Care farms as a space of wellbeing for people with a learning disability in the United Kingdom

Abstract

People with a learning disability in the UK are increasingly choosing to spend their time on 'care farms' but there is limited research examining these spaces from their perspective. A qualitative research design was used to ask eighteen of these clients how care farms contributed to their health and wellbeing. For these participants care farms can be understood, using Fleuret and Atkinson's (2007) framework, as a 'space of wellbeing' and as a positive and life-enhancing space. Positive language was used by participants to describe the farms contrasting with ne gative language describing other spaces and activities. Farms were identified as contributing positively to mental and social wellbeing.

Keywords: Care farming; Learning disability; Qualitative; Spaces of wellbeing.