Demonstrations of different food processing take turns so the children have opportunities to watch the whole
process as well as to process some food themselves. For example: to produce butter from cream, to knead small
bread, to produce jam, etc.
All these demonstrations and practical trainings are new in Bulgaria. For this purpose they rely their Norwegian
partner who helps them with training animators, a farm’s manager and training programs and materials.
Conclusion: Opportunities for farm work with disabled people and children (social farm activities) are available.
Advantages: the farms provide plenty of practical tasks; by including disabled people, students and children farm
are less dependent on production; work on the farm, including disabled people and children, promotes development
of social farming; children are the future consumers of organic products and investment in their training is more
perspective.
Disadvantages: financial issues; shortage of good experience; shortage of professional staff; capabilities of
disabled people.
The investigation of these two cases show that there is great potential for inclusion of children and disabled
people in the work on farms and the first steps have been achieved. In fact, this potential in Bulgaria is limited by
multiple factors; the most important factor is that the concept of social farming is not well-known in the country and
there is no common, purposeful and consistent policy to popularize and develop this type of activities. The examples
existing in the practice are realized as a private initiative on a free principle and with financial support by European
projects without any assistance and coordination from the government.
The presented information warrants a general conclusion that the development of social farming in Bulgaria is
in an initial phase. The main problems before its development have their roots in the lack of proper informal and
formal institutional environment. On one hand the society is not sufficiently acquainted with the ideas and practices
of social farming, on the other hand – the state, in all its governing organs, does not create any appropriate
conditions for stimulating and popularizing of these types of activities.