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Structure
and Concept of the Farm
Concept of Community Living on a Farm
During the planning phase of the Meyerwiede Farm the board
looked at various concepts.
Traditional homes for the handicapped, with their separation
of place and personnel with regard to living (in specific
houses) and working (in workshops), were seen as less appropriate.
More interesting -- because of the concept of community living
-- were village or rural communities and other anthroposophically
oriented communities of the handicapped and co-workers [living
and working together]. These, however, often operate according
to a particular world view and thus pursue different educational
goals and demand of their co-workers a special structuring
of the work situation.
Only outside Germany did there seem to be some small institutions
especially for autistic adults that were partially sponsored
by parent organizations as well. Their concept was: Daily
Life -- Work -- Living in a Farm Community.
Important ideas were gleaned from existing programs in the
U.S.A. ("Bittersweet Farms"), England ("Somerset Court"),
Ireland ("Dunfirth-Community"), and Denmark ("Ny-Ny Allerødgård").
Today there are other institutions similar to these in Holland,
France, and Spain.
The following elements proved to be important for the development
of the concept of the Meyerwiede Farm:
-
The communities of the handicapped are integrated into a
normal rural environment, i.e., rather large farms with
agricultural production and people working in different
aspects of the farm life (supply, cleaning, production,
processing).
- The
community forms a little world structured according to rules
that derive from the farm life itself.
- The
concept of community implies human togetherness, work at
the same task, and living together in a way very similar
to family life.
- Rural
Community means that the people who live in these rural
communities are less exposed to the overly stimulating environment
of modern cities. "Normal" city life can be unduly stressful
for autistic people, who are in danger of reacting to the
overabundance of stimuli with overexcitment, fear, unrest,
or different forms of withdrawal.
- The
co-workers see themselves first and foremost as members
of a large community and less as therapists who are merely
"doing their duty."
-
Products are manufactured for which there is a limited demand
("niche products"). These cannot (and should not) compete
with less expensive items that are mass-produced.
These
preliminary considerations on the part of our organization
led to the search for a place which, by virtue of its location,
size, agricultural possibilities, and proximity to Bremen,
seemed especially appropriate for the structures we wanted
to put in place. Being near Bremen, it would profit from the
connections offered by the municipality itself, the institution's
closeness to the parents' homes, and the possibilities of
co-operation with the Autistic Therapy Center. This all became
possible in 1986, when Meyerwiede Farm was purchased as part
of a small, intact village 35 km outside of Bremen.
Location of the Farm and Buildings
The
Meyerwiede Farm is located near the Weser river in the little
village of Grinden, which consists of five old farms. The
distance to the next larger town (Etelsen) is 4 km, and Bremen
itself is about 35 km away. The farm was originally a dairy
farm and is mentioned as a topographical point in maps of
the area. The farm has about ten thousand square meters of
meadow and pasture land, to which must also be counted a certain
amount of leased land (pasture for sheep). About 1000 square
meters of land have been planted next to the farm as a vegetable
garden. The farm itself consists of four buildings arranged
around a typical inner courtyard. The first is a main house
with a central hall-living room, a large farm kitchen, and
five rooms for residents. The second building is the former
barn, which was remodeled into additional living quarters
with six rooms and a large central living room. Then there
is the old stall building that now houses the carpentry shop
for all repairs, the weavery, the sheep stalls, and an all-purpose
room. The fourth building contains two sets of living quarters
for community service workers [= conscientious objectors]
and the farm laundry room. The farm is open on all sides,
not fenced off.
Continue:
Structure and Concept of the Farm
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