Presentation
The EU promotes the active inclusion and full participation of people with disabilities in society, in line with the EU’s approach to human rights for disability, this means that disability is a problem of rights and not an issue of discretion. This approach is also the core of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (UNCRPD).
EASY GARDENING. Erasmus + Project (February 2022-February 2024) aims to contribute to the social participation of people with disabilities by improving their professional training for the achievement of employment.
The Easy Gardening project, with partners from Croatia, Denmark, Greece, Portugal and Spain, seeks to improve the training of trainers who work with people with disabilities in the field of gardening and agriculture, providing them with adapted resources, so that such training has an impact on the employability of the group of people with disabilities.
“Entrepreneurship refers to an individual’s ability to turn ideas into actions. “Business and vocational training encourages innovation, creativity and self-confidence.”
The current labor market means that many of our students with intellectual disabilities and other disabilities are unable to access employment. The promotion of professional training and entrepreneurial mindset within the framework of our project offers them the opportunity to develop new forms of employment or self-employment in the field of agriculture.
The teaching of professional skills also includes the promotion of digital skills, which will be part of the Easy-Gardening training and game, helping our students to explore, be curious, gather new knowledge and use innovative tools.
For all these reasons, one of the main objectives of Easy-Gardening is to provide materials, tools and resources to students with intellectual disabilities, as well as teachers, training staff, mentors, coaches, VET center leaders and policy makers, to motivate people with intellectual disabilities for VET and lifelong learning by fostering emotional literacy and STEAM skills developed in outdoor activities, while creating a healthy and beautiful environment, growing their own food and preparing food that supports brain health in a community.
To this end, within the framework of the project, the following have been developed:
- the creation of a gardening/agriculture training manual in accessible format;
- the creation of a training manual for trainers in gardening, inspired by accessible practices and inclusive practices;
- the preparation, implementation and evaluation of a training course for trainers in gardening in accordance with the Universal Design for Learning
- the provision of a platform for the training of trainers.
- the creating of a game to explore the fundamental principles and practices of sustainable gardening and agriculture.