Hola, I am Farhana
My nature journey started in 2013 when I began my studies of Garden- and Landscape Design at the University of Van Hall Larenstein in the Netherlands. In 2017 I started as an intern at House of Green, where I found my love for garden designing on a small scale. I love how meaningful & personal the design proces of a garden is. Being part of the whole proces, from idea to realization makes me feel fulfilled. After this experience I decided to become an entrepeneur. In 2018 & 2019 I worked together with Studio Toop and had the amazing experiences of doing festival gardens in Chaumont and the FlowerJam in Moskou. In 2018 I also became co-owner of STEK, which is a collective of green entrepeneurs.
In the last 5 years I’ve put a lot of passion in designing private, community & festival gardens. All with a focus on planting suited for its climate, people & wildlife. Along the way I also discovered a passion of coaching people to connect with and enjoy nature. And those two passions combined led me to create Fika.
As a designer I spend my days observing nature and spaces. That is how I get inspired and get creative in my work. No matter where in the world, in a garden surrounded by plants and wildlife, I feel at home. I hope I can help you feel the same.
Designing experience
2013-2018 Garden & Landscape Design @ Van Hall Larenstein
2018 Intern & Garden Designer at House of Green
Since 2018 Self-employed
2018-2019 Garden Designer at Studio Toop
2019 Biodiversity design @ Ontwerpacademie
Since 2019 Part of green collective ‘Coöperatie STEK’
Fluent in Dutch (native), English & Urdu. Learning Spanish & Portuguese.
Around the world
When I found the calming effects on nature on myself, I became a believer of its power. I used to walk on de Veluwe (National Park in The Netherlands) almost daily and never was the same route boring. If you take the time to observe, nature will surprise you every time.
This has led me to choose a nomadic lifestyle that allows me to travel and do gardening in different climates & countries so I can enhance my knowledge. I hope to become a better gardener, designer and human being.
With this mindset I have been travelling to Moscow, France, Italy, Spain, Portugal (mainland & Azores), Sweden and Norway.
