CLYNFYW Care Farm, the award-winning community interest company at Abercych which supports adults with learning disabilities and those in recovery from mental unwellness, is working towards providing a bilingual service.

The farm employs 40 full and part-time staff who support 10 people living in supported tenancy cottages and 20 other service users from Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion.

Many of the staff are fluent Welsh speakers whilst others are learning the language.

Most of them have completed apprenticeships to ensure that they have a good knowledge of Health and Social Care legislation.

The company currently has three apprentices, including Cerys Fletcher who has joined the management team after progressing to a bilingual Higher Apprenticeship Level 4 in Leadership and Management in Health and Social Care.

Cerys is following in the footsteps of manager Sheila Morgan who also completed her Higher Apprenticeship Level 5 in Leadership and Management bilingually.

“Apprenticeships are a wonderful resource and it’s important that all our staff understand the legislation relating to people’s rights and support our service users to get the best from them,” said Sheila.

“The Welsh language is part of our culture. Although not all our staff speak Welsh, we do try, wherever possible, to communicate with service users in their preferred language.”

Clynfyw Care Farm is being highlighted by Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol and the National Training Federation of Wales as a champion of bilingualism in the workplace.

Coleg Cymraeg Cenedlaethol leads the development of Welsh medium and bilingual education and training in the post-compulsory sector in Wales whilst the NTfW represents work-based learning providers across Wales.

Clynfyw Care Farm offers therapeutic day services to vulnerable and marginalised people including those with learning disabilities, mental health issues, domestic abuse victims, veterans struggling with life after being in the forces and other excluded groups.

In addition, the company supports community regeneration with a focus on resilience in the face of the climate crisis.

As well as supporting 10 people living in Clynfyw Farm Cottages, the company also manages the Kinora mental health recovery centre in Cardigan and the Repair Cafe in Crymych.

In 2019, the company was named the Best Rural Diversification Project in Wales and Northern Ireland in the Rural Business Awards and followed up with a Queen’s Award for Enterprise (Sustainable Development) in 2020.