[Bread-Baking Typewriter] A Good Job Solution for Socially Vulnerable People Found in Agriculture

Creating a Farm Where Everyone Wants to Work

Workers at Hoover Klein Mariendal Farm in the Netherlands are people with disabilities and the elderly. When an elderly person digs the soil with a hoe, a young person with a disability follows along to plant seeds. On one side of the farm, there is also a young person with a disability who takes care of chicks and rabbits. Just a year ago, he used to engage in aggressive behavior without speaking to anyone, but now he approaches his colleagues first and introduces the animals. "Creating Farms Where Everyone Wants to Work," written by Baek Kyunghak, executive director of the Purme Foundation, along with 14 other authors, begins by citing the example of a Dutch farm as an answer to the question of good jobs for socially vulnerable groups. This place demonstrates the potential of 'social agriculture,' which combines agriculture and welfare, where people with disabilities and the elderly work together to regain emotional stability and gain a sense of accomplishment and self-esteem.

The discussion returns to the question of good jobs for socially vulnerable groups. As of the end of 2017, there were about 230,000 registered people with developmental disabilities in South Korea. Although they make up 11% of all people with disabilities, the proportion of developmental disabilities among those under 30 who need jobs and independent living training is quite high at 62%. However, jobs for them are absolutely insufficient. The reality is that 8 out of 10 people with developmental disabilities stay at home. The 8 million elderly people aged 65 and over also worry about their old age. The employment rate of the elderly population is also relatively low, at around 30%. Above all, emotional harm is severe due to the perception that they have become useless in society.

Our reality and the case of Hoover Klein Mariendal Farm in the Netherlands stand side by side as problems and answers. The problem has been raised, and solutions have been proposed. But making that answer a reality is by no means easy. This book may be a guide to that arduous journey. Following it, one soon encounters 'care farms.' These are so-called 'healing agriculture' farms that heal wounds through agriculture. In Europe, Japan, and other places, care farms have become a common form of welfare for people with disabilities or elderly people with dementia. There are more than 3,000 care farms operating throughout Europe. However, care farms do not mean that farming work is not demanding. People with disabilities and the elderly must be able to do challenging work. For this, smart farm technology is necessary.

In South Korea, 'Purme Social Farm' is a representative smart farm. It is a project created by the Purme Foundation to create jobs for people with disabilities. Located in Namyangju, Gyeonggi Province, Purme Smart Farm Seoul Farm operates two smart farms of 500 pyeong and 200 pyeong, where 15 people with developmental disabilities work to cultivate and sell edible flowers, blueberries, strawberries, shiitake mushrooms, and more.

The journey continues to Japan and Europe. At Kyomaru-en Farm in Shizuoka Prefecture, 25 people with disabilities work. It is characterized by improving the work environment by producing various assistive devices so that people with disabilities can easily perform tasks. In the case of Hinari Co., Ltd., whose parent company is the IT company Itochu Techno-Solutions, instead of directly cultivating crops, they subcontract auxiliary work from various farms to create jobs for people with disabilities. Currently, about 20 people with disabilities handle work at eight farms. The Bezoek Agrifort Farm in the Netherlands is regarded as a global standard for smart farms, attracting more than 7,000 visitors annually, with retired elderly people serving as tour managers guiding visitors. Examples of smart farms worldwide show that with data and technology supplementation, people with disabilities and the elderly can actively participate on farms.

However, farms and jobs are not sustained by smart farm technology alone. Building smart farms requires huge initial investments, and the income structure of care farms is unstable. To continuously provide good jobs for the elderly and people with disabilities, new business models must be actively sought. Above all, a culture of consideration and respect for socially vulnerable groups must spread.

'Creating Farms Where Everyone Wants to Work' is not something that can be grasped immediately. However, the goal of 'going beyond providing jobs to socially vulnerable groups to enabling them to have their own roles and pride, become independent, and establish themselves as members of the local community' resonates clearly. Even after closing the book, the question "How will we contribute here?" remains.

(Creating Farms Where Everyone Wants to Work / Baek Kyunghak et al. / Bookie / 16,500 KRW)

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