Therapy on the farm

On a farm in suburban Beijing called Manfei Tianshi Ecological Park, about 10 people with mental disabilities are collecting the autumn harvest. The grains and crops they are reaping include corn, sweet potatoes, green beans and eggplants.

The farm, located in the village of Beijunying, Niulanshan township, Shunyi district, is a base to help treat those with learning disabilities through farm work. It was opened by the Beijing Lizhi Rehabilitation Center in 2002.

"Here, they dig for sweet potatoes, collect green beans, pull weeds and water the plants. Through natural planting and harvesting, they can relax, and find a sense of happiness and meaning," Feng Lu, executive director of the center which currently cares for about 70 disabled students, told the Global Times on Friday.

After several years of engaging in this special form of therapy, some students have already returned to social life and found gainful employment, according to Feng.

The base, the first one on the Chinese mainland, arranges for 10 students to join the farm work each day.

From a girl who was formerly even unable to walk steadily, 24-year-old Sun Nan has become a solid farm hand after 10 years training with the center.

"I like the work here. My favorite job is peeling the corn husks," she said.

When lunch time came, Sun told her teacher that she would continue to work, saying she was on a diet to lose weight.

The center currently only arranges for those with mild or intermediate levels of disability to work in the farm, where the teachers will assign them different jobs based on their ability and personality.

For example, Jiao Jian, 39, is very strong but a little careless and he easily steps on the fragile seedlings when in the field. As such, he has been given different tasks away from the fields.

This year, the farm has again yielded a bumper harvest, but Feng worried about the sales of the products.

"We have no fixed purchaser. Nearly all products go to individuals who came to us after reading our website or finding out about us on microblogs," Feng said, adding that the corn and sweet potatoes are still waiting for buyers.

Each student working on the farm gets a monthly payment of 500-600 yuan ($79-$95).

The center meanwhile has offered many other technical forms of training, such as bread making and baking, flower arrangement or plant care and maintenance, Feng said.

For all those with mild disabilities, the education in the center is free. But for those seriously disabled, the family needs to pay the center 2,000 yuan a month for food, accommodation and nursing.