What can it offer?

Personal Development

We consider our participants to be individuals with a wide and diverse range of abilities, not as people labelled with societies’ stigmas. We aim to grow a sense of self-esteem using achievable but appropriately challenging tasks.

Participants are able to work either on a one-to-one basis or in a team, subject to their needs and the skills they need to develop.

The welcoming and informal learning environment plus the community atmosphere of The Fold nurtures a sense of belonging to the greater whole encouraging integration with the wider environment.

This together with learning new skills whilst working alongside other people helps to promote the benefits of work and social reintegration in practice.

It’s good to have something to get you outside. Time flies whilst working in the garden. Every day there is something different worth coming along to. The Fold Garden is a fun and enjoyable way to learn skills and make friends in a healthy way. The rewarding activities and educational experience of being involved in growing food and providing it to the kitchen is a way to begin a lifestyle change on the way to recovery.

Great Potential, You and Us

The Fold was once the heart of a fruit, hop and livestock farm, which diversified into growing plants. The Care Farm utilises the original propagation houses of the nursery, which provides ideal facilities for vocational skills including the growing of plants and vegetables in pots and in the ground. Jobs include taking cuttings and sowing seeds, weeding, watering and harvesting as well as integrated pest management and the principles of organic husbandry. There will be additional opportunities for working with animals and learning green wood-working skills.

The sense of job satisfaction which comes from contributing collaboratively and seeing the process through can help a person in getting back into employment.

The Fold Care Farm is more than just a place to learn work skills – it is about reintegrating the processes of work into wider life.

At The Fold Care Farm participants feel like they are seeing the whole of a work process – in our case from soil to table, and back again. From sewing the seeds, to harvesting the produce, to delivery to the kitchens. Where the produce is turned into healthy & nutritious meals that are served not only to the ecoCafe’s customers but also the Care Farm participants.