The Farm in Galong

In 2017 a beautiful three-hectare property and 4 buildings were gifted to The Farm for peppercorn rent, previously having served as an aged care facility and, prior to that, a boarding school and convent. With loving restoration, the buildings and grounds have been transformed to retain the dignity of their heritage while also providing modern comfort. By November 2019 renovation of the main building was sufficient to enable the first intake of clients. The site is ideal for the program, offering residents a quiet and secluded environment away from the pressures of modern urban life.

The Farm in Galong provides a place of restoration for women and children affected by substance abuse. It aims to reunite families and provide a strong foundation for long-term recovery.

Work is ongoing to cultivate the land, through planting and tending the orchard, vegetable and kitchen herb gardens, flowers, bees for honey, goats, hens and guinea fowl for eggs, and other initiatives including a greenhouse for propagation, water tanks and sustainable permaculture. Working with nature is a key part of the program and provides organic food for consumption by clients, live-in staff members or other workers, with a view to increasing production over time for sale, to help provide a revenue stream for ongoing operations.

The Farm in Galong Ltd was formed to address particular aspects of the problem of drug abuse in the community. Two things were of specific concern and became the focus of the group’s planning: recidivism and the effects of drug use on the user’s family. One particularly tragic effect is the removal of children from their parents.  They believed that a place was needed that provided care for people seeking permanent recovery from substance abuse through the development of constructive and meaningful habits of life. They also felt there was a gap in the provision of women only services to address their specific needs, especially those connected to inter-personal trauma and the removal of their children.

See the project’s website here: The Farm in Galong