Where inclusion, art, and ecology meet
Lonely Worm Farm is a Hudson Valley care farm where adults with physical and intellectual disabilities can connect with nature and each other, learn about regenerative agriculture, obtain job training, and express themselves through the arts. We foster an inclusive environment where everyone can grow, learn, work and play–and share their skills and insights with the general public.
A Very Brief History
As families across the United States know, once children with intellectual and/or physical disabilities age out of school, the programs that have sustained them end. Parents call this transition to adulthood “the cliff.” Their children are thrown into a world in which 70-80% of adults with disabilities are unemployed; isolation, depression and poverty are common; and opportunities to make friends and develop talents and skills are few.
Believing that farms and small family businesses can help reverse this problem, Eliza and Jason Factor established Lonely Worm Farm in 2021. They envision a farm and arts operation that will offer a range of inclusive employment opportunities, as well as serve as a destination for folks looking for a wheel chair accessible orchard, a drop in weaving workshop, or simply the chance to pet a goat and connect with nature.
Community programming began in 2022 and has expanded ever since. The farm now offers a yearlong, five day-a-week farm and arts program in partnership with In Flight Center for Disability Services; vocational training in partnership with The Arc Greater Hudson Valley; and farm tours, classes and workshops open to the general public.
At the heart of Lonely Worm Farm is The Everyone Garden. When the land was purchased in 2020, it was a hayfield. It is now a 2.5 acre garden with baby trees that will evolve into a diversified food forest. Lonely Worm Farm’s Jess Cherry designed it in recognition of the land’s ancestral lineage under the care of the Munsee Lenape people. The Everyone Garden honors the myriad and interconnected forms of life that comprise it: bugs, mycelium, birds, plants, voles, rabbits, trees, people… everyone!
Everyone is welcome here. Wheelchair accessible paths guide you through the keystones of the garden, which include a willow/stump circle, community-built garden boxes, a living labyrinth, hills of perennials, no-till garden beds, a polyculture forest, a hand-dug pond, art installations, greenhouses, and more. Come smell the lavender, taste the berries, admire the bees and butterflies, and remember what it feels like to be part of nature.
WORKSHOPS,CLASSES, & EVENTS
Lonely Worm Farm’s workshops and classes are designed to be flexible and inclusive. Teaching is individually tailored to build skills, deepen conceptual understanding, and provide job training. Classes are led by instructors trained in that particular discipline. Individuals of ALL abilities are welcome. We work with school groups, senior centers, disability groups and the general public.
AGRICULTURE:
Our agricultural classes teach earth-friendly farm skills, wild food and herb identification, bouquet making, and the basic principles of ecology. Come for a nature walk, stay for a harvesting session!
ART
Our arts classes are aimed at self expression, community collaboration, experimentation, and awareness and respect for materials. One-on-one, group, or private lessons welcome!
THE KITCHEN
In our cooking and herbalism workshops, participants work with farm-fresh ingredients to make healthy and delicious dishes, while our herbalism classes explore their healing and medicinal properties. We make teas, tinctures, cordials, salves, lotions, and more!
Learn more & engage with Lonely Worm Farm
Eliza’s substack Wayward Utopias dwells on life at the farm, providing access to people who might not be able to visit. We love what they shared about the 2026 Care Farming Network National Conference!
Explore their website
