Gospodarstwo opiekuńcze - stary sumin

IDENTIFICATION OF THE CASE STUDY

Case study number: PL-04

Name of the farm/organization:

Gospodarstwo opiekuńcze - Stary Sumin / Social Farm - Stary Sumin

Title of the case study:  

A place for active seniors

MAIN DATA

Country

Poland         

Year of establishment

2010

Target groups

• Disabled people                                                        
• Elderly people

Type of farm

Pig and poultry farming and forestry

Size (in hectares)

15 ha

Numbers of employees from target groups

0

Number of members from target groups using services without employment

20 at once in rotating groups

Sources they live from

Selling their products

Innovative / not innovative

Not innovative

Website

www.opieka.kpodr.pl/pl/gospodarstwo-opiekuncze-stary-sumin

DESCRIPTION

The owner of this social farm is Mrs. Iwona Cybulska. The social farm is located in Stary Sumin, municipality of Cekcyn and district of Tuchola. It’s located in Bory Tucholskie, which is one of the most visited lake and pine forests regions in Poland. It is active since 2010 and is taking on groups in regular groups of approximately 20 persons.

This social farm has various advantages and opportunities for the elderly and ailing. Forest areas are used for common walks, mushroom picking and various other outdoor activities. The farm's assets include two gardens - a flower garden and around the terrace. The facility offers opportunities for physical involvement in growing vegetables in the greenhouse and vegetable beds.

The farm cooperates with the community center of the village of Stare Sumin, where guests and people in need are easier to get to and have many opportunities there to spend time actively playing board games, using the computer, or meet for a chat so as not to sit alone at home.

POSITIVE PERSONAL EXPERIENCE

The farm is leading activities mainly for seniors. They like coming to the farm and spending their time there because the most important thing for them is to be together instead of sitting at home. They appreciate it mostly because they don’t have to walk there; they are being picked up by the volunteers of the social farm. The feedback from the seniors is always very positive. Many of them told the owners of the farm that, thanks to the farm, they got new energy and motivation to get out of their house and do something nice with their time, which they would probably spend probably in front of the TV. This was especially the aim of Mrs. Iwona when she saw how many seniors there are who don’t have an idea of what to do, especially when they are alone, their family doesn’t have that much time to visit them, or if they live far away. She decided to take care of their needs and do something good for them.

Mrs. Iwona has experience in caring for dependents, as she has cared for ailing family members who require intensive round-the-clock care. In addition, she completed a course on caring for the elderly and disabled, which strengthened her conviction that this is the right path for her. Mrs. Iwona believes that elderly and lonely people should be respected and should devote a lot of time to make them feel needed and valuable in society. She believes that each of us will need help someday, and by taking care of the elderly we set a good example for the younger generation.

OBSTACLES AND HOW TO OVERCOME

When they started to explore the possibilities of having a social farm, they also noticed many obstacles and hindrances due to the limits of their beneficiaries. Many seniors who like to attend the social farm live around 3km away from the place which is a very big distance. For some of them it’s a challenge to walk even 100 meters. Therefore they had to think of ways how to overcome those limits. They pick up those who cannot walk so much and with the others, they make it really slow, they accompany them and help them to walk the distance and see it as an additional exercise for the seniors.

 RECOMMENDATIONS, ADVICE

Mrs. Iwona's advice is to constantly develop. A situation of stagnation and lack of development should not be allowed. Mrs. Iwona and her helpers/volunteers are always thinking about what could be invented for the future to improve or diversify the activities of seniors coming to the farm. The seniors are very eager for any exercise, activity, walking, handiwork of any kind. The task of the farm's employees is to ensure that they have the most interesting time possible. Mrs. Iwona says according to her experience: “There are always lessons to be learned from past experiences, so it's a good idea to regularly analyze your activities and ask activity participants for feedback and ask directly what they would be interested in, what they've always wanted to try, where they'd like to go and whether the activities prepared by the staff suit them or not. Communication is the key to success!”

PROMO

Mrs. Iwona doesn't have an online store of the farm. She sells her products to people coming directly to the farm and to people from the surrounding villages, friends and family. The promotion of the farm’s products and the activities of the social farm for seniors works by word of mouth and recommendations from Mrs. Iwona, her family and friends. It is good to rely on regular customers who buy products from the farm on a regular basis.

FINAL SENTENCES

Guests at the farm can be people with mobility impairments, moving on crutches or with the help of a balcony. But unfortunately, the farm is not prepared to accommodate wheelchair users due to architectural obstacles due to the lack of ramps. This, then, would be the goal Ms. Iwona would like to achieve, to make her care farm accessible to more people, including those in wheelchairs.