Brussels urban farms Peas & Love are bankrupt

The two rooftop farms that Peas & Love managed in Brussels have been declared bankrupt. However, the Parisian rooftop gardens of the Brussels-based pioneer of urban agriculture remain active.

High ambitions

Peas & Love started two urban farms in Brussels in 2015, including one on the roof of outlet store Cameleon in Woluwe-Saint-Lambert. Tenants could rent a plot there with some seventy varieties of organic vegetables, fruit and herbs for them to harvest – yielding about 30 kilos a year. They did not have to grow them themselves, as a professional gardener was employed for the day-to-day care.

The project got off to a flying start: the Brussels urban gardens were fully rented out in no time and founder Jean-Patrick Scheepers managed to raise start-up capital to finance international expansion. His initial ambition was to open as many as 150 urban farms in cities such as Amsterdam, Berlin, London and Lyon, but that was a bit too ambitious. However, his company did open seven farms in Paris.

Now the Brussels story of Peas & Love is coming to an end: the business court declared bankruptcy for the rooftop farms in Uccle and Woluwe-Saint-Lambert, L’Echo reports. The urban farms in Paris can continue their operations.