Education
Kaima's reliance on experiential learning means that within every challenge is a hidden opportunity to achieve personal growth and development.
Kaima's overarching educational goal is to help each individual find his or her own path towards rejoining society through the microcosm of the workplace - in this case, the farm. Paving the way are Kaima's devoted founders and staff. Comprised of both experienced educators and agriculturalists, Kaima's highly motivated professional team, all accomplished young adults, serve as role models to program participants and examples of what their own futures might hold in store.
The team's accessibility and the safety of the farm suggest new opportunities for these kids to relate positively to adults and to their environment, many for the first time in their lives.
The program, which recognizes work as a value and educational tool, is based on experiential learning achieved through personal involvement and assumes that every challenge presents an intrinsic opportunity to learn something new, both on a practical and personal level.
On a practical level, Kaima helps participants (most of whom are distrustful of authority figures, disregard formal learning frameworks, and find it hard to make commitments) learn to meet deadlines; connect action and consequence; practice self-control; respect others' boundaries and authority; and develop the potential to facilitate future employability.
On a more personal level, participants learn to trust others and themselves; gain self-confidence; experience what it is like to be an integral part of something which yields results and has a future; and acquire the desire and ability to articulate their dreams and aspirations - something which, for most, was previously unimaginable.