tax or criminal investigations. In such a case, we are forced to share your data, but we will object to this within the limits of the law. Retention periods We retain your data for as long as you are our client. This means we keep your client profile until you indicate that you no longer wish to use our services. If you inform us of this, we will also consider this as a request to be forgotten. Due to applicable administrative obligations, we are required to retain invoices containing your (personal) data, so we will retain this data for the duration of the applicable retention period. However, employees will no longer have access to your client profile and documents we have produced as a result of your assignment. Your rights Under applicable Dutch and European law, you, as a data subject, have certain rights regarding the personal data processed by or on behalf of us. Below, we explain these rights and how you can exercise them. In principle, to prevent misuse, we only send copies of your data to the email address you already have on file with us. If you wish to receive the data at a different email address or, for example, by mail, we will ask you to identify yourself. We maintain records of processed requests; in the case of a request to be forgotten, we will record anonymized data. You will receive all copies of data in the machine-readable format we use within our systems. You have the right to lodge a complaint with the Dutch Data Protection Authority at any time if you suspect that we are misusing your personal data. Right of access You always have the right to access the data we process (or have processed) that relates to you personally or can be traced back to you. You can submit a request to this effect to our privacy contact person. You will receive a response to your request within 30 days. If your request is granted, we will send you a copy of all data to the email address we have on file for you, along with an overview of the processors who hold this data, stating the category under which we store this data. Right to rectification You always have the right to have the data we process (or have processed) that relates to you personally or can be traced back to you, corrected. You can submit a request to this effect to our privacy contact person. You will receive a response to your request within 30 days. If your request is granted, we will send you confirmation that the data has been corrected to the email address we have on file for you. Right to restrict processing You always have the right to restrict the data we process (or have processed) that relates to you personally or is identifiable from you. You can submit a request to this effect to our privacy contact person. You will then receive a response to your request within 30 days. If your request is granted, we will send you a confirmation to the email address we have on file that the data will no longer be processed until you lift the restriction. Right to data portability You always have the right to have the data we process (or have processed) that relates to you personally or is identifiable to you, processed by another party. You can submit a request to this effect to our privacy contact person. You will then receive a response to your request within 30 days. If your request is granted, we will send you copies of all data about you that we have processed or that has been processed on our behalf by other processors or third parties, to the email address we have on file for you. In all likelihood, in such a case, we will no longer be able to continue providing services, as the secure linking of data files can no longer be guaranteed. Right to Object and Other Rights You have the right to object to the processing of your personal data by or on behalf of Fist & Fern, in appropriate circumstances. If you object, we will immediately cease processing your data pending the resolution of your objection. If your objection is justified, we will provide you with copies of the data we process (or have processed) and then permanently cease processing. You also have the right not to be subject to automated individual decision-making or profiling. We do not process your data in such a way that this right applies. If you believe this is the case, please contact our privacy contact person. Cookies We only use essential cooking for the functioning of this website. We don't collect statistics about traffic and we don't share information with partners for ads and social media. Changes in the privacy policy We reserve the right to amend our privacy policy at any time. However, you will always find the most recent version on this page. If the new privacy policy affects how we process data already collected about you, we will notify you by email. Contact information Fist & Fern Strevelsweg 700 303 Box E5503 3083AS Rotterdam Nederland T +31 (0) 614161152 E info@fistandfern.nlContactperson for privacy affairs: Karin Berkhoudt https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7536327/shipping-returns/ https://www.fistandfern.nl/en_GB/c-7536327/shipping-returns/ Shipping Orders are shipped within 48 hours with PostNL. Shipping costs for orders within the Netherlands are €3.95 for products that fit in a letterbox package, €6.50 for larger packages, and free for orders over €100. Shipping costs for orders outside the Netherlands vary. Shipping costs to Belgium are €9.50 and to Germany €8.50 (also free for orders over €100). Costs for other destinations are shown at checkout. Returns You can return an order or part of an order within 14 days of purchase (by emailing info@fistandfern.nl). The products must be returned unused and undamaged within 14 days. Return shipping costs are the responsibility of the consumer. Fist & Fern will then refund the invoice amount, including the initial shipping costs, to the consumer within 14 days of receiving the return.