A special farm run by special people

Abu Dhabi - The glossy tomatoes and farm-fresh cucumbers are grown by more than 100 men and women with Autism and Down Syndrome, in Abu Dhabi.

Next time you pick up the Al Khas brand of organic vegetables from supermarkets, you should know its contents are as special as the people who produce it.
The glossy tomatoes and farm-fresh cucumbers are grown by more than 100 men and women with Autism and Down Syndrome, in Abu Dhabi.
A 30-minute drive from the city centre, this 35-hectare organic farm located on the outskirts of the UAE capital supplies an average of 5,000 kgs of vegetables every week to Carrefour, Lulu hypermakets and Union Co-operative supermarkets in the UAE.
The farm is an initiative run by the Zayed Agricultural Centre for Rehabilitation & Development under the aegis of Zayed Higher Organisation set up by the late UAE president Sheikh Zayed, to support specially-abled people.
"Currently, we have a total of 105 special needs staff - 80 men and 25 women.  The idea is to offer them a source of income and a safe work environment so that they are self-reliant," said Abdullah Al Hashmi, Public Relations and Marketing officer at the Centre. The special needs staff is paid Dh4,000 monthly by the Centre, in addition to a government salary.
When Khaleej Times visited the farm on Wednesday, March 15, it appeared like a verdant paradise in the middle of the desert, with acres of open fields and greenhouses growing tomatoes, green chilies, capsicum, zucchini, cabbage, watermelons and even strawberries.
Wearing their green uniforms, some special needs staff were tending to the soil or checking the strawberry fields while others were plucking capsicums and green chilies to be packaged off to supermarkets. Many were eager to show off their harvests and pose for photographs. "I like working here. My family is proud that I am able to earn," said emirati Awad Al Minhali, who is married with a kid.
An at an egg station nearby, Omar Al Hammadi was busy checking chicken coops for eggs. "I am good at collecting eggs. See, today I collected more than 75 eggs," said Al Hammadi proudly, showing off his day's work.
The centre also does animal farming and has more than 1,500 chickens and 600 goats. "We are the only farm in Abu Dhabi that makes organic cheese from our own goats. More than 150 litres of milk are produced and turned into cheese," said Al Hammadi.
Fatheya Al Naqbi, another special needs staff who joined the centre five years ago, said she enjoys her work. "I joined five years ago, and now I can handle all the work including processing of milk and packaging," said Al Naqbi.
The farm uses organic waste as fertilisers and produces its own grass to feed animals.
"We are hundred percent sustainable and use organic waste as fertilisers. The maintenance of the crops is always a challenge because we do not use any pesticides. Sometimes, we even incur huge lossess," said Al Hammadi.
'Our staff earn self-respect and fulfillment'
abu dhabi - It is the dedication and hard work of the staff that has turned the Zayed Agricultural Centre for Rehabilitation and Development into a successful venture employing more than 100 special needs people, said its director Mohamed Saif Al Areefi.
"They are not disabled. Many of them have great potential and we are amazed by their energy and enthusiasm in learning new skills," Al Areefi told Khaleej Times. He said when the centre was established in 1994, it was a small venture on a two-hectare land with just seven students.
"Over the years, the centre has helped many special needs people earn self-respect and a sense of fulfillment in addition to offering them a source of livelihood," said the director.
"Currently, we supply to three main supermarket chains in the UAE including Carrefour, Lulu and Co-operative societies. We are slowly trying to increase the market share of Al Khas products," said Al Areefi who added in the same breath that the centre is not profit-driven.
"We want to raise awareness about our initiatives so that more people can come forward and support us."
The farm currently draws more than 1,000 visitors every month. "We welcome members of the public and students so that they are aware of the project and support us by buying our products. It is also an inspiring story for many people," said Al Areefi. The centre is also conducting exhibitions and participating in corporate events to show case the Al Khas brand of products.
"The idea is to give our students exposure to the world outside. My next objective is to get both public and private corporate entities to employ some of our students," said the official.
"They are great assets of our nation, and in line with the vision of our great leaders, it our responsibility to invest in their potential and help the integrate with the mainstream society," said Al Areefi.
A typical day at the farm is busy, productive
A typical day at the farm starts at 8am, when staff members arrive in the company transportation.
People are divided into different teams according to their responsibilities.
The first place of action is the packaging centre that is handled by special needs women. The delivery vans arrive as early as 8am, and staff will fill the vans with cartons of vegetables and eggs packed and sealed the previous day. "The delivery vans have to leave early in order to ensure the produce is fresh when they reach the shops," said Al Hammadi.
Any given day, the harvesting team collects at least 500kgs of vegetables. The plucked vegetables are brought to the packaging centre. It is here where the veggies are sorted according to their quality, then washed, weighed and sealed before moving to separate cartons.
The milking station and cheese factory also work from 8am till 1pm. Goats are milked with electric machines, and the milk is moved to the cheese station where two big drums churn the milk for more than two hours before it is processed into cheese.
"By 10am, milking will be over and the staff starts the clean up," said Al Hammadi.
Likewise, in the green centre, the staff grows 10 kgs of grass out of wheat every two days, to feed animals. "Before 10am, the grass is collected from the trays, and by 1pm, the staff thoroughly srub and clean the trays of any fungus.
By 3pm, the sweat and toil is over, and buses arrive to drop them back home.
anjana@khaleejtimes.com

• Abu Dhabi