Care Farming (치유농업)

Therapeutic Horticultural Garden for Care Farming

📚 Family/Class: Social Care & Health (사회복지 및 보건) 🌱 Genus/Sub-category: Green Care (그린케어) 🧬 Species/Type: Care Farming / Social Farming 🌍 Origin: Netherlands & Western Europe

Care Farming (치유농업) is the therapeutic use of farming practices—including plant cultivation, animal care, and rural landscapes—to provide social, clinical, educational, or rehabilitative services. By merging agriculture with healthcare, it creates sustainable social enterprises that improve community well-being while utilizing the natural therapeutic benefits of nature. In high-tech Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA), care farming utilizes barrier-free automation to expand accessibility.

Operational Strategy

🌍 The Netherlands (Zorgboerderij)

Pioneered the integration of care farms into the national health insurance system (WMO/Wlz). Over 1,200 active care farms provide day services for elderly dementia patients, youth with autism, and recovering addicts. Farms combine commercial horticulture with structured social support.

⚙️ Tech Level: High (Accessible glasshouses, occupational therapy equipment, dairy farms)

🌍 South Korea (RDA Care Agriculture)

Actively promoted by the Rural Development Administration (RDA) under the 'Act on Support and Development of Care Agriculture'. Focuses on establishing regional Care Agriculture Centers, developing standardized clinical horticultural therapy programs, and prescribing farming activities for dementia prevention.

⚙️ Tech Level: Medium/High (Wheelchair-accessible smart greenhouses, elevated tables, sensory gardens)

Therapeutic Environment Steering

Rather than commercial crop steering (maximizing yield), Care Farming utilizes 'Therapeutic Environment Steering' to optimize user safety, sensory engagement, and ease of participation.

Parameter	🌱 Comfort Target (User Comfort)	🧩 Sensory Target (User Activity)
Temperature DIF	Thermal comfort targets (20-22°C year-round). Avoid extreme DIF that causes worker fatigue or cold drafts.	Avoid. Keep climate stable to ensure barrier-free activities without thermal shock or heat stress.
VPD (kPa)	0.6 - 0.8 kPa (Maintains comfortable indoor air humidity for patients and elderly).	Avoid high VPD (low humidity) which dries out throat passages and worsens dry eye symptoms in elderly users.
Irrigation & Space Strategy	Elevated gutter heights (75-85cm) for wheelchair accessibility. Focus on simple, drip-irrigated grow bags for easy planting.	Incorporate sensory irrigation tasks (e.g., hand-watering herbs) using lightweight cans to build fine motor skills.

Fertigation Strategy

Fertigation systems in Care Farming prioritize safety, non-toxicity, and user interaction over maximize crop yield.

Phase 1: Safe Vegetative Management

Organic-based, low-concentration liquid fertilizers to prevent chemical burns if handled by patients. Maintain strict hygiene protocols to avoid mold growth in media.

Phase 2: Sensory Olfactory Stimulation

Focus on high-aromatic herb nutrition (lavender, mint, rosemary) to maximize essential oil production, enhancing sensory olfactory stimulation during therapeutic sessions.

Ready to steer your crop?

AgriAtlas provides the theory, but every greenhouse is unique. Use our precise engineering calculators to hit these target VPD and Temperature DIF values based on your specific facility's U-Value and heating capacity.

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