Do Farmsteads Work?

The green-model farmstead conceived by the SAGE Crossing Foundation (and explained more fully in its business plan) is not a theory, but a timely revision of a well-tested model. Called “the moral movement of the 19th Century,” the therapeutic farmstead has a long history in both Europe and the United States. And yet in this country it is rarely used.

A few farmsteads have been operating in the United States for decades. The oldest is Gould Farm in western Massachusetts, in continuous operation since 1913. Gould Farm is for temporary residents only, however, and serves the mentally ill. It does not accept autistic “guests” other than adults with Asperger’s syndrome, a high-functioning form of autism. Cooper Riis, in North Carolina, serves a similar population. Bittersweet Farms, in Ohio – the gold standard for the long-term care of autistic adults, and SAGE’s chief inspiration – is for autistic residents of Ohio only, and has a long waiting list. Innisfree Village in Virginia is also considered a model of its kind. Like Bittersweet, it is much studied by parents and others who are trying to create their own farmsteads.

Few of the country’s existing farmsteads are open, as SAGE Crossing Farms will be, to some of the most impaired autistic adults. And none were conceived, as was SAGE, as an exemplary green model.

THE BENEFITS OF FARM LIFE

The therapeutic benefits of life and work on a farm have been studied and documented for years. Along with its safer, quieter environment, and many opportunities for exercise, a farm gives the cognitively disabled – we are specifically referring to persons with autism – a chance to do meaningful, purposeful work, which creates a sense of accomplishment. Instead of sweeping parking lots or sitting at a dreary assembly line – the fate of many autistic adults – the cognitively disabled farmer gathers eggs, shucks corn, works in the garden, and feeds animals.

Farm work can easily be tailored to an individual’s interests and abilities. (Some cognitively disabled people may excel in moving things around, stacking, putting vegetables in boxes, etc. Autistic people who like to tear things can be put to work tearing cotton to make rag rugs – an example of the creative thinking at Bittersweet Farms.)

Here they can practice the rural arts. They can care for, and own, animals. At a farm, they can grow their own food, clean it, help cook it, and share it with others – thus understanding the connection between work and need. (“Guests” of Gould Farm collect the eggs they eat at breakfast. Some guests spend part of their day in the farm’s bakery. Others help make the farm’s cheese and maple syrup, which are also sold to the public.)

Farm work also gives people a variety of tasks – which helps prevent boredom and promote cognitive function. It engenders a sense of self-sufficiency and independence. (With so much land for roaming, the cognitively disabled do not have to be quite as closely monitored as they do in the city or suburbia, where traffic and strangers are always a threat.) And one of the farmstead’s greatest benefits is its sense of community – which, for autistic people in particular, can create a more integrated, as opposed to a more fragmented, life.

Farm life slows you down, making you attend to the living animal you are handling or feeding. Animals eat at their own pace, thereby requiring you to wait and pay attention. Animals also intrude into human space, forcing you to interact with the creature who is nuzzling you, or making you get out of the way – something particularly helpful to autistic people, who live very much in their own worlds, and often lack an awareness of danger.

One of SAGE’s trustees used to own horses. As her autistic son helped care for them, he developed a greater awareness of danger – e.g., the horse might step on your feet. By pushing a wheelbarrow filled with horse manure down a long, rocky dirt path in the woods in all kinds of weather, including heavy snow, the boy also became physically stronger. He learned to solve problems, such as getting the wheelbarrow unstuck. He learned to get up earlier and care for the horses before having his own breakfast. He became more independent as a result.

On a farm, those who have been cared for become caregivers.

Finally, a farmstead – which is composed of people working and living together – can create a place of acceptance in an unaccepting world. Fifty-four million disabled Americans; an 800% increase in autism alone since 1985; the prevalence of wheelchair ramps, handicapped accessible bathrooms; a barrage of media attention – and the temporarily able-bodied still shun the person who talks too loudly, flaps his hands, and makes odd noises in public.

Though we’ve made some progress – more and more companies, such as McDonald’s, employ the disabled – many people remain threatened by the handicapped. And the cognitively disabled, who can look normal, are often the most likely to suffer from society’s prejudices and fears.