Dancing Goats and Singing Chickens Organic Farm is a 12-acres farm, located near the Nisqually Indian reservation in Yelm, Washington. Its main focus is not on making money, but on educating the children using the PETTING ZOO as a focal point of teaching. With great amount of enthusiasm and passion, the volunteers in the community hold OPEN HOUSE educational events at the farm to share knowledge during workshops on soil fertility, greenhouse construction, solar panels, wind turbines, composting, Hugelculture, honey bees, rain water harvesting, Earthship homes, sustainable living, lowering our foot-print and responsible financial investments. High-school teenagers and college students are welcome to do internships where they will work and learn simultaneously. On your quest for happiness, please consider stopping by the FARM to find tranquility!
This farm practices Regenerative agriculture and is beyond just organic! Products like eggs, honey, chickens, fruits, veggies and other goods are thoughtfully produced with meticulous attention to happiness of the hens, honey bees, pollinators and human farm volunteers! Potlucks and social gatherings for all farm helpers keep morale high. They believe in equal pay for all , above market average and the total compensation includes farm products also! The lamb/sheep and goats are all grass-fed, pasture-raised, free of antibiotics/hormones and the designated butcher shop for processing is also carefully chosen. Call today to schedule a farm-visit.
Here is our new farm website in it's infancy - https://dancinggoatsandsingingchickens.com/
Here is our farm, recently awarded the SLOW FOOD SNAIL OF APPROVAL (a highly-coveted award) - https://www.slowfoodgreaterolympia.org/snail-awardees
Here is our farm on WWOOF'ers - https://wwoofusa.org/en/host/24358-promoting-food-justice-as-a-movement-through-education-of-the-general-public
Here is our GOOGLE business page - https://www.google.com/maps/place/Dancing+Goats+And+Singing+Chickens+Organic+Farm+Llc
Here is our facebook page - https://www.facebook.com/dancinggoatsandsingingchickensorganicfarmLLC/
Here is our farm featured on EAT LOCAL FIRST - https://eatlocalfirst.org/listing/dancing-goats-and-singing-chickens-organic-farm/
Here is our farm as a featured tourist destination for people visiting Washington - https://www.experienceolympia.com/blog/where-learning-grows-explore-dancing-goats-and-singing-chickens-organic-farm/
Here is our farm on INSTAGRAM - https://www.instagram.com/explore/locations/107889581467223/dancing-goats-and-singing-chickens-organic-farm/
Here is our farm featured on front page of the newspaper - https://www.chronline.com/stories/dancing-goats-and-singing-chickens-organic-farm-welcomes-community-in-agriculture-lifestyle,333727
We believe in SOCIAL CARE FARMING. Social agriculture is a generative approach that, through networking, food production, and the practice of local welfare, generates bonds and restores lifeblood to urban and rural communities. Care Farming is the therapeutic use of farming practices for marginalized or vulnerable groups of people. This model is common in the UK and Europe and goes by varying names, including Care Farming, Social Farming, and Social Care Farming. Here, on our farm, we are using farming as a therapeutic intervention to improve health, social, and vocational outcomes for vulnerable populations; and our farm uses the beauty of locally grown flowers as a vehicle to promote higher expectations and improved community perspectives about the potential, the possibility, and the capability of individuals living with developmental disabilities. Social farming (also called care farming, more information available here) is a farming practice that uses agricultural resources to provide social or educational care services for vulnerable groups of people. It is widely practiced in Europe and now we are looking for examples of care farming in developing countries.
Concrete care farming examples include:
the provision of on-farm child and elderly care services
the integration of disadvantaged groups in productive activities to promote their rehabilitation, social inclusion and employability.
Social / Care farming experiences from European countries have shown that economic participation helps vulnerable persons (e.g. people with intellectual or physical disabilities, ex-combatants, convicts, etc.) integrate back into society. It does this by providing them with new skills and by rewarding them with a feeling of utility and self-appreciation.
Other experiences which focus on providing care and educational services are good models (e.g. the Italian kindergarten farms –‘agriasilo’-) for delivering innovative and effective social services in remote rural areas where public care services are often non-existent or inadequate, inaccessible and of poor quality.
Social Farming offers people who are socially, physically, mentally or intellectually disadvantaged the opportunity to spend time on a family farm in a healthy, supportive and inclusive environment.
A person may choose to spend a fixed amount of time on the farm participating in activities they may be interested in such as gardening, animal care or indoor activities such as baking bread or jam making.
Social farming activity takes place in a safe and supportive environment taking into account an individuals abilities, desires and interests. Focus remains on encouraging participants to socialise, gain confidence and build relationships.
The farm is not a specialized treatment farm; rather it remains a typical working farm where people in need of support can benefit from relationship building through farm activities in a nonclinical environment.
While those participating in Social Farming activities may derive therapeutic benefit from it, this is not the main purpose or aim and the farmers are not playing the role of therapists. Social Farming supports people in living ordinary lives, interacting with their community and environment, developing their potential.
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