|
Types
of Farm Work
Gardening
/ Planting Vegetables
Concept
This type of work is central to the farm during the growing
period (March to October). The residents of both houses work
together in this activity and are employed in accordance with
their abilities, capacities, and interests. In the vegetable
garden a plot of land about 1,000 m2 is cultivated, using
the principles of organic gardening. The vegetables are processed
in the farm kitchen.
Agricultural tasks are taken care of while the garden is at
rest (November to March): trimming and care of the whitehorn
hedges, processing of compost material and firewood.
The winter time is used for general repair work (buildings,
fences, roads, pathways).
Products
Potatoes; broccoli; pumpkins; kohlrabi; fennel; onions; mangelwurzel;
cucumbers; beans; celery; garlic; turnips; peas; zucchini;
carrots; beets; lettuce; kale; strawberries; stone and soft
fruit; apples; elder; flowers; herbs; plants for dyeing; jam;
canned vegetables; pumpkin bread; vinegar; juices
Activities
Prepare beds for planting; sow seeds according to plan; pull,
collect, and compost weeds; harvest, sort, bring into the
house and store.
Trim fruit trees and paint with protective coloring; pick
and gather fruit.
Hay grass; gather up hay; load hay onto a wagon; take hay
to haymow. Trim hedges; transport; cut into chaff.
Chop, saw and stack wood.
Collect greens; chop; sift; transplant; compost.
Work up and mulch beds; fertilize; weed; water; prepare for
seeding; clean up after harvest.
Repair, clean, and maintain garden tools.
Repair cold frames; build new ones.
Lay out garden paths.
Animal
Care
Concept
Animal
care is another important type of work at the farm. In terms
of space (houses and stalls for chickens, ducks, and sheep;
feeding spaces; hall areas in the stalls; pasture lands) and
time (every day from morning to evening, 365 days a year)
it actually constitutes the farm's major expenditure of effort.
In the case of the animals it becomes especially evident that
they are totally dependent on the work of the residents (feeding!).
The biological rhythm can be observed even more clearly with
the animals than with the plants. For this reason the whole
cycle is followed through at the farm (from the lamb to the
slaughtered sheep; from the wool to the finished rug; from
the chick to the dressed chicken).
Animals
Since 1993 Leine sheep (an old breed of domestic animal) have
been bred on 4 hectares of grassland. At present the herd
consists of 30 mother animals and 1 ram. Each year 20-30 lambs
are raised exclusively on mother's milk and pasture grass,
slaughtered in the fall, and processed by the farm. We also
keep about 30 laying hens and (seasonally) about 30 ducks.
Activities
Keep animals provided with water, hay, and bedding (winter);
feed birds with grain and soaked bread; gather eggs; observe
animals' behavior. Clean stalls; clean droppings board and
nests; spread lime and straw; whitewash walls and roosts;
get meal for fodder.
Clear off and cart away cut grass; move (electric) fences.
Winter
Work
General repairs; build stables and pasture facilities; build
new fences and relocate old ones; process wood.
Products
Hen's
eggs (for farm kitchen and sale); hens for slaughter (for
farm kitchen and sale); wool (for weavery); mutton and mutton
sausage (for farm kitchen and sale).
House
Maintenance
Concept
Minor
house repairs are taken care of together with the residents.
Here, too, the aim is to do as much as we can ourselves, without
calling in outside repairmen.
Activities
Maintain
road to farm; repair bicycles, locks, windows, heating vents,
plumbing fixtures, fences, and general inventory.
House
Management
Concept
The task of the type of work known as house management is
to meet all the needs of the farm residents. As many of the
activities as possible are performed with and by the residents
themselves.
Activities
Purchase goods; provide for the daily needs of 11 residents
and 4-6 co-workers; wash and cut vegetables; use kitchen equipment
correctly and keep it clean; prepare food for boiling, frying,
and baking; put it in bowls, etc., and serve it;
Fill and empty cupboards; organize dishes; put dishes in and
take them out of dishwasher; sort and compost kitchen scraps;
clean kitchen, tables, and kitchen equipment.
Food
Work
Clean, cut, and grate vegetables; put them in freezing bags
and freeze them; clean, cut, and juice fruit; make jam, stewed
fruit, jelly, vinegar, juices; prepare dough, bake cookies,
cakes, other baked goods; cut meat into separate servings
and freeze.
Products
Meals;
bread, cake, cookies; juices; jam, stewed fruit, jelly; vinegar.
Laundry
Work
Sort
dirty clothes; loan and unload washing machine; fold and iron
washed clothes; repair work; distribute clean clothes.
Housekeeping
Clean work areas; general house cleaning.
Work
Places
Two
of the residents have their permanent work station in the
kitchen. Their job is to makeup grocery lists, take part in
the purchasing process, and put purchased goods away. Products
from the garden and the animals are processed for daily consumption
and food storage. One resident is employed for laundry work.
Weavery
Concept
The
weavery works year-round. In the winter, the main emphasis
is on the preparation of the wool from the farm's sheep. The
sequence of steps: sheep - wool - processing - woolen product
- use for one's own need, can therefore be followed from beginning
to end on the farm. This type of work thus shows the connection
between the three areas of animal care, agriculture, and housekeeping.
Work
Places
Three residents work regularly at one production loom about
1.60 m wide, two hand looms with a weave width of 1 m, and
a small table loom with levers. In addition, a rather large
warp frame with a spool rack is used to make chains for the
looms.
Another part of the weavery is a dyeing room. Wool from the
farm is dyed here as needed, using plant colors derived from
plants grown in the farm garden itself.
Products
Dish towels; rugs and carpets; runners; wool blankets; tablecloths;
cotton scarves; curtain fabrics; vest materials. The woolen
goods are sold mainly on the farm, but also at bazaars.
Woodworking
Shop / Repair Shop
Concept
Each house has a workshop in which repairs to farm equipment
are made as needed. Wooden blanks (work pieces) can also be
made up in these workshops.
Work
Places
There is room for 2-3 residents to work in the woodwork shop.
All activities, from the planning stage through the working
sketches and the final production of objects, are carried
out by the autistic workers in the workshop: continuous work
processes are made possible through the production of small
series of articles. In this way, specific work techniques
can be set up, trained, and deepened. Other workshop tasks
are the repair and maintenance of farm objects.
Activities
Sawing; working from sketches; making wooden joinery; grinding
and polishing; gluing; boring; screwing; painting; waterproofing;
proper handling of tools and equipment.
Products
Garden benches; wood for pathways; sawhorses, toolboxes; feed
boxes; bookcases and storage shelves; ball/marble tracks
Next
Section
|
