Pairs of adults with disabilities and their personal coaches separate wood chips and dirt at Shemesh Farms on March 26. Composting is one of several tasks that were included during the morning’s programming. Photos by Henry Adams
Informed by Jewish values of compassion, sustainability, inclusivity and a moral obligation to help those in need, Shemesh Farms strives to make a positive impact in the Malibu community.
The Malibu-based volunteer initiative provides community and vocational skills to adults with disabilities, according to their website. Three times a week, dozens of volunteers with disabilities — known as farm fellows — spend two hours putting together products such as herb blends and jars of honey to be sold online and at local farmers markets.
“There’s a lot of isolation in the disability community, and so they get to come and feel like they belong, feel like they’re part of something bigger, feel like how they are — who they are — is absolutely OK,” said Nicky Pitman, director of Shemesh Farms.
The Farms started in 2013 after Rabbi Bill Kaplan, CEO of the Farms’ parent organization Shalom Institute, visited agrarian communities in Israel largely run by people with mental disabilities, Pitman said. With some seed money from Jewish Federation Los Angeles, the Institute started the Farms at their campus in the western Santa Monica Mountains.
After the 2018 Woolsey Fire burned down that campus, Shemesh Farms moved its operations to the Malibu Jewish Center & Synagogue before again moving in 2023 to Malibu United Methodist Church, its current location, Pitman said. They opened a second campus in January at the Skirball Cultural Center south of Encino, which hosts programming once per week.
“We’re so happy to be at the church, which has allowed us to do some really great interfaith work,” Pitman said.
A mural painted through disability nonprofit Muralism stands in front of Shemesh Farms’ facilities March 26. Farm fellows from Shemesh Farms are depicted on the mural.
Shemesh Farms hosts a garden with 22 hydroponic towers, about a dozen raised beds and a designated composting space, which are primarily maintained by Farm Manager Joe Aaron. Farm fellows typically come in groups from partner organizations such as Creative Steps and Light of Hope, Pitman said. Community Engagement and Service at Pepperdine has also worked with Shemesh Farms, including on its annual Step Forward Day of volunteering.
Alongside personal coaches, farm fellows work on different tasks around the garden, including watering crops, trimming herbs and bottling herb blends. Fellows are also provided with coloring materials and books to read in the Garden of Readin’, in case they would prefer not to work, Pitman said. Whatever they decide to do during a given day’s programming, fellows get to spend time in community with one another.
“Everyone’s nice and friendly,” farm fellow Alex Mittelman said.
The Farms are committed to inclusiveness and sustainability through the setup of the garden itself. The hydroponic towers — where plants grow without soil — exemplify both of these commitments by saving water and being easier for people with mobility disabilities to cultivate due to their vertical setup, according to the Farms’ website.
Farm fellow Sally Tallman, one of three fellows who are employed at Shemesh Farms, started volunteering just over two years ago. She said she enjoyed how peaceful and relaxing working at the Farms has been. She’s in charge of taking inventory, working farm stand events and anything else that’s needed on a given day.
“It’s way out of my comfort zone and it’s something that I never did,” Tallman said.
After volunteers cleaned up their respective work stations, everyone present at the Farms’ March 26 program — including roughly 50 fellows — gathered to celebrate everyone with a March birthday. The group sang “Happy Birthday” and ate cookies freshly baked by a farm fellow to close out the morning.
Upcoming events include programming for LA Climate Week on April 14 and an annual open house fundraising event on April 26, according to Shemesh Farms’ website. The latter event will include live music, outside vendors, food and several workshops including yoga and pickle making.
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