In-home support of the elderly..

The Home Horticultural project..
This project aims to encourage the implementation and maintenance of millions of home veggie gardens. These 'high tech' gardens and their maintenance/collection teams would provide millions of jobs, millions of tons of home delivered organic food and great social activities for the handicapped and the shut-ins.

These above ground gardens would be designed by top experts; the hardware and fittings could be mass-produced 'Ikea' style; The maintenance/collection teams would be supervised by our older unemployed with the relevant expertise; The teams would be manned by volunteers and the unemployed.

These gardens would provide the following benefits..
• Regular meals for Senior Citizens using their own 100% Organic produce.
These meals would be prepared by the young people under the guidance of culinary mentors.
• The young people would learn valuable horticultural skills in areas such as natural disease and pest control; water conservation; composting; earth-worms; 'natural biology'; crop rotation etc.
• These 'work-days' would play host to selected folk from the disabled support organizations. This would benefit both groups. The young workers would learn the joys of caring for the 'less fortunate'; The 'less fortunate' may gain (for the first time ever) some 'normal' friends.
• Under the guidance of retired tradesmen, young workers would learn as they assist with the maintenance of the house and yard. They would learn concreting, bricklaying, woodworking, axemanship, tree-pruning, painting and perhaps, chess and 'after dinner' music.
• They would learn the many skills and concepts associated with the term "Sustainable Horticulture".

The Home Horticultural project would be in partnership with..
the 'Youth Development Project' - which has the following objective..
"Harnessing the energy of existing youth groups, the unemployed or homeless youth and the vast army of retired people with mentoring skills"

Training young people in the following areas..
Sustainable Horticulture, Land Care, Caring for the disadvantaged.
The 'village' trades. Timber work, Carpentry, Cabinet work, Bricklaying & Rock work, Wrought-iron, Pottery and Veggie-gardening (there would also be workshops in the ancient skills and methods, e.g. the Roman engineers).
Learning Dance and a choice of a musical instrument.

Many of these youth projects involve the elderly..
Unemployed or disadvantaged youth gain satisfaction and purpose in these symbiotic projects.
The elderly are assisted to remain in their own homes for many more years.
The youth are mentored by retired experts and learn valuable life skills.
The elderly have their homes, property and large veggie-garden maintained. They receive home grown, home cooked meals several times per week.

Nov-2012