Tante Toorop: Buurthuis in Overtoomse Veld, Amsterdam

★★★★★ 4.6

Tante Toorop is a neighbourhood living room with gardens and a city greenhouse on the Jan Tooropstraat in Amsterdam Nieuw-West. Drop in for coffee, home-made cake and a fresh sandwich, or come for one of the many activities organised with and for people from the area. The Huiskamer sits on the corner of the street, looking out over the Stadskas and the vegetable beds. Its hosts, the Tantes, run the café on the days shown here, while the agenda fills up the rest of the week. Regulars include neighbourhood yoga, a Repair Café, homework support, the Buurtoven, when the wood oven is lit so you can bake your own dough, De Groene Kans, which shares food that would otherwise go to waste, and Bij Tante aan Tafel, a shared meal for anyone who would rather not eat at home. The stated aim is simple: to give everyone in the area the chance to meet, learn and grow. Local people can rent a vegetable bed, although all of them are taken for now and new applicants join a waiting list. Volunteers are always wanted for the shared garden, events, odd jobs and social media. The rooms can be hired for workshops, meetings and children's parties, and the Stadskas for parties, with the wood oven and kitchen available too. Anyone with an idea for an activity can raise it with one of the Tantes.