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Eco-Healing: Care Farming

The Netherlands, leaders in the care farming movement

Care Farming, which began in Europe, is a unique collaboration among traditional farmers, government or local organizations, and vulnerable populations such as autistic youth senior citizens, mentally challenged people, recovering addicts, and at risk youth. The latter populations are brought to the provider farm and assist the farmer with care of animals, planting, weeding, harvesting and other farm tasks.

Among other things, the eco-therapeutic benefits of farming activities in the vulnerable populations include reduced stress, heightened sense of meaning, and increased social skills. These positive changes in behavior and self-esteem assist organizations in their care taking. This assistance reduces the cost of care to the society. Care Farms are a true example of a win-win situation.

Historically, the Netherlands began linking agriculture and care in the beginning of the 20th century.  In the late 1990s the government began care farming in earnest beginning with 75 farms in 1998 and 432 farms by 2004.  Mentally challenged individuals formed the bulk of the populations being served, however, in the past few years goals have increased from strictly curative to preventative.  Other vulnerable populations, such as homeless, long-termed unemployed, and alienated individuals, have also benefited from care farms.  The government offers farmers a stipend for participant in the program that may explain the success of Dutch care farms.

Care farms as a form of personal and societal eco-healing are also popular in the United Kingdom, Norway, Italy, Austria, and France.

The United States has been slow to embrace care farming as a large-scale method for helping vulnerable populations.  Volunteer farming is growing in popularity with a number of individual or local initiatives often around CSAs (community supported agriculture.) The link between being in nature or working in nature and health has not generated public response yet.

In Minnesota, the Three Rivers Park District operates a working farm, the Gale Woods Farm, where children and volunteers participate in farm activities. This is, however, a long way from the organized care farm movements of Europe.

For more info about Care Farms, visit the following sites:

Netherlands:  http://library.wur.nl/frontis/farming_for_health/13_elings.pdf
United Kingdom:  http://www.ncfi.org.uk
National Care Farming Conference (UK:) YouTube, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WP8Vdgu-PxU