Project

Deen City Farm is a community project enabling 100's of people each week to learn from their visit or contribution to a working farm and community garden. We desperately need to replace two vehicles in order to continue many aspects of our work.

What does your charity/project do?

Our aim is to show an urban audience where their food comes from, mainly through involving them in the animal care or fruit/veg growing process. We offer work experience & volunteering placements, host school visits, teach horse riding, offer an incubator service for schools to hatch chicks, support vulnerable volunteers (developing their confidence & skills) and have an award-winning community garden. Education is present in everything we do, even the Cafe when it runs cooking workshops!

How does your charity/project support the local community?

With an average audience of 1,000 visitors a day, Deen City Farm is a community focus, bringing people together from different backgrounds and with varying abilities, giving them a collective purpose or simply a unique outdoor space to enjoy. Our volunteer programme has over 250 people a year participating in our work routines where they gain skills, improve their employability and develop a sense of self-worth. Our services, such as horse riding or young farmers days, are adored.

What do you plan to use the CommunityForce award for?

If we were to be awarded funding, we would invest this in the purchase of a horsebox in order to enable volunteers to take animals including horses to shows such as the Lambeth Country Show. Our apprentices would be able to gain more experience attending training elsewhere. It would mean we could continue to generate income through our educational incubator service and collect vital supplies for our cafe or for volunteering projects.