Conclusion of the Farm – a place of diversity project

Nov
2021

7 November, 2021
Project Farm – A Space of Diversity

The Association EPEKA, Soc. Ent., would like to announce that the project Farm – A Space of Diversity, implemented in partnership with Kovačnik Farm, Drankovec Farm, EPEKA Cooperative and the organic farm Uranjek – Pri baronu, has come to an end.

LEAD PARTNER

The Association Epeka, Soc. Ent.

PARTNERS

Farm Pri Kovačniku, Pri Baronu – Uranjek Organic Farm, Farm Trankovec, Epeka Youth Entrepreneurship and Education Cooperative Society

DURATION OF THE OPERATION

36 months

DESCRIPTION AND SUMMARY OF THE OPERATION

The operation is financed by the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development. The project aims to increase the capacity of agricultural holdings to work with vulnerable groups with a view to their social activation and faster reintegration into society and the labour market. It will also emphasise the intergenerational component and educational approaches that allow the transfer of knowledge between all participants and also between educators. The latter will have, for the farms involved and other farms that decide to carry out such activities, mainly social benefits with the possibility of secondary economic benefits.

The project has been designed on the basis of the needs and interests of the target groups with which the project partners are working (farm members, members of vulnerable groups, members of different generations, decision-makers, media, etc.); the project objectives have been set on the basis of discussions and several years of cooperation with the target groups: to promote the diversification of farm activities, to increase the skills of farm members, to employ a person part-time by the lead partner, to study the possibility of implementing activities in the field of inclusion of vulnerable groups and promotion of intergenerational dialogue as a possible complementary activity on the farm, to increase knowledge and awareness of the importance of local plant varieties and animal breeds and local cuisine, linking the local community and local producers and educating the general public about local producers, environmental responsibility of farms and the operation of successful farms for the benefit of society, increased awareness of employment opportunities for vulnerable groups and the benefits of this on farms, permaculture approaches to farming and raising awareness among members of vulnerable groups of the importance of healthy eating and support for local production.

Through their participation in the project, the farms involved will gain extensive knowledge in non-formal education methods and the involvement of vulnerable groups in farm activities, thus contributing to reducing social exclusion and increasing social cohesion. The latter will also enable farms to participate in activities organised by other organisations, both public and non-governmental, in the field of social protection. Those involved in the activities, especially those belonging to vulnerable groups, will acquire new competences and habits that will make it easier for them to integrate into society and the labour market and to find employment in the agricultural sector.

KEY RESULTS OF THE PROJECT

The Lead Partner, with the support of Partner 4, will deliver 26 hours of training to the agricultural holdings involved in the project partnership. This training will be the basis for further project activities. Within these trainings, members of the agricultural holdings will acquire key knowledge on working with vulnerable groups and the use of non-formal learning methods. Benefits will mainly accrue to the members of the farms in the partner consortium, but indirect benefits will accrue to the participants of the activities in the next strand.
Conducting a total of 540 hours of training events for specific target groups by the farms involved. Within this strand of activities, a total of 54 training events will be organised over 3 years by the farms in the partner consortium, with the support of the two social enterprises. Within this strand of activities, the knowledge theoretically developed in the first strand will be put into practice. The benefit will thus accrue to the farms involved, which will consolidate key knowledge, increase social as well as economic benefits. Participants will gain a wide range of new skills, become more familiar with farm work and acquire key competences for entering the labour market and, ultimately, the ability to become food self-sufficient. As the activities will be aimed at exploring solutions and testing their transfer into practice, agricultural holdings outside the partnership will also benefit indirectly.
The preparation of the evaluation report and the analysis of the feasibility of translating the project solutions into practice in the context of complementary on-farm activities constitute the final project product, which will be produced in cooperation between the lead partner and the external evaluator, with contributions from the members of the partner consortium and the participants in the activities. Benefits will accrue to agricultural holdings outside the partnership, to a wider range of target groups involved in the training and to decision and policy makers.

OBJECTIVES

Promoting the diversification of farm activities,
increasing the skills of farm members,
part-time employment of a person with the lead partner,
Explore the possibility of implementing actions on the inclusion of vulnerable groups and the promotion of intergenerational dialogue as a possible complementary activity on the farm,
increasing knowledge and awareness of the importance of local plant varieties and animal breeds and local cuisine,
linking the local community and local producers and educating the general public about local producers, environmental responsibility of farms and the social benefit of successful farms,
increased awareness of employment opportunities for vulnerable groups and the benefits of on-farm employment,
permaculture approaches to agriculture and raising awareness among vulnerable groups of the importance of healthy eating and support for local production

PROJECT SUBPAGE