Care Farm Documentary to Premier at FVCC

Flathead Valley Community College will host a premier screening of a documentary about care farms in Northwest Montana on August 17 at 7:30 p.m. in the theatre of the Arts and Technology building. The event is free and open to the public.

Dutch film maker Sanne Hijlkema produced “The Country Side of Care” to spotlight the groundbreaking development of care farms in the Flathead Valley. Care farms offer opportunities for people with disabilities to spend time working and socializing in agricultural settings. The emotional and physical health benefits to participants are believed to be significant. Care farms are common in the Netherlands, where they are supported by government funding. However, care farms in the United States appear to be non-existent outside of the pioneering farms in the Flathead Valley.

Hijlkema said she hopes the film will inspire farmers, health care providers and families of people with disabilities to consider care farms as an option. “The documentary contains intimate portraits of people with disabilities, their families and farmers,” she said.

For more information about the film, view its trailer at https://vimeo.com/173061926.