written by Sarah van Gelder<\/p>\n
As mist hovers over the rolling fields of Kentucky and the sun is still low in the sky, the women of Greenhouse 17 emerge from the house they share, clippers in hand. They spread out over a field and cut bouquets of fresh flowers.<\/p>\n
\u201cI came out here, and I was able to let my mind go.\u201d
\nThe small farm and business on a 40-acre site outside Lexington, Kentucky, provides the women with both shelter and employment, giving them a chance to gain skills, confidence, and a renewed sense of self-worth. Residents grow vegetables, herbs, and flowers and sell them to the public through a community-supported agriculture program. The vegetables also supply the shelter\u2019s kitchen. And in a commercial kitchen adjacent to the farm, the women dry the herbs, preserve vegetables, and make soaps and balms, which they sell online under the brand \u201cHandmade by Survivors.\u201d These early mornings are a favorite time for staff farm manager Jessica Ballard. She says harvesting and arranging fresh flowers is a healing balm for the domestic violence survivors who live here. Their shelter, one of Kentucky\u2019s beautiful old rambling country homes, changed its name from the Bluegrass Domestic Violence Program to Greenhouse 17 in 2013 to reflect the nonprofit\u2019s newfound focus on farming. It houses women from 17 counties in Kentucky, many of whom have fled isolation and violence, bringing their children and little else.<\/p>\n
Domestic violence is widespread nationwide, with one in three women abused by an intimate partner at some point in her life. \u201cFor many of them, their abuser had sabotaged their attempts to work,\u201d Ballard says. \u201cThey weren\u2019t allowed to be creative. They were told they were stupid.\u201d<\/p>\n
ot all the women take to farm work, Ballard admits. Some prefer to sit on the porch and smoke cigarettes. But residents receive a stipend for their work, and those who choose to work often get hooked. \u201cThey are experiencing nature, getting up every morning, and getting exercise,\u201d Ballard says. \u201cAnd they\u2019re working together and creating something beautiful.\u201d
\nThe flowers have turned out to be a favorite for customers, too. Buyers from Lexington and other nearby communities sign up for weekly CSA bouquets and purchase arrangements for weddings and other special occasions.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo work in the farm every day was a sense of accomplishment,\u201d says Donna, a Greenhouse 17 resident, in a video posted on the shelter\u2019s website. \u201cI came out here, and I was able to let my mind go. I didn\u2019t have to worry about the stresses that were on me. I was working \u2026 to feed the house and to help the other girls. I love helping people, and if I could help them more than myself, that was a good thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
The shift from shelter to farm has brought other changes also. The staff of Greenhouse 17 used to keep the shelter\u2019s location a secret because of concerns for the women\u2019s safety. But now, though there are security precautions, the public knows the farm\u2019s location and people from the community come out to volunteer. The women love giving visitors tours, Ballard says. They get to show off their knowledge, and guests learn to know the residents.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfter what I went through \u2026 the farm has helped me realize that I can do it. I can start something and I can finish it,\u201d Donna says. \u201cI can watch something grow from the beginning stage to the end stage and see the result it has on everyone else.\u201d<\/p>\n