Self-picked in Hyssna

In the summer of 2024, Emma and Sebastian moved to a smaller farm in Hyssna that had not been used for many years. At the same time, a desire grew to give the farm new life and find a way to farm it that works in our time. The solution was small-scale cultivation according to the principles of market gardening – intensive vegetable cultivation on a small area – combined with self-picking and visitor activities.

Through the project Självplocket in Hyssna, a vegetable farm of approximately 1,000 square meters of effective cultivation area is being established for the production of locally grown and unsprayed vegetables. Here, visitors are invited to harvest their own food, dig up potatoes, pick cucumbers and experience how vegetables grow. The idea is to give more people a closer relationship with food and increase understanding of how it is produced.

The project also includes a self-service farm shop where locally grown vegetables, green pasture eggs, lamb boxes, honey and processed products made from the farm's own raw materials will be sold. In addition, the farm's old carpentry workshop will be converted into a café and course room with a kitchen and toilet. The café will be a meeting place where plant exchanges, craft courses, harvest festivals, markets and other events can take place.

In addition, a glamping business is being developed. An older caravan is being refurbished and supplemented with an outdoor kitchen, sauna and the possibility of swimming in the farm's lake. This offers a comfortable overnight stay for those who want to experience nature and the countryside, not least for hikers on the Hyssnaleden trail, which is one kilometer away.

Multiple legs create year-round business

The business is aimed at families with children, local customers and visitors from Borås, Gothenburg and other nearby towns. Through self-picking, a farm shop, café and overnight accommodation, several legs are created in the business, which makes it possible to operate even during parts of the winter months.

The project aims to show how small-scale food production can be done without pesticides and fertilizers, in interaction with nature. The cultivation is planned with a focus on biodiversity, crop rotation and keeping the soil covered to utilize the nutrients in the soil and reduce nutrient leakage. To the greatest extent possible, the farm's own fertilizer and used materials are used in the construction.

The goal is to create a place where more people can experience the countryside, get to know the food and at the same time contribute to more sustainable and local food production.

Cut from the application

”"Come and do something real, feel the soil under your nails and get one step closer to sustainable food production with us."”

The board's decision justification

The project shows that the right skills and resources exist to strengthen local food production through a sustainable and innovative overall solution with cultivation, café, self-picking, animal husbandry and glamping. The initiative also creates jobs, contributes to the tourism industry and serves as a transferable model for rural development in the Leader Sjuhärad area.