The idea of ​​a “care farm for intellectuals” started almost 10 years ago when Wouter and Esther, as youth workers, were responsible for organizing a large national summer camp for a number of years in a row. Wouter worked with an Econometrics student (a smart boy) and he helped Wouter as an assistant with all kinds of administrative tasks.

After a morning of tinkering with Excel sheets, Wouter went to work in the garden. The student lingered a bit, sat on the swing under the tree, and looked at the sheep in the meadow. He didn’t feel like going home. The walls in his student room were closing in on him. Although he went through his studies with ease, he was quite stuck in other areas. Simply picking some weeds sounded like a very attractive alternative to sitting in his room.

Months passed. Many more weeds were picked. Walls were painted, branches were pruned and in the meantime people talked about life and getting stuck. More often there were moments of staring ahead on the swing in silence. Somewhere on that swing, the Econometrics student made the statement: “You are actually a kind of care farm… but for intellectuals.”

The student continued to grow in the following years and became a team leader himself. However, his statement has always stuck with Wouter and Esther. It was like a small seed that was plant and grew a little further during the years that Wouter and Esther were youth workers. Several young people sat on that swing, sharing their story of being stuck. But it always happened in a context where something was actually being worked on together. Somehow they were able to combine the work and the “being stuck in life”. They managed to get something done. Working together, going for something together and combining that with personal attention, was ultimately healing in other areas of life.

At that time, that’s just how it was. Wouter and Esther said few words about it and thought it was the most normal thing in the world. Until Wouter decided to quit as a youth worker in 2020. Not because he no longer had a passion for young people, but sometimes it is just good to move on. Not too long afterward, Wouter realized that he especially missed the way of working on “the care farm for intellectuals”. He looked for ways to fulfill that desire, but outside traditional youth work or well-known healthcare institutions. The idea of ​​Breakout Bandits was born: a place where Wouter could combine his passion and knowledge for games and events with the desire to work with young people and young adults who were stuck somewhere. Coincidentally or not, it was the Econometrics student who had been sitting on the swing years before who was the first to ask: “Are you hiring people yet? I know someone for the care farm…”

Breakout Bandits now offers a workplace for 3 young adults in a way that is reminiscent of a care farm, only without cows and simple chores. Aimed at a target group that has the brains, but is stuck somewhere in life. Breakout Bandits offers a place without stress and without an office garden. We have no expectations, but we believe all the more. We believe that with a personal approach and a lot of patience, you can go much further together than you ever expected.

If you are curious about how we implement this way of working, read more about us or contact us.