A farm in Pembrokeshire has been helping delivering refurbished wheelchairs and mobility aids globally, through their 'Wheelie Good Idea' project.

Back in July 2014, Clynfyw Care Farm in Pembrokeshire sent their first shipping container full of refurbished wheelchairs and mobility aids to Durban, South Africa. Since then, they have sent over twenty to South Africa, Kenya and Greece.

They have also sent aid to Ukraine, Calais, Syria as well as supporting groups in London, Swansea and Pembrokeshire.

Clynfyw Care Farm, Abercych is the home and day service to adults with learning disabilities. They run many different projects primarily designed to engage, educate and have fun, but many also have wider social benefit. This project, the Wheelie Good Idea, is a great example of this.

Donations, which would otherwise end up in the tip, are repaired and rehoused with people who have no other way of getting them. In South Africa, the recipients are mostly AIDS orphans, while in Ukraine and Syria, they are people whose homes and lives have been turned upside down by war.

“We work hard to work with reputable local organisations in each country,” said Jim Bowen, Clynfyw’s manager.

“There is more transparency this way and the money goes much further. In Kenya we work with Love your Neighbour, in South Africa it is with Container Ministry, and we are working with Warehouses to Warzones to get aid into Ukraine. Our current container is due to head to the middle east with The Free Shop Lebanon who do amazing work there. Collaboration has always been our goal, and it seems to be working.”

While the items sent are donations from local people and organisations, the project is part funded by the apple juicing scheme that Clynfyw has been running for over a decade. Clynfyw has 250 apple trees, the fruit from which they juice and sell locally.

They have also run a community juicing scheme, which has grown massively year after year.

Their orchard took years to develop, including planting 93trees in 2014 to commemorate the number of people from Manordeifi who served in the First World War one hundred years before. It’s been a self-funded labour of love with many people involved in its creation.

“The juicing scheme has been a great success,” said Jim.

“So much so that we can no longer keep up with the demand. We were totally swamped during the last couple of autumn, and it stopped being fun. We still plan to sell juice from our own apples, and we are working with two new local groups, supporting them to set up their own juicing schemes. It is such a relief they are starting up. We juiced for over 200 families last year and really didn’t want to let them down.”

With Ty Afal based near Boncath, and Blaenhalen near Drefach Velindre, the hope is that each group will be able to support people from different areas, collaborating rather than completing to meet the growing need. The aim is to juice more apples and make more people happy.

“We are so excited to be setting up community apple pressing and none of it would have been possible without Clynfyw’s support,” said Holly Bull from Blaenhalen.

“We wholeheartedly agree with the idea of collaboration and making a stronger and more sustainable local food network.”

Gwil Davies from Ty Afal said: “We helped as part of the juicing team at Clynfyw last year, so we know what we are getting into. The extreme lack of rain this summer means apples are smaller than usual, but in terms of numbers, it looks like we are going to be busy. This is going to be an exciting project.”

You can get more information about the Wheelie Good Idea by emailing [email protected], and about the juicing services, by contacting Ty Afal on 07930453166 and Blaenhalen [email protected]