Farming Talk: Goal to train lonely women vital farm skills

While researching for my Masters dissertation in Design Management with Staffordshire University, I have explored the benefits of Care Farming to people with farming and horticultural connections and how the Women's Food & Farming Union can seize opportunities to reach out to local communities to provide a much- needed service by identifying and fulfilling the wellbeing needs of individuals in rural areas.

Loneliness as a result of retirement or bereavement has proven to be a contributing factor to premature ill health and in some extreme cases can even lead to death by triggering long term depression, alcoholism, and malnutrition. It is also a situation that each one of us could find ourselves in through redundancy or a sudden bereavement.

With a depleting transport service for people in rural areas and an ever-increasing burden on each of our budgets, if not a practising 'silver surfer' allowing our groceries to be delivered at the tap of some keys, then the problem of shopping for fresh local produce is not as easy as we would like to think. This, coupled with a lack of know-how in the culinary department through the loss of a partner, could lead to a downward spiral in one's general health and wellbeing.

Since attending the 2010 Care Farming Conference at Harper Adams University College, I have, through the pro-active partnership Growing Rural Enterprise, attended workshops on artisan bread making, the ancient craft of curing and smoking meat. And with the guidance of cheese maker Julie Cheyney I have explored the art and science of cheese making, learned skills and techniques to transform milk into a range of products in my own kitchen by creating my own soft cheese, yoghurt and butter.

Through a partnership with Growing Rural Enterprise, The National Care Farming Initiative and Shropshire WFU, I am hoping to pilot a scheme to attract women farmers and horticulturists to learn how they can offer their farmhouse and kitchen garden as a venue for a series of half a day 'knowledge transfer' workshops specifically targeted to be of interest to bereaved or recently retired grandparents from rural communities for educational purposes, but more importantly for the benefits of the social and wellbeing outcomes.

The 'Silver Lining' Food & Farming Community Project aims to be an innovative and culturally diverse intergenerational project, through the transfer of knowledge and skills exchange. If successfully piloted, the vision of each day's fun activity will be to attract and enable groups of grandparents to learn skills during term time to transfer to their grandchildren during the school holidays.

We will be running a series of short presentations at farm shops throughout Shropshire, where you can hear more. For more information call (01785) 284255.

Gail Thorneycroft Holmes is retiring chairman of Staffordshire WFU and founder of Shropshire WFU.