Mission statement

Freedom through self reliance

Waterpaard was born out of a deep-rooted desire to gain freedom through self reliance. Our dream is to live free, and share our knowledge to help other people gain their own independence through self reliance. A successful species is defined by its ability to live in harmony with its surroundings. Human kind most likely has this capacity, but it seems we have forgotten and separated ourselves from nature by barriers both physical as intangible. What is called progress and prosperity, has also brought us dependence. If we cannot take care of our own basic needs, we will need to be in the good grace of the one who controls access to those necessities. Do you feel free, knowing this?

Climb the pyramid together

Maslow has created a pyramid that describes these needs, and the bottom-up order in which they must be met.

• self-actualization morality, creativity, spontaneity, acceptance, experience purpose, meaning and inner potential
• self-esteem confidence, achievement, respect of others, the need to be a unique individual
• love and belonging friendship, family, intimacy, sense of connection
• safety and security health, employment, property, family and social stability
• physiological needs breathing, food, water, shelter, clothing, sleep

Our mission is to give power back to the people in the form of self-reliance. To make them less dependent and more confident to deal with the challenges of life. We will do so by working this pyramid from the bottom up. Either it be physical products, creating networks and training and coaching, together with our clients we will climb the pyramid as one. For we are one people, and most of our needs are the same.

Whats in a name?

Bart Lunenburg is the owner and founder of this company. His professional path has led him through many challenges all adding to his experience. His roots are in the army, growth came through travel and now he blooms as an independent sales agent getting his message out to the public. His core values are freedom of expression, honest communication and conduct of mutual respect. This is the influence he projects through his efforts helping honest businesses reach their customers with quality products to enrich their lives with self-reliance and make a positive impact on our environment.

The name Waterpaard is derived from the word Hydroponics which is formed from ‘hydro-,’ which means ‘water’ in Greek, and ‘-ponics.’ from the Greek word ‘ponein’ which means to ‘toil, labor.’

We were inspired by the Czech translation which is Hydroponie, applied a play on words while translating to Dutch so ‘Hydro’ became ‘Water’ and ‘ponie’ became ‘paard’.

Retaining our playful approach, we present ourselves as our logo depicts:

• A trusty steed; work horse; means to increase ones mobility and range;
• Wave of water pushes your business forward towards success; water is essential for life, it is pure and transparent; it easily adapts to its environment.

How do you do...?

The Dutch word for society is “samenleving” which literally translates in “together living”. We do not wish to do this alone, success feels much better when shared, as do most other things in life. Therefore we create partnerships of like-minded people and projects that all add steps towards our common goal, the top of the pyramid.

So what do we need to take our first step towards that goal? I like to use the first rule of Survival: Please Remember What’s First.

• Protection: from the elements, from aggressors, from harm.
• Rescue: means to get you out of a dangerous situation.
• Water: clean drinking water, filtration, storage.
• Food: ability to forage, cultivate, prepare, conserve and store food.

Some of these needs are solved by overlap. Fire for instance is sometimes added to the last F, but it also has a purpose in PRW. So our solutions can also have overlap, which is of course great and even greater when this overlap also helps others master their first step of the pyramid. Our first year in business we have acquired several clients that offer solutions for food cultivation. Work smart, not hard is a rule we live by. By making the process of plant cultivation more efficient, you harvest more in the same amount of time. There’s a lot you can do yourself, but there is much more you can do together. Sharing the workload can be an important factor for success.

Where to from now...?

There are no borders to our Great Work. As much physical between countries, as abstract between possibilities we consider both in ideas or in people contributing. In our view, anyone who seeks to improve their autonomy has a shared goal and can therefore share in our success. Do you have ideas? Feel free to approach us. Do you wish to work with us? Tell us your goal and how you seek to get there. We are one species, let’s all grow together!

We currently operate in Sweden, Denmark, Netherlands, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Austria, Slovenia, Croatia, Hungary, Romania, Serbia, Bulgaria, Macedonia and Greece.

Next on our list of expansion are Norway, Finland, Ireland, UK, Switzerland, Spain and Portugal

For more information please e-mail us, we look forward to reading your thoughts. And remember: “smile at the day, and the day will smile back at you”