Slowly but surely everything is ready for the arrival of the children. And of course we don't organize such a Hut Building Village on our own. This event is only possible thanks to approximately 50 incredibly enthusiastic volunteers and a number of very loyal sponsors and partners who stand by us year after year. Renewi Soesterberg provides containers full of perfect pallets and helps us afterwards with the disposal of all the wood. Cafetaria Lekkerrr Soest treats our volunteers every afternoon with a delicious sponsored lunch. Stichting Het Utrechts Landschap makes it possible for us to use the beautiful location Shelter 611. Karweihuis Soesterberg provides us year after year with nails, hammers and saws among other things, and Hoogvliet Soest sponsors the rolls for the children's lunch.

And of course there is Team Jonge Jeugd from Stichting Balans, which organizes the Hut Building Village and carries it out together with all the volunteers.

And then it's finally Tuesday… Every morning we start with a briefing for the volunteers who are coming to help that day. We go through the agreements, divide up the tasks and go through the script together.

And then the children arrive. You can see them coming eagerly early on. Big smiles on their faces, hammers dangling from their trousers and backpacks filled with nails and other handy tools. They all line up neatly waiting to be registered. Sometimes it takes a bit of searching for the right name or checking whether someone can be in the photo or not, but within about twenty minutes everyone is inside.

The parents leave and then the moment is here: the Hut Building Village can begin! The groups form pretty much by themselves. The hut buckets with the hut numbers are distributed and shortly afterwards you hear the sound of hammers and saws everywhere. Tap, tap, tap… And if you walk around the site a few hours later, it's almost hard to believe what happens in such a short time. Walls, roofs, floors and the most special structures appear everywhere. An enthusiastic mother put it very aptly this year: "It's no longer a village, it's become a city!" And she was right. A complete city simply rose up at Shelter 611.

Making fire with WilderWonder On the second day we had a visit from WilderWonder. The children were allowed to make fire there under supervision. Because how cool is it when you get a little fire going yourself?

Of course our first aid attendant was also present every day. Fortunately he had it remarkably quiet this year. In fact, he said he had never experienced such a quiet Hut Building Village. And of course we are just very happy about that!

From haunted houses to a candy floss food truck Meanwhile, construction continued in full swing. And what beautiful huts have been created! From haunted houses to a roller coaster and from simple huts to structures that make you wonder how children manage to build them in just three days.

Then comes the difficult moment for the jury: who will be the winner? That's incredibly difficult every year, because so many children work hard and every hut has something special about it.

But this year there was a clear winner: the candy floss food truck! These ladies and gentlemen had come up with a fantastic plan beforehand and executed it brilliantly. They worked hard, worked well together and needed very little help. From idea to execution, everything was just right. A well-deserved first place! And of course, that absolutely doesn't mean the other huts weren't beautiful. Quite the opposite. The jury has an almost impossible task every year. One more time on stage After all that building, we close Huttenbouwdorp in traditional fashion with the talent show. One more time to have fun together, perform, watch and cheer each other on.

After that, the adventure is over for the children. They go home tired, dirty and hopefully with lots of wonderful stories to tell.

But for us it's not over yet… Because as soon as the last children have left, the big cleanup begins. Renewi Soesterberg removes the wood again, the tables and benches go back to the Partyshop storage and together with our wonderful group of volunteers we get to work. Sweeping, tidying, moving, dusting, cleaning…

Until eventually there's hardly anything left to see of the town that stood here just a few hours earlier. Then the last volunteers leave too. The grounds are clean, everything is tidied away and Shelter 611 becomes quiet again.

Only then is Huttenbouwdorp 2026 really over for us too. Tired? Absolutely. But above all, incredibly proud of what we've created together with our volunteers, sponsors and of course all the children. Here's to next year… Will you be there again? We will :)Stichting Het Utrechts Landschap

The Hut Building Village has been a household name in Soest and Soesterberg for many years. Generations of children have built their own huts during the summer holidays with hammer, nails and plenty of imagination. What once began as a small-scale activity has grown into one of the highlights of the summer holidays. Every year, children come together to build, play, discover and make new friends for three days.

With the help of enthusiastic volunteers, the most remarkable structures are created: from castles and forts to treehouses, restaurants and amusement parks. The Hut Building Village is not just about carpentry and building. It's mainly about working together, thinking creatively, helping each other and having fun. For many children, these are days full of adventure and memories that last long afterwards.

This year too, volunteers, staff and partners are working hard to make it an unforgettable edition. We are proud that this tradition has existed for so many years and look forward to creating another wonderful Hut Building Village together with the children.