- social care & Gardening -
The concept of ELVES CIC is to address multiple social issues in Dumfries:
- Allowing people to live well at home for longer
- Reducing social isolation
- Alleviating stress and burden
- Bringing generations together
- Enhancing community cohesion
- Offering peace of mind
- Providing a safe & trusted service
- Supporting home-care workers
- Tackling stigma and discrimination
- Alleviating the cost of living crisis
- Providing an ethical & empathetic service
- Employability support into the horticulture industry
- Employability support into the social care environment
Gardeners are well positioned to become part of the social care landscape by offering a 'light-touch check-in' service to our clients and service users. By taking this approach we believe that social isolation and hospitalisation can be reduced.
Why the name Elves?
Jakob (Founder of the CIC) has Icelandic heritage and has worked in Iceland in the national parks as a ranger and spent time reading about the local folklore. Elves are a very important part of the culture in Iceland where the landscape is evocative and dramatic.
In Icelandic folklore, elves are the 'hidden people' who are generally understood to live in rocks and appear only to humans when they want to be seen. They are thought to be very beautiful and gentle people who are the same size as humans.
One story about 'Elves' genesis relates to the Christian bible whereby Adam and Eve had established a house and family. The children all had differing interests and tasks to carry out. Some of the children were particularly interested in the soil and plants and were usually muddy and dirty from playing outside much of the time.
(Please note ELVES CIC is not associated with any particular religion nor carries out any religious activity).
"One day God came to see Adam and Eve. They greeted him well and showed him all over the house. They showed him their children too, and God thought highly of them. He asked Adam and Eve if they had any more children beside the ones they had shown him but they said there were no others.
The truth of the matter was that Adam and Eve were ashamed of the children who they had not washed; the children who spent much of their time playing outside in the nature. They did not want God to see them so kept them hidden outside behind a rock.
God knew these children were outside and said "That which has been hidden from me shall be hidden from men". God punished them by making them invisible and explained that these children were in fact the most beautiful ones of all of them because they appreciated the nature of Earth and all the other gifts he gave such as flowers, mosses and trees.
From these hidden folk the elves have come, while mankind is descended of the children Adam and Eve showed to God. Men can never see the elves, unless they wish it, for they can both see men and let themselves be seen by them."