Pilot Data Sheet

Phood Farm

Social Enterprise model

Local partnership and roles

Phood Farm

Agricultural social enterprise
  • Coordination of the pilot
  • Assistance in recruitment
  • Delivery of practical training
  • Coaching
  • Participant assessment
  • Post-training follow-up

Eindhoven

Public local authority
  • Identification and participant recruitment

Futuris Zorg en Werk

Mental health care institute
  • Identification and participant recruitment
  • Delivery of theoretical off-site training

Helicon

Horticultural school
  • Delivery of theoretical off-site training

Participants recruitement

Process

The identification and recruitment of participants is carried out by Futuris, which focuses on people with disabilities such as autism. They work with the social services of the city of Eindhoven, and in collaboration with Phood Farm (PHF). They inform candidates about training opportunities and refer them to PHF.


PHF welcome the participantswith a first interview where the young people can say what they expect from the training, so that the training can be adapted to meet their objectives.


They can choose between several modules on different topics and different way of learning (hands-on, in class, on-line).

Conditions for participation
  • Motivation
  • No minimum educational qualification requirements

Training Programme

The training

The training takes place at two aquaponics pilot sitesrun by PHF in Eindhoven and Tilburg.

The training lasts six months with the training week organised as follows :

  • Two days a week are dedicated to practical training on the PHF sites by a coach with a background in market gardening
  • One day a week is spent with Helicon and focuses on theoretical training on horticulture.
  • One day a week is devoted to theoretical training in soft skills and job search (CV writing, personal presentation, job hunting) and is delivered by Futuris


The first aim is to develop participants’ skills, competencies and self-confidence, to get them used to the pace of work so that they can progress in society by finding and keeping a real sustainable job.

Coaching and assessment

The young people are accompanied by a coach on a daily basis. S/he motivates them to attend the training, takes their opinions into account and relays this to others, and is responsible for the practical training on the field.

Co-production

The approach here is to involve participants – singly and in groups – to the greatest possible degree in designing and determining what they will be doing during their time on the programme. The professionals involved from the other partner organisations listed elsewhere in this paper also participate in the development of the learning programmes.


Co-production is applied from the first interview stage where the young person is supported and encouraged to say what they expect from the training, so that the training can be adapted to meet their objectives. Subsequently there is the opportunity to organise her/his own learning programmes on the basis of a framework given by PHF. This framework encourages a solution-focused approach :


  • Where groups decide on how problems are addressed and who will do what
  • Where mistakes are allowed to happen and are regarded as learning opportunities
  • Where the focus is on letting groups of participants act and learn and by doing, and
  • Where the underpinning aim is to encourage individual independence using the transferable problem-solving skills that participation in the IMAGINE project gives them

Post-training opportunities

Participants are supported across and beyond their time on the training by the project partners. They are supported into employment, volunteering, and other meaningful activity by the pilot partners and 10% of them will be hired at Phood Farm itself.

Funding and expenditure

Expenses are mainly related to
  • Preparation, piloting, and management of the project
  • Supervision of young people and relations with different partners
  • Administrative and financial management of the project
  • Operating costs
  • Salary costs of participating young people
Funding sources are
  • European Regional Development Fund
  • PHF own resources