Independence and empowerment are often the goal for high-functioning adults with special needs and their families. But the journey to get there can be challenging. Watch Us Farm, a private charitable nonprofit in Zionsville, hopes to make the path a bit easier by using agriculture as a bridge.
“When a student with an intellectual disability leaves high school, they’re almost invisible unless they can find a job. Most stay with their parents,” says Janice Agarwal, pediatric physical therapist and executive director of Watch Us Farm.
Agarwal originally trained in Boston, England and New York. Throughout her international travels, she discovered campuses designed to help adults with disabilities learn vocational skills, connect with each other and their community, and have a place to stay. She wanted to replicate this in Indiana and set her sights on agriculture.
“We decided to start Watch Us Farm in 2018 and hired our first employees in 2019,” she says. “I always wanted to incorporate an element of agriculture both to provide jobs that could be done by high-functioning adults with special needs and to connect people in the community to locally grown produce.”
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Growing a Community
The organization has a 7,000-square-foot greenhouse where employees with intellectual disabilities grow hydroponic lettuce, microgreens and herbs, which are sold locally, used in local restaurants or donated to food pantries. Watch Us Farm also teaches skills such as weaving so employees can create blankets, rugs and more to sell.
“We strongly believe in creating a culture of hands-on learning,” says Agarwal, who runs the farm with her husband, David.
Coming from a medical perspective, Watch Us Farm recognizes that clean and nutritious food has health benefits not only for adults with disabilities but for everyone in the community.
“People with suppressed immune systems or kids with autism can eat our produce and know exactly how it was grown,” she says.
Recently, Watch Us Farm was gifted 25 acres of land and infrastructure and received a large workforce development grant to begin construction on a central hub building that will consolidate training programs on an expanded campus. The campus has plans for state-of-the-art vocational training facilities, an industrial kitchen, up to eight more greenhouses, grounds with orchards, walking paths, athletic fields and a community event center.
“Agritourism will be a huge part of our new campus,” Agarwal says. “We’ll be able to teach new skills, like food prep, cleaning and organizing, and bring the community to the farm to see what we’re doing.”
Watch Us Farm has an annual fall festival that’s free for children with disabilities, their families and especially their siblings. They’re also in talks with Purdue University to ensure the center is one of agricultural excellence, not only providing jobs but also knowledge and expertise to help them grow.
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Special Gifts
“We all want our kids to be successful, and I’m proud that Watch Us Farm has been able to give hope and satisfaction to families,” Agarwal says. “I have parents – who weren’t sure how to help their children – come and thank me. There’s a lot of pride in watching your child grow.”
And while the organization is focused on helping adults with special needs learn vocational skills, it also wants them to find their passions.
“We can see what our employees’ interests are and move them to the right environment,” she says. “We’re also talking to local businesses to see what types of skills they need and how we can train workers that meet that need. For example, a lot of manufacturing is repetitive skills, and those are great for our adults.”
Agarwal is excited for the growth and future of Watch Us Farm. She credits the community for their support.
“I’m the luckiest person in the world,” she says. “The people around us have embraced Watch Us Farm, and I can guarantee it’s going to work because we have a community that gets it.”
To learn more about Watch Us Farm, see the latest event updates or to donate, visit watchusfarm.com.
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