<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>This article aims to present social farming from the perspective of social work; it, therefore, explores the added value of agriculture. More specifically, it adapts the concept of empowerment to the conditions of working with participants with disabilities on social farms. In general, the concept of empowerment is described as the acquisition and use of skills to meet one's own needs and gain control over one's own life. Further, the empowerment of groups and communities is understood as gaining rights and straightening the system. It is a systematic method of work used with people with health or social disadvantage, fragile groups and communities. Using participant observation protocols from the stays on different social farms gathered within the project led in four European countries, the form, benefits, and limits of the concept of empowerment are investigated in this alternative agricultural environment. The paper summarises that the process of empowerment on social farms takes several forms at the individual level. Still, when it comes to the acquisition of power by a group or community in conjunction with participation, the use of the concept is limited.</p>
</abstract>

This article aims to present social farming from the perspective of social work; it, therefore, explores the added value of agriculture. More specifically, it adapts the concept of empowerment to the conditions of working with participants with disabilities on social farms. In general, the concept of empowerment is described as the acquisition and use of skills to meet one's own needs and gain control over one's own life. Further, the empowerment of groups and communities is understood as gaining rights and straightening the system. It is a systematic method of work used with people with health or social disadvantage, fragile groups and communities. Using participant observation protocols from the stays on different social farms gathered within the project led in four European countries, the form, benefits, and limits of the concept of empowerment are investigated in this alternative agricultural environment. The paper summarises that the process of empowerment on social farms takes several forms at the individual level. Still, when it comes to the acquisition of power by a group or community in conjunction with participation, the use of the concept is limited.

Social Work in Social Farming in the Concept of Empowerment

European Countryside

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Social Work in Social Farming in the Concept of Empowerment"}

This article aims to present social farming from the perspective of social work; it, therefore, explores the added value of agriculture. More specifically, it...

Social Work in Social Farming in the Concept of Empowerment

Published Online: Oct 13, 2022

Page range: 497 - 510

Received: Dec 20, 2021

Accepted: Mar 17, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/euco-2022-0025

Keywords
Social farming, social farm, social work, empowerment

© 2022 Eliška Hudcová, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Social Work in Social Farming in the Concept of Empowerment

Published Online: Oct 13, 2022

Page range: 497 - 510

Received: Dec 20, 2021

Accepted: Mar 17, 2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/euco-2022-0025

KeywordsSocial farming, social farm, social work, empowerment

© 2022 Eliška Hudcová, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
Social farming, social farm, social work, empowerment