Creation of an animal-assisted therapy workshop for handicapped young people in Tunisia 

Animal-assisted therapy is an effective therapeutic means for reducing anxiety in handicapped people. Moreover, studies have shown that contact with animals, the care they are given and activities that are connected to them help improve the physical and mental health of the handicapped.

The Ferme Thérapeutique pour Handicapés, located in Sidi Thabet, near Tunis, has been offering this therapy since 2008 to the benefit of about 60 handicapped young people from modest backgrounds. This institution provides these young people with an environmental that is favorable to the development of learning and going beyond their handicaps and contributes to their social insertion by means of professional training.

The therapy, which uses different farm animals – rodents, birds, fish, horses, donkeys and goats – follows a specific program of activities for young people: games, care, feeding, introduction to respect for biodiversity, breeding, agricultural production…

This program, adapted to each young person’s handicap and individual project, favors learning new manual skills and having these young people’s move toward autonomy.

In 2010, thanks to the support of the Air Liquide Foundation and other partners, the Ferme Thérapeutique pour Handicapés is remodeling and equipping dedicated spaces so that animal-assisted therapy can be practiced following the activity’s established standards.