RecoveRy
Phoenix Futures share the
growth of their exciting
Purple Camel Project
RecoveRIng
ThRough
naTuRe
AT PHOENIX FUTURES we have been working
with people with substance misuse issues for over 47
years, offering specialist services across community,
prison and residential settings. Our fundamental
belief is that every person who is dependent on drugs
and alcohol has the potential to rebuild their life.
It is only by focusing on an individual’s wider
recovery, however, that lives can be rebuilt and
individuals can stay on track. So in addition to our core
recovery services we also offer a number of personal
development programmes that help service users gain
skills, confidence, motivation, employment and
reintegrate into their communities. The longest running
and most successful of these programmes is Recovery
through Nature (RtN).
‘Purple Camels’ is a holistic approach to developing
sustainable recovery. The guiding principles are
oriented around growing as much of our own produce
as possible in our gardens and allotments, to be used
in our kitchens. We source local produce, if and where
cheaper (including environmentally preferable
purchasing), and have developed a culture of recycling
and being aware of the way we use and save water
and the energy for heating and lighting. We look at the
use of renewable resources across the spectrum and
are aware of pollution.
We called the project ‘Purple Camels’ because
camels are able to adapt and survive in challenging
environments, and purple is Phoenix Futures’ colour.
The programme is part of the organisation’s Recovery
through Nature programme – a highly effective
therapeutic intervention that engages teams of service
users recovering from substance addiction in practical
conservation projects, and uses that experience to
support their rehabilitation and recovery.
There are two fundamental guiding principles to
‘Purple Camels’. Firstly, the idea must be incorporated
into the therapeutic community (TC) process as part
of a ‘right living’ ethos, and be service user-led and
orientated. It links into the proven, underpinned
benefits of eco-therapy, horticultural therapy and our
own Recovery through Nature programme and
becomes integral to our TC process. Secondly, as an
organisation, we are making a conscious effort to
reduce our costs in such straitened times, so the
intention is that it will save money in the long term
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and make our approach unique.
Working in partnership with Lane End Farm
Trust (LEFT) at Phoenix Futures’ Sheffield
residential service brings together our expertise
to develop the desired sustainable concept. Our
aim is to collaborate on a sustainable food cycle
programme by developing the large, walled,
Victorian garden at its Storth Oaks site into a
kitchen garden of raised growing beds. The
intention is to create a vegetable and fruit
growing garden that can supply seasonal
organic produce for the kitchen at the residential
service, and any surplus produce can be sold into the
local food community working with the Lane End
Farm Trust (LEFT) existing customer network. In
addition to the raised beds, we intend to have a poly
tunnel on site to extend the growing season and
provide better growing conditions to produce a wider
variety of produce for more months of the year.
Service users from both PF and LEFT will have
access to working in the garden across all stages of
the growing season, and trained staff with
horticulture and thera peu tic horticulture experience
will provide guidance and training for service users. As
the project develops, we intend to provide basic
qualifications for service users who wish to engage in
that part of the programme. Other users may simply
benefit from the chance to be involved in a real work
environment and gain empower ment through the
therapeutic benefits of horticulture.
The benefit to the wider community, including
local residents, volunteers and support workers, is
access to high quality ethically produced food at fair
prices that is grown and harvested by our service
users. This ultimately improves community cohesion
‘It is only by focusing
on an individual’s
wider recovery that
lives can be rebuilt
and individuals can
stay on track.’
through inclusive outreach across the local area.
Work began to transform the gardens with raised
beds on 16 April. It was discovered that the quality of
the soil was excellent and the decision was made to
move the programme forward rapidly, so service users
planted the first crop of potatoes on 24 April –
potatoes being chosen as the first crop so the soil may
be thoroughly worked over when they are harvested.
May 2018 | drinkanddrugsnews | 17