Care farming

Domain XV · Nature, philosophy, social & rites of passage

What it is

Care farming, also called social farming, is "the therapeutic use of farming practices". Natural England's working definition is: "A care farm utilises the whole or part of a farm to provide health, social or educational care services" for one or more vulnerable groups. This is delivered through…

Format

• Programme format, as published for England:
• Sessions. 82% of care farms run full-day sessions and 51% run half-days. A typical day runs about 10am to 3pm.

Who practises it, and how they are trained or regulated

• Norway. Inn på tunet is defined as "tilrettelagte og kvalitetssikrede velferdstjenester på gårdsbruk": adapted, quality-assured welfare services on farms that aim at coping (mestring), development and wellbeing. It covers education and childhood, work training (arbeidstrening), health and care (substance use, disability, mental health, dementia), integration, and criminal justice. Services are purchased by…

Evidence status, as the guide reports it

• . Care farms in England report social, educational and health outcomes. The benefits they report include wellbeing, social inclusion, self-efficacy, reduced anxiety and depression symptoms, and life skills. Evidence status in one line: a Campbell systematic review "found no evidence that care farms…

Questions to explore with your client

• What drew you to it, and what are you hoping it will change?
• Is there physical contact? Was it explained beforehand, and do you feel free to say no or stop at any point?
• Does it involve any substance, plant preparation, remedy or supplement? Has your doctor or prescriber been told, especially about any medication you take?
• Does it involve intense or unusual breathing? Have you been told about the medical conditions for which that is not advised?
• Does it involve fasting, a special diet or 'detox'? Have you discussed this with your doctor?
• Who runs it, and what training or registration do they hold?
• What actually happens in a session or meeting, and how often?
• What does it cost, and is there pressure to commit to more?
• How do you feel afterwards, in the hours and days that follow?
• Does it fit with, or clash with, the work we do here?

What practitioners of it watch for

• fear that losing benefits or the farm place will follow success, and unpaid work drifting into exploitation.
• the client avoiding the farm because of fears of being known, and the farm passing on gossip. Revisit the agreement after any incident.
• isolation within the group, bullying, and difficulties from mixing client groups. Raise these with the farm through the agreed channel.
• improvements in attendance and mood that are not matched by social or functional gains, or the reverse. Adjust goals or setting accordingly.
• overexertion to prove worth, and shame on low-energy days. It is working when the client starts choosing tasks and reports a sense of achievement.

When to involve someone else

• New or worsening physical symptoms, or advice to stop or change prescribed medication: involve the client's doctor or prescriber.
• Signs of coercion, isolation from family and friends, escalating costs or secrecy: discuss openly and consider safeguarding.
• A crisis or thoughts of suicide: follow your crisis protocol. In the US, call or text 988; in the UK and Ireland, Samaritans on 116 123.

Drawn automatically from the guide's own sections. Stay curious: neither endorse nor dismiss what the client values, and check anything that matters against the full guide and its sources. Not medical advice.