"Helping Homeless Healing Through Gardening"… Establishment of the 1st Care Farm in 'Eunpyeong Village'

Seoul City Creates 1,100㎡ Community Garden in Idle Spaces... Linked with Outdoor Farm Experience

[Asia Economy Reporter Jo In-kyung] The first "Seoul-type Care Farm" will be established at "Eunpyeong-ui Maeul," a municipal adult male homeless nursing facility. For residents capable of daily living, agricultural education will be provided, covering everything from soil preparation using natural farming cultivation techniques to sowing, pest and disease management, and harvesting. For residents preparing for social reintegration, healing programs linked to off-facility farm activities will help with social adaptation.

On the 28th, Seoul City announced that starting next month, it will create various types of vegetable gardens totaling 1,100㎡ on the rooftop of the Eunpyeong-ui Maeul dormitory and Seongmo Hill, considering the physical and mental health conditions of the facility residents, and operate healing programs.

The city plans to operate distinctive Seoul-type care farms such as rooftop gardens, barrier-free gardens, and box gardens, enabling residents to communicate, receive healing, and become self-reliant through gardening.

For residents with mobility difficulties, indoor crops will be cultivated using box gardens, and for patients with schizophrenia, music therapy will be provided, among other programs tailored to the physical and mental health and characteristics of the facility residents.

The city has been expanding the scope and target of urban agriculture beyond leisure activities and safe food production, focusing on the various social functions and effects of agriculture such as healing and rehabilitation that can be obtained incidentally through agricultural activities.

Song Im-bong, Director of Urban Agriculture at Seoul City, said, "Urban agriculture spaces, which started with 29 hectares in 2011, have now grown to 202 hectares, equivalent to 284 times the size of a soccer field," adding, "Going forward, Seoul's urban agriculture will continue to expand its spaces and operate in various forms of Seoul-type care farms to realize the social functions of agriculture."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.