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“I love farming. I enjoyed it. I like the writing.”- Learner
This project aimed to promote literacy through social farming activities. It gave adults with intellectual disabilities an opportunity to build their literacy skills in a practical and immersive environment.
The project took place in 7 social farms in Cork and Limerick between September and December 2024. 25 adults with learning difficulties attended the 10-week long programme.
Learners recorded their daily progress on projects in a “Literacy on the Farm” diary. Participants used a workbook to learn about various topics, like taking care of animals and staying safe around farming equipment.
Practical activities included gardening, sign-making, and Christmas-themed projects.
An ETB tutor organised a follow-up module on supporting literacy through social farming in early 2025.
Social farming brought numerous physical and psychological benefits to learners.
Learners who find traditional classroom settings too limiting were delighted to develop their literacy skills in an engaging environment.
Click here to have a look at the social farming workbook.
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Social farming workbook.
This project was a collaboration between St. Joseph’s Foundation and West Limerick Resources- Social Farming Ireland.
For more information about the project, please contact Veronica Bowen, CETB Regional Literacy Coordinator at veronica.bowen@corketb.ie
The Adult Literacy for Life Collaboration and Innovation Fund
The Collaboration and Innovation Fund supports projects for adults with unmet literacy, numeracy and digital literacy needs and projects that support organisations to be literacy friendly. The closing date for 2024 applications has now passed but keep an eye out for information on our 2025 fund which will be launched in December.
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