A new dairy has opened at Newton Dee, offering residents the chance to help milk cows at their Bieldside Farm.
The Aberdeen charity, part of the Camphill community, offers meaningful work to adults with learning difficulties and special needs.
Arjen Brown, who was born and raised at Newton Dee, has been running the farm since 2020, and is now in charge of the new dairy too.
Remodelling the dairy has been a conversation for the last 15 years, he tells me, but it wasn’t until 2020 that work began.
“It’s great for it to have finally come together,” says Arjen.
“We’ve spent the last 15 years talking about it on and off and it’s great to have it finally there now and working.”
‘Working on the farm is my favourite’
There are a range of workshops which the residents can get involved with at Newton Dee.
There’s joinery, metal work, gardening, baking, farming, working in the cafe, and more.
But 34-year-old resident Lizzie Sinclair tells me that she loves working with the cows at the Newton Dee dairy the best.
“I think working on the farm is my favourite,” says Lizzie.
“And I like it because of the animals.
“I just love these cows.”
Lizzie spends Monday and Tuesday morning at the dairy, and hopes to work an extra day soon.
“Our milk is very tasty,” she says, “and so is the cheese!”
The new dairy provides milk for Newton Dee residents, their cafe, and other Camphill communities.
They get around 120-250 litres a day from their 25 milking cows.
The Newton Dee team use an “ethical milking” process where the calves remain with their mothers, and drink some of the milk themselves.
This means a little less milk for the team, but an “as nature intended” experience for the calves.
The team also send some milk to artisan cheese maker Claire Horsfall.
She makes a range of cheeses with the fresh milk from Newton Dee, including cheddar, blue cheese and halloumi.
In the future, the team hope to produce their own butter and even ice cream.
“The best thing about the farm is that we can pretty much have a meal with our produce from Newton Dee,” adds farmer Arjen.
They also have sheep and pigs on the farm, and vegetable gardens for fresh produce.
And the wheat they grow is made into bread and pasta offsite.
Newton Dee dairy provides ‘social identity’
Jake Vollrath is another member of the Newton Dee team.
“The old dairy needed a big upgrade,” he explains.
“We also wanted to make the milking parlour safe for the villagers.
“How we work at Newton Dee is we want to get the villagers, and adults with learning difficulties that work here, as involved as much as we can.
“So we really wanted them to be able to do the milking as well, so we needed to make something that was much safer.”
The new Newton Dee dairy allows for a sense of identity for residents, says Jake.
“We always emphasise that vocation is really important to social identity,” he tells me.
“And unfortunately for a lot of people who have learning difficulties, their social identity becomes what their disability is.
“I think social identity is very closely associated with your vocation and what you can do.
“So it’s really important that Lizzie can say she is a metal worker and a farmer.
“We help people find their vocations: if they work in the bakery, they’re a baker, and if they work in the farm, they’re a farmer.
“That’s a really important part of what we’re doing with the workshops.”
Conversation