Social farming combines agricultural production with social and educational work. The German Association for Social Farming (DASoL) was founded in 2009 by Thomas van Elsen and the social scientist Alfons Limbrunner (deceased 2017) under the auspices of PETRARCA. Its aim is to support the development of social farming through networking, research, training and further education, and quality assurance. DASoL is financed by supporting members and donations, which enable the operation of the portal www.soziale-landwirtschaft.de, featuring event listings, downloads, and reports, as well as the publication of a free email newsletter containing dates and current reports on social farming.

The common ground between PETRARCA's and DASoL's landscape concerns is inclusion: The commitment to people with support needs, who should be promoted as an integral part of our society within the framework of the social inclusion mandated by the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, and the commitment to the natural and cultural landscape, to which humankind owes its ability to develop on Earth, are two sides of the same coin. Ecological inclusion means a commitment to the natural world that goes beyond its mere use and aims to guide it along a path of development.

Link: www.sociale-landwirtschaft.de

For further reading:

van Elsen, T. (2016): Social farming. – In: Freyer, B. (ed.): Organic farming. Foundations, state of knowledge and challenges. – UTB 4639, Haupt Verlag, Bern: 192-204.

Contact: Thomas.vanElsen[at]petrarca.info

Ecological inclusion
Farming for Health
develop landscape

Developing a cultural landscape

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