"Connecting people and the earth": the occupational experience of people with different capabilities participating in an inclusive horticultural social enterprise

Abstract

Social enterprises have responded to personalisation of social care with enthusiasm as they aim to improve communities, investing profits into social or environmental aims (The Plunkett Foundation 2010). Personalisation has, likewise, heightened interest in services offered to people with disabilities, beyond those offered by local authorities and the NHS. The goals of the social enterprise in this study reflected the values of green care, which enables engagement with nature to produce health, social and education benefits (Fieldhouse & Sempik 2014). Green care and personalisation can both be understood from an occupational perspective, based on the idea that occupation sustains well-being in individuals. If social enterprises can create person-centred occupational experiences for people, they can play an important part in bridging the gap between traditional care settings and community participation. This research examined a social enterprise involved in food growing using a permaculture approach (Holmgren 2011); addressing the question: What is the occupational experience of people with and without disabilities participating in an inclusive horticultural social enterprise? This qualitative research used participatory action research (PAR) and critical ethnography as methodologies to build a case study of the social enterprise. Methods used were photography, mapping, and other accessible modes of data collection. Two PAR groups involving twenty-two people were convened, followed by six key-informant interviews. A reflexive log was maintained throughout project planning and PAR processes. Participants contributed to data analysis, identifying early themes, and interviews added context to the three final themes: Exclusion within inclusion; choice, transformation and ownership; and people, place and participation. As a result of the study the author considers that there are a number of governance and power challenges within green care social enterprises but these organisations have a role in addressing marginalisation through reducing bureaucratic barriers to social change and increasing skills for resilience and sustainability.