Helping older people from the Powys farming community to stay safe, independent and connected

What is the project?

Mamwlad is a free home-visiting service to help the farming community in Powys to stay living at home safely and independently. 

The project is delivered by Care & Repair in Powys and Age Cymru Powys to help people aged over 50 in the farming community to stay living at home safely and independently and to tackle loneliness and isolation. The service supports farmers, farm workers and people who have retired from farming.  

The project's caseworkers are from a farming background themselves, helping them understand the challenges people may face and build trusting relationships. 

Care & Repair in Powys provides advice to residents about options to adapt, repair and maintain their home, whether owned or rented.  

Care & Repair in Powys also offers:  

• a free Healthy Home Assessment to help identify risks and improve energy efficiency 
• opportunities for home adaptations to be carried out, such as grab rails in the bathroom or additional stair rails 
• help with finding technical support, funding, or reliable contractors, and checking that residents are happy with any work carried out.   

Age Cymru Powys, meanwhile, can carry out a free, confidential benefits check and provide help with completing welfare benefit forms. It also offers:  

• befriending services, delivered by Age Cymru volunteers 
• mental health support to reduce stress  
• local support for practical help around the home  
• later-life goals planning and preparing for the future  
• advocacy and support for residents to get their wishes heard. 

Residents can also be referred to these services.

Why is the work being carried out?

A survey carried out at Llangurig Show found that people from the farming community felt there was a lack of accessibility to services in rural areas. 

Respondents said things like: 

• “Services need to be more visible in rural communities.” 
• “People don't know what's out there to help.” 
• “I can’t get on the internet.” 
• “Things cost money and many don't have any spare money to pay for bills.” 
• “Need to move before things get too hard.” 
• “I want to farm as long as I’m able.” 

Evidence such as this was then used to support an initial funding bid to create the service. 

The project aims to help socially and physically isolated older people in Powys to access support services that can improve their quality of life.  

People in the farming community often have a deep connection to their local area, so it can be especially important for them to stay in their homes as long as possible, sometimes across several generations.  

The project focuses on these residents, who are naturally independent and often reluctant to seek help.  

It set out to deliver services through face-to-face contact, mainly through home visits, wherever that home may be. 

Where and when is the work taking place?

This project is being carried out in Powys and is running from 2020 to 2027.

Who's involved?

The project is being delivered by Care & Repair in Powys and Age Cymru Powys and has received Welsh Government funding. 

What have they learned?

Since April 2020, the project has supported 1,604 older people from the farming community in Powys and identified 874 others who have benefited indirectly from the work. These may be family members in the same household who have benefited from home adaptations or increased household income, or other relatives and carers who now find it easier to help with the individual's daily needs.  

This highlights the wider impact the project can have, benefiting not only individuals but also their families and carers. 

Mamwlad has raised more than £1.8million in welfare benefits for the people it supports. It's carried out over 700 free Healthy Home Assessments and completed more than 600 home adaptations to help people stay safe at home. 

One important learning from the project has been the power of connections and meeting people where they are. At the beginning of the project, caseworkers spent time engaging with the farming community and building links with organisations that support farmers.  

This included things like attending local agricultural shows or talking with vets and feed stores. They've attended 41 agricultural shows and events and spoken to more than 900 attendees about the project. These in-person events have been key to the success of the project. 

The Covid-19 pandemic presented the project with its biggest challenge so far, forcing it to adapt to new restrictions around in-person contact before returning to face-to-face meetings in 2023.