Get Set Gagingwell- The MAP Garden

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Funded on
27 Jun 2024

Help us to develop a brand new space with wonderful hosts at Gagingwell. We will create a meeting place, a growing space for produce and an accessible garden.

£43,284 Raised of £42,309

30 Backers

102%

Our Delivery Report

Funded on 27 June 2024 | Delivered on 28 February 2025

£43,284

RAISED

30

BACKERS

83

DAYS TO FUND

BIGGEST PLEDGE

£23,952

From West Oxfordshire District Council

£100

MOST POPULAR PLEDGE AMOUNT

40

people have visited this project!

32 Days volunteering opportunities

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1 New part-time job created

PF Charitable Trust donated £2,000

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40 Hours of training provided

Volunteers involved

3 Volunteers involved

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8 People involved in project delivery

The JK Foundation donated £5,000

More about our impact

The environment

We are only a couple of months into working on the site so our impact as yet is small- but we have already planted over 50 trees which will take root in the year ahead, and we have set up the infrastructure to go forward and grow our own produce over the year ahead.

The local economy

As yet we haven't achieved this- we will be starting to grow produce from March 2025.

Volunteering, jobs & education

We have 2 new volunteers with us at the new site and we expect to employ another Programme Leader in the next 3 months. As our project is at such an early stage we have not yet had the impact we would expect to see over a 12 month period.

Arts, culture & heritage

We have selected some heritage variety fruit trees for the orchard.

Activity, health and leisure

All of our activities at FarmAbility promote physical activity in the outdoors, increasing physical fitness, mental health and wellbeing and connection to nature.

http://www.farmability.org.uk

We believe in a society where people with a learning disability are active and connected members of society, where they have a meaningful occupation, and where their contribution is recognised and valued. To help build this society, we run farm-based programmes in Oxfordshire where people can engage in purposeful, outdoor activities that improve physical health and well-being, foster a sense of community, and allow the development and strengthening of skills and abilities. We have seen that this can change people’s lives.

Since 2013, FarmAbility has grown from running our outdoor day service for an initial cohort of 18 participants to supporting more than 60 co-farmers (our participants), across more than 70 sessions each week, throughout the calendar year at 4 different sites. At our partner host farms we run day-long group sessions on 1, 2 or 3 days per week. Up to 8 co-farmers attend each full day session with activities led by experienced Programme Leaders supported by volunteers.

Funding pressures, cuts and covid have led to support services for people with a learning disability being drastically reduced in recent years. Opportunities for meaningful development are rare, either in skills-based learning or the building of friendships and community. This can create acute social isolation and loneliness, exacerbating existing vulnerability. As people age and family support networks fall away older adults can drop between the cracks of a system. Not being able to access rewarding ‘work’ like experiences, denies a key part of adulthood, known to have an enormous impact on a person’s self-esteem, confidence and quality of life. People with moderate to severe learning disabilities are largely excluded from the world of work, with an employment rate of around 7%.

When our co-farmers come to us they get involved in a wide range of purposeful, real-life farm and work-based tasks, including farm animal care, egg collecting, cleaning, grading and packing, wildlife gardening and vegetable growing, orchard maintenance, conservation work and habitat creation, cooking and preserving, woodwork and outdoor crafts. Co-farmers also socialise together throughout the day and are encouraged to choose activities that match their interests and motivations. We also run outreach sessions on a monthly basis to a number of other partner projects and sites to ensure a rich variety of experiences throughout the year.

Project Owner: FarmAbility The Project Owner takes legal responsibility for receiving and spending the funds raised and ensuring the project is delivered.