Buurkracht is a social initiative that helps neighborhoods throughout the Netherlands to discover and increase their neighborhood power. They do this by bringing people together and supporting them with tips, tricks and tools. Their goal is to connect people with each other and support them in improving their neighborhood. Under the guidance of a neighborhood supervisor, neighbors work in teams to make their neighborhood more beautiful, better, greener, safer or cozier. More information about neighborhood power can be found here.

In Son and Breugel, Buurkracht has already realized several successful neighborhood approaches, including in the Gentiaan and Breugel.

Neighborhood Power the Gentian

In the Gentiaan neighborhood in 2024, Buurkracht assembled an enthusiastic neighborhood team of local residents. Led by Buurkracht, they set to work together to make the homes in the neighborhood more sustainable. This neighborhood approach focuses on involving residents in sustainability and energy conservation, with an emphasis on energy savings, climate adaptation and small-scale generation.
They organized two neighborhood meetings, both of which were well attended. During these evenings, residents received information about insulation and energy conservation, such as the purchase of heat pumps or roof insulation measures. 

• First meeting: In October, the first information evening was held in the Swan, with 50 attendees. Resident Caspar Eras gave a presentation on insulation, ventilation and solar panels. This showed that glass was the priority of residents, after which a collective purchasing action for HR++ glass was set up.
• Second meeting: A second evening was held in November at Braecklant, with 65 attendees. Caspar Eras gave a presentation on insulation and ventilation, followed by a supplier who gave a presentation on heat pumps. Afterwards there was an energy market, where suppliers and the municipality were present. Residents could request direct quotes here.

As a result of these meetings, good, reliable suppliers were selected for HR++ glass, flat roof insulation, pitched roof insulation, ventilation boxes and heat pumps. Through collective purchasing actions, residents were able to purchase the sustainability measures at a bargain price. Due to success, the collective actions have been repeated, more information can be found at https://gentiaan.buurkracht-online.nl/.
After a successful first phase, the neighborhood team is now entering the second phase in which they will work more independently.

Would you like more information about the neighborhood approach in the Gentiaan? Contact Marijtje van Duuren, Neighborhood Supervisor of Buurkracht, at 06 27 32 53 31 or marijtje@buurkracht.nl.