Transforming Lives on the Farm

To see a cutdown version of the promo video click here.

“One of my children came to your farm this year (she’s actually in the promo film) and I was so proud of her for what she’d done. It was really great to see such a difference!!”

Shallowford Farm is a unique and inspiring place set in the heart of Dartmoor.

Here, people from the Battersea, London, can come and be immersed in a whole new way of life and reflect on a deeper understanding of themselves, others and the environment around them.

The farm experience, which became known as “A lung for the city”, was created by Elizabeth Braund and Rosemary Bird. In the 1970s they recognized, from their youth work in Battersea at Providence House Youth and Community Centre, that a sense of community and self worth could not be developed fully without the opportunity to experience wild places and God’s creation, to develop curiosity, imagination and challenge.

THIS IS PRECISELY WHAT SHALLOWFORD FARM DOES!

Elizabeth and Rosemary were both empowered by their strong Christian belief. Their dedication to enhancing the lives of others continues today.

Hundreds of people from Battersea have shared the Shallowford experience and love to tell their stories of life on the farm and what it has meant to them. Successive generations have come again and again to a place they trust and love.

We stimulate learning by doing, a sense of community, purpose and belonging.

Our vision is for this work to continue and grow into other areas of deprivation through the development of residential facilities at the farm as the guests currently stay at Bellever Youth Hostel. Development plans include homely accommodation, excellent learning facilities, safe handling farm stock pens, recreational areas and efficient wet weather facilities

There will be potential during school terms to host school groups of 30 to 35 children for week long school visits. The intention is to continue to develop East Shallowford as a small mixed farm suitable for such visits by children.

Our immediate available funds are finite. Therefore we are seeking to secure funding beyond our own capital resources to support the costs of development, subsidise the residential visits from south London and so make a difference to young people’s lives and that of their families.

Enabling an understanding of the natural world and creating a sense of context and continuity