What is Care Farming?
- Care farming combines care of the land with care of people.
- Care farming uses commercial farms, woodlands and market gardens as a base for promoting mental and physical health through normal farming activity.
- Care farming seeks to develop people's possibilities and potential rather than focus on their limitations.
- Care farming is a partnership between farmers, participants and health and social care agencies.
- Farms that combine care of people with care of the land are growing in number and based all over the UK.
- Care farms offer a variety of services as part of the daily running of the farm. Care farms may offer day-care right through to full residential programmes.
- What all care farms have in common is an atmosphere where people feel safe, respected and engaged in meaningful activity.
Who Benefits?
Many participants on care farms experience improvements to their physical, mental and spiritual health and well-being. Participants connect with a healthy daily structure and meaningful work in a natural environment - gaining social, educational and training benefits.
The farming environment can be used to provide significant benefits for a wide range of people including:-
- those with learning difficulties
- people with a drug/alcohol history
- disaffected and excluded youth
- people with work-related stress
- those with mental health issues and depression
Care farming is good for rural communities and economies as it enhances the viability of farms, broadens farm business and increases the services derived from the countryside. Farmers receive a deep sense of satisfaction through helping people improve their lives through farming - and having guests of the farm also addresses issues of rural isolation.
Care farming places a high value on the knowledge and skills of farmers and seeks to help rural communities become more socially , economically and environmentally sustainable.