Social farming in France : therapeutic benefits and sustainability of social farms

Abstract

Social farming is a concept that uses agricultural activities for social or therapeutic purposes. Social farms may benefit various target groups such as: young persons experiencing difficulties, the elderly, disabled people, prisoners, people in the process of returning to work and others. At the crossroads of agriculture and social matters, social farming activities can offer multiple benefits for its beneficiaries in the form of therapy, social rehabilitation or personal development. The Marie-Louise Foundation aligns with this vision by hosting disabled people on its therapeutic farm. Although the farm setting already benefits a certain number of users, the foundation needs to come up with a better structure for its farm, for it to be sustainable in the long term and to offer services that are adapted to a broad range of target groups. In this perspective, my study assesses the needs and expectations of social farm users with a case study at the Vivaldi farm. The data collected has been used to develop key guidelines that may contribute to the success and sustainability of social farms in general: (1) building a well-thought-out farm design and layout; (2) providing adapted and diversified activities; (3) ensuring security; (4) considering the solid base of human resources; (5) promoting the farm via means of communication. Finally, this paper discusses how social farming is situated within agroecology.