06/20/2024
Seeds Of Hope – Therapeutic Farm in Peru
By Tamara Amsing
Tamara Amsing, trained by the Instituto de Horticutura Terapéutica y Social (IHTS) in Peru implemented a horticultural therapy program which complements the psychotherapeutic support offered to child and adolescent survivors of trauma.
Daniela Silva-Rodriguez, director of IHTS and HTI blog contributor
Psychosocial Recovery for Children
When I found the therapeutic horticulture training program offered by the Institute of Therapeutic and Social Horticulture (IHTS – ) in Peru, it was the answer to our long search: “How can our farm contribute to the psychosocial recovery of children and adolescents at risk, trauma survivors?” The Lindero Ecological Farm () is a social enterprise that belongs to an association that works in the prevention and care of people whose rights have been violated. Part of the income from the services offered by Granja Lindero is used to finance the association’s social projects.
When children and young people come to our farm, we can see how interacting with nature in a safe and relaxing place helps them forget their traumas for a while and gives them a respite from their broken lives. When I completed my training in therapeutic horticulture, I started offering a horticultural therapy program to the association. We transformed our agro-ecological garden into a therapeutic garden, including a sensory garden, a vegetable garden, an activity area, a nursery and a relaxation area. Since 2023, I have had the privilege of working with the psychologists who look after children and young people in vulnerable situations. By sharing our knowledge, we have designed and implemented a program specifically aimed at supporting them in their psychosocial recovery.
Therapeutic Garden of the Lindero Ecological Farm
Therapeutic garden of the Lindero Ecological Farm
During the first nine months, we held 45-minute group sessions covering the following topics: self-esteem, recognition of emotions, self-regulation, decision making, life project, social skills and protection mechanisms. We also ran two therapeutic camps (2 days) and 1 night at the farm. The sessions are divided into three parts. We always start with aromatherapy, which allows the participants to focus on the present moment, practicing mindfulness, relaxation and concentration. Then we develop the activity planned for the day, addressing the therapeutic aim of the session. We conclude with a space for reflection and sharing of experiences, writing thoughts, reflections and commitments in a journal.
Relaxation And Self-Regulation in Nature
Horticultural therapy aims to help children and young people manage their emotions through relaxation, self-regulation or horticultural strategies and techniques. Aromatherapy and plant care have proven to be the most popular self-regulation strategies among participants. Participants walk through the therapeutic garden, find a scent they like, practice mindful breathing, connect with nature and relax. Moving, looking, touching, smelling and sharing as a group facilitates the creation of a safe connection with the space and other participants.
Many of the participants in the horticultural therapy program suffer from insomnia, stress, anxiety, panic attacks or depression. To address this, we offer the potpourri bag activity, where participants choose flowers or leaves with scents that evoke security and calm. We accompany the activity with scientific information on the effects of aromas, such as lavender, which helps with relaxation and sleep, rosemary, which stimulates concentration, or citrus fruits, which give energy and encouragement to move forward. Towards the end of the activity, participants are given a few minutes to reflect, and we encourage them to write positive words or phrases in their notebook to read when they feel their emotions are overflowing and they can return to calm. This aromatherapy activity is a self-regulation tool for moments of anxiety or demotivation.
The testimony of a 10-year-old girl about the activity was: “It has relieved my anger and sadness. Before, when I was angry or very sad, I would scream and lock myself in my room and cry a lot, now I smell my potpourri bag and go to my plants, it helps me to calm down faster, and I apologize to my mum”.
Aromatherapy with potpourri bag
One day, when I saw one of the teenagers picking the dry leaves of a caigua plant (Cyclanthera pedata) with great dedication, I approached her and she told me that she did not want to stop, that the repetitive action relaxed her and allowed her to forget her worries, her unpleasant emotions. Looking for an endangered, vulnerable or sick plant in the garden and helping it to recover allows the participant to put herself in the role of helper or carer and to have hope in her own ability to recover.
“When I feel very sad or angry with my parents, I go out and look at my plants, take care of them or look for seeds and plant them. It helps me control my anger, I think about what I can do to solve my problem or worry, and I come back calmer,” says a 16-year-old teenager.
Renew Interpersonal Relationships
People in vulnerable situations are often very distrustful of others. Some may not have the professional support they need, while others may be emotionally manipulated, hindering the recovery process.
Observing relationships in nature: flowers and pollinators.
In nature we discover and learn that there are friendly, companion and hostile plants. We see how they communicate underground through a network of fungi, or how some plants support the growth of their neighbors while others share their nutrients. We learn that in nature plants communicate with each other when they are attacked by a pest, so that the other plants raise their defenses; but we also know that some plants use this connection to take nutrients from other plants, or to release toxins into the soil to sabotage their neighbors. This allows us to draw a parallel between plants and humans, to discover many similarities, to understand that we cannot treat everyone the same way; we must learn to recognize who is reliable and who is not. Caring for and observing the plant world teaches us, empowers us and gives us the tools to set boundaries for people who want to cross them.
“I have learnt that everyone has a different story. Just as there are plants that grow in the desert and have their own needs, or others that grow in humid places and have different needs, we can’t treat them the same, we can’t treat people the same,” said the 16-year-old.
Pre-Vocational Skills
The horticultural therapy program also provides pre-vocational skills in horticulture or plant crafts, enabling the young people to earn an income. Recognizing their ability to earn an income allows the young people to improve their self-esteem and encourages responsibility, creativity and project management skills.
One of the sessions we conducted was to create a kokedama (moss ball in Japanese), a micro-ecosystem with interdependent components. This activity allowed participants to reflect on the importance of support groups in our lives and to identify who are the support people around us to continue to grow and move forward in the recovery process.
One of the young people presented the kokedama technique she had learnt in horticultural therapy in her entrepreneurship course and won first prize. The teenager commented that she felt very happy, even more so when her teacher bought the kokedama. She also mentioned that, thanks to horticultural therapy, she now has many ideas for developing a business with plants.
Plant crafts and entrepreneurship
Life Lessons
The main aim of the horticultural therapy program is for children and young people to experience interaction with plants as a sustainable tool for reflection, self-care and social-emotional development that they can integrate into their daily lives and use for a lifetime.
From the very first session, we could feel the surprise of the participants when they entered a therapeutic garden, “how can you do therapy with plants?” was the question they all asked themselves. Being in a natural environment, surrounded by plants, facilitated the bond and trust between the horticultural therapist and the participant, providing a safe space where they could let their guard down, open their senses and enjoy the moment.
“I learned lessons from the plants, it helped me think about everything I went through and that I could have made different decisions. It helped me improve as a person and give me courage, just like the plants,“
16-year-old teenager
As a facilitator of horticultural therapy, I am pleased to share emotions, feelings, reflections or knowledge with the participants, to see their maturity, to observe the positive changes in their faces and behavior as they begin to heal some of their emotional wounds. Improvements in self-esteem, attention span or ability to project into the future were evident.
People in vulnerable situations or survivors of trauma often lose hope, but by working in the garden they can feel how a seed that is underground, where everything is dark and life seems to be over, comes to light and grows into a large and beautiful plant. This metaphor teaches us that although a situation does not seem to change, silently, under the earth, roots are growing that will spread and support the plant that seeks the light to extend its branches. Even when we feel ‘underground’, we know that it is only a stage, that patience is needed, and that there is always hope for the future.
In 2024 we opened our therapeutic horticulture service to the public in the hope of sowing seeds of hope in our clients. Learning from plants and each other facilitates growth and healing on a personal and group level.
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