Land shouldn't be a speculative asset. That's the conviction the Düschenhof Hoffest was built on — and on a sun-soaked September day in Essen-Byfang, that conviction turned into something real: a farm full of people, food, music, and plans for the future.

The celebration didn't start on festival day. On Wednesday, in a pop-up open-air cinema built for the occasion, the documentary Wir Erben (We, the Inheritors) by Simon Baumann was screened: a film that asks what it means to inherit a farm, and what that inheritance has to do with money, privilege, and the political struggles bound up in who gets to own land at all. Then, on Friday night, the band MAINKUN played their very first concert on the farm — in the stable of the historic farm building. For one night, the stable was transformed into a cultural space, fitting around 30 guests who enjoyed the music. It set exactly the right tone for what was to come.

On the day of the Düschenhof Fest itself, more than 100 people found their way to the farm — from the neighborhood, from across the Ruhr region, and some who traveled a lot further to be there. What brought them together was more than curiosity. Again and again, people voiced the same thing: Essen needs a place like this — one where regenerative agriculture, communal living, and a transformative culture and encounter space aren't just discussed, but actually built.

The festival was also the moment to make things official. Düschenhof e.V. was founded — the association that will bring together everyone who actively uses and lives on the farm, and that carries the project forward as a legal form. And the "Direktkredit Campaign" officially launched: a community-financed effort to secure 200,000 m² of land for the common good, permanently and collectively, outside the logic of the speculative land market. This is the financing model at the heart of Düschenhof: not banks and investors calling the shots, but the people who believe in the project lending it the capital to exist.

None of it would have been possible without around 30 volunteers who built the entire festival infrastructure: a compost-toilet trailer, a bar, a large buffet area, a stage, cozy corners to sit and unwind. That's what community ownership looks like in practice!

The day itself moved through an info booth for anyone who wanted to dig deeper into the project, an afternoon cake buffet, and a communal dinner of home-cooked dishes made with vegetables from Essen's first SoLaWi Evergreen Farm. In the evening, Bénè played a fantastic concert, followed by a fire show by Jeffrey Rose and a groovy DJ-Set with Kollektiv Kirschlikör.

Our goal is to secure 200,000 m² of land in the Ruhr region, together, to let a real future site take shape on Düschenhof. If this speaks to you — if you want to find out more or lend your support — visit www.dueschenhof.de or write an email to mail@dueschenhof.de.