When Shemesh Farms in Malibu opened in 2013 at Shalom Institute, it was with an aspiration to create a social enterprise that would provide purposeful work and community to young adults with cognitive and physical disabilities. With seed money from the Jewish Federation Los Angeles, which continues to support their venture, 11 years later it’s rolling along, putting smiles on faces and bringing purpose to the lives of young adults in its Farm Fellows program that provides employment, programming and community to more than 100 adults with diverse abilities of various ages, ethnicities, races, genders and demographics.
We asked Nicky Pitman, the director of Shemesh Farms, to tell us about the program and its impact on the community.
L.A. Parent: How many Farm Fellows typically take part in a month, season or semester?
Nicky: Summer is the season we have our lowest attendance because our Farm Fellows go on family vacations and/or go to camp), but in a recent week we had 42 Farm Fellows in attendance (along with their coaches and six neurotypical volunteers, for a total of 73 people). Some weeks (three days a week of programming) we have up to 60 Farm Fellows at the Farm.
L.A. Parent: How do you find/recruit the Farm Fellows?
Nicky: Many of our Farm Fellows attend Shemesh as part of other day programs. We currently work with four: Creative Steps, ETTA, Light of Hope and, during the school year, the life skills class (serves 18-22 year olds) at Agoura High School. In the fall, we will also be collaborating and offering programming to the life skills class at Malibu High School, which is directly across from our home at Malibu United Methodist Church.
Farm Fellows who attend Shemesh independently (with coaches) have come to us after they have moved into self-determination after having been in one of the above-listed programs, or they hear about us through different media outlets (magazine and newspaper articles, podcasts), or via word-of-mouth.
L.A. Parent: What the ages of the Farm Fellows?
Nicky: We began as a program for young adults — most are around 22 years old — since that is the time when people age out of the education system. As Farm Fellows have grown and stayed with Shemesh, and as new Farm Fellows have joined us (and the various partner programs we work with), our age range has increased. We currently host Farm Fellows between the ages of 18-55. Yesterday, I had two phone calls with prospective parents: one who heard about us through a current Farm Fellow’s parent and another who heard about us from one of our volunteers.
L.A. Parent: What type of tasks do you have them do?
Nicky: Farm Fellows work in every area of our farm. They plant, harvest, water, weed and compost in our garden, which currently houses 22 hydroponic towers, 13 raised garden beds, some in-soil growth and two manually run compost piles. They also clean, sort and dry our herbs before crushing and curating them into herb and salt blends, as well as crafting lavender sachets. They also jar honey. Bottle, label and inventory our products, practice maintenance care around our entire facility, and partake in art and aesthetics practices that support our garden and enterprise, things like rock painting, mural painting, self-portraits, a community quilt, to name some projects.
L.A. Parent: Are they paid?
Nicky: Some of our Fellows are paid. They have specific jobs/job titles. Some who could be paid decline payment because it can affect their social security/disability, so they volunteer. With most of our partner programs, we serve as part of their day programming, and in turn they work at the Farm.
If you would like to support their work, learn more about the Farm Fellow program or volunteer at Shemesh Farms, visit https://shemeshfarms.com/, email shemeshfarms@shalominstitute.com or call 818-889-5500, ext. 110.
