EU Member States have been using the European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (EAFRD) since 2007 to support a vast variety of rural initiatives that are channelled through Rural Development Programmes. Many such projects focus on improving quality of life through the promotion of social inclusion.
Social inclusion helps to ensure equal access for individuals and communities to opportunities, rights, and resources (like employment, healthcare, housing, civic engagement, democratic participation, etc.) that are normally available to society and are key to social integration.
Nine project examples are featured in the following publication. They have been selected to demonstrate the broad scope of the EAFRD as a social inclusion tool for rural areas. These inspiring case studies have much potential for replication elsewhere in rural Europe.
Future Roots was chosen as the UK case study to demonstrate how care farming for lead to greater inclusion in rural life. The review of our work concludes that:
The countryside possesses intrinsic therapeutic values that can be harnessed in win-win ways to help society and rural economic development.
You can read the report below:
The report is also available in French, German, Italian, Spanish, and Polish.
