Farmers
Developing a care farm takes time and careful planning. The quality and ethos of care farms is of the upmost importance. All of the CFWM care farms are therefore social enterprises and will be guided through the CFWM
accreditation checklist including
CEVAStraining towards full CFWM Accredited Membership (currently £75 per year). CFWM will only refer commissioners, social workers or teachers to your farm once the quality standards have been met.
CFWM is currently funded to provide Development Officer support for the process of setting up care farms in Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Shropshire. Development staff will also need to inform and work with developing a care farm in partnership with local health and social care agencies. CFWM seeks to help raise awareness of the potential benefits of care farming within social workers and healthcare commissioners and with potential participants.
The first step of developing a care farm is to purchase the CFWM
starter pack which is a practical development guide for farmers.
CFWM has also joint funded PHD research
into care farming in conjunction with the University of Worcester with a
view to developing supportive government policy.