Exemplary Project. GREEN CARE FARMS - POLAND April 2018

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1 Exemplary Project GREEN CARE FARMS - POLAND April 2018

2 This document was prepared as part of the EU-funded project: ESIF Support in the area of health: building knowledge and capacities for monitoring and implementation, supporting innovation and effectiveness. Study Contract No Author: Milieu Ltd This document was produced under the EU s third Health Programme ( ) in the framework of a service contract with the Consumers, Agriculture, Health and Food Executive Agency (Chafea) acting under the mandate from the European Commission. The content of this document represents the views of the contractor and is its sole responsibility; it can in no way be taken to reflect the views of the European Commission and/or Chafea or any other body of the European Union. The European Commission and/or Chafea do not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this report, nor do they accept responsibility for any use made by third parties thereof.

3 Poland - Green care farms - care FARMS in the Kujawsko-Pomorskie voivodship region General information OP information Timeline Budget Beneficiary/ies Category of intervention: Contact details Project website Thematic block covered Title OP: Priority axis: Investment priority: Specific objective: Regional Operational Programme for the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region IX: Solidary society 9iv Facilitating access to affordable social services of high quality including health care Increased access to social services in particular caring and family support services and foster care for people at risk of poverty or social exclusion 09/2016 Start date: End date: 06/2018 Total budget: EUR 815,165 (3,456,302 PLN) Co-financing rate: 85% EU Fund: ESF Main beneficiary: Kujawsko-Pomorski Agricultural Advisory Centre in Minikowo Other organisations: Local Action Group Bory Tucholskie - NGO Enhancing access to affordable, sustainable and high-quality services, including health care and social services of general interest Name: Aleksandra Bielińska Organisation: Kujawsko-Pomorski Agricultural Advisory Centre in Minikowo Role in project: coordinator address: aleksandra.bielinska@kpodr.pl T5 Project summary Green care farm is a place to provide social services based on the resources of a traditional farm. This is a new kind of activity in Poland, successfully operating in Europe (green therapies and agriculture for health). The project assumes the establishment and operation of 15 green care farms, providing 75 places in the districts of Brodnica, Mogilno, Świecie, Tuchola and Wąbrzeźno. The participants can use the support and activities for 8 hours a day 5 days a week (in groups of 3-8 persons). Recruitment takes into account the identification of the needs at the local community level, with recommendation of the 1

4 Centers for Social Assistance. Each person participating in the project can use the service for up to half a year. In total, 225 people will be covered by this programme. Caregivers and tutors (volunteers) will acquire qualifications for providing such care. Provisions are made for permanent support for the farms providing this type of services, for their functioning and development of the offer, to adapt the activities to individual needs of the persons covered. Training is provided to support the setting up and development of this activity. Exchange visits between the farms are organised to get inspiration about various activities which can be provided. The project will help disseminate good practices and solutions. So far in Poland, individual care for older people dominates, which most often does not cover a period of 8 hours. The project will develop care in small groups, which through the social relationship factor will help solve the mental problems of the elderly related to loneliness. Green care farms have been successfully functioning since January The beneficiaries have full costs of the care that is provided at green farms covered from the project funds. The project draws on experience from other countries, specifically from the Netherlands. In the previous financing period, there was a project within an Operational Programme Human Capital, which prepared grounds for the development of this initiative. Within that project, cooperation was initiated between the Agricultural Advisory Centre and Dutch experts, and a study visit was organized at Dutch green care farms. Development and Implementation Initiator/trigger Project objective Target group(s) Project health-related indicators Results Expected/attained results, outcomes and potential impacts Specialists from the Kujawsko-Pomorski Agricultural Advisory Centre in Minikowo know and understand the needs of the inhabitants of rural areas in the region related both to searching for possible sources of income beyond agriculture and to ensuring care and support for people who are dependent and lonely, and who have limited access to such forms of care due to living in rural areas. The idea of this project was developed in the years through the project of cooperation with the Dutch organization implementing similar initiative in Holland. The project aims at increasing accessibility of care and activity-enhancing services for dependents in the form of daily stay in green care farms. Another objective is increasing competences of caregivers in providing care services for people from rural areas. Dependents living in five provinces of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie Region: Brodnica, Mogilno, Świecie, Tuchola and Wąbrzeźno. No health-related indicators have been set Up until now, 33 persons living in rural areas participated in 100-hours long course to become a care giver of an elderly person (including handicaps). 92 dependents have been covered with daily care. 15 green care farms have been established. It is planned that by the end of the project, 225 persons in total will be covered with care. It is assumed that the 15 green care farms will be functioning during at least 2 years after the project completion. 2

5 Success factors & Challenges Potential for replication Wider context Relevance of the project to the objective of the relevant thematic block Relevance of the project objective to the specific objective of the OP Relevance of the project towards reducing health inequalities Relevance of the project towards the reform of health systems Success of the project is conditioned primarily on the engagement of the persons implementing the project and on an individual approach to the needs of dependents. The project is unique because care to the dependents is provided on the basis of the resources of the agricultural farms and of the natural resources. This translates into maintaining physical activity of the dependents and into increasing of their notion of self-worth. Care provided to the dependents in family conditions and in small groups fulfils their need for contact with other people. Another important success factor of the project is the possibility of co-financing the costs of transport of the dependents to the green farms. The capacity of public transport in rural areas is limited, especially for persons with handicap. Besides, some of the individuals covered with the project live alone and do not have family which can provide transport. A similar project could be implemented in other regions of Poland and/or in other countries (there is some interest in other Polish regions already, and similar initiatives exist in some countries like Holland, Italy and Germany). T5: Active and healthy ageing, healthy workforce, health promotion and disease prevention The project contributes to the thematic block because it covers a group of dependents, including old people. Participation in the project gives them a chance to maintain or even improve physical and mental condition. Implementation of the project in rural areas, on the farms that carry out agricultural activities and that offer direct contact with nature enhances its effectiveness. The beneficiaries can faster regain their vitality and love of life, they are also more likely to make social bonds with the other participants of the project. Increased access to social services in particular caring and family support services and foster care for people at risk of poverty or social exclusion The project focuses not only on dependents. Thanks to the project, new work places are created on the farms such farms providing care services can be a source of income (this can bes een on examples from some Western European countries). Individuals with the lowest incomes are given priority in admission to the programme these are often people receiving social assistance. It is also important that the families of the dependents can be given some rest from providing care to the dependents. N/A N/A 3

6 Relevance of the project objective to the national context and policy goals Relevance of the project objective to health policy goals at EU level The activities undertaken within the project contribute to the Strategy for Responsible Development until 2020, which relate to support for the development of social function of agricultural farms, linking multifunction agriculture and social services at the local level (detailed objective II Socially sensitive and territorially sustainable development) the document adopted with a resolution of the Council of Ministers on February 14 th, The project promotes active and healthy ageing, which is one of the objectives of the EU health policy. This objective features for example in an initiative The European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing (EIP-AHA). 4