Carmon

Television gardener Monty Don has spent much of his life taking from the soil, now he is using it to put something back. Surprisingly, his latest project sees him tackling one of the British countrysides most prevalent social problems, drug addiction.

Gardening may at first seem a bizarre way in which to help an addict quit, however Monty believes the earth has the power to heal: if we, as individuals and as a society, respect and care for the ground that we stand upon and everything that grows in it, then we shall all be happier as a result. On a smallholding near Leominster Monty is using the power of the earth to bring some happiness to the lives of drug addicts in the hope of helping them quit.

Drug addiction has historically been seen as an urban problem, however it is becoming an increasing blight in rural life. Here, the youth population feel disenchanted and out of touch with the community in which they live. Depression and disillusionment are the roads that lead to drug abuse and drug dealers are targeting areas where this is rife. People take dugs to make them feel better and to escape the real world. They do for a bit but then the effects wear off, you feel worse than before, so you take more. In order to help an addict become clean you must break the cycle. Monty believes the principles involved in ploughing the fields, planting the seeds and feeding the animals can help to do this.

In his book Growing Out of Trouble Monty says: the garden never lies, if theres a problem you have to deal with it yourself, it cant be ignored. This means you have to be honest to the people around you and to yourself. It teaches you responsibility, and gives you a sense of achievement, youre part of a team and no longer feel isolated. All of these factors go a long way to helping someone break an addiction. By learning to respect the land, the plants and the animals around them they can learn to respect themselves and each other.

In the past year, 27 people have worked at the smallholding. They were all on a Drug Treatment and Testing Order and they all realy wanted to quit. Three are now totally off the drugs and have found fulltime employment, two more have part time work. One has sadly died and three are back to prison. When compared to other drug treatment programmes this is astonishingly successful.

By eating the food they produced the addicts are becoming physically and mentally healthier. Some of them had never cooked a meal before in their mf.. lives. In September they gathered together the produce they hadnt used themselves and setup a stall at the famous food and drink festival in Ludlow, they made around 1500.

In part of the book Monty lists the success stories so far. Chris Davies has totally quit, both heroin and methadone, he has job and a fiance. Chubby is working part time and is having driving lessons. Paul Mellor and Adam Harrison are in work and have stopped taking heroin. Andres Pope has been out of prison for longer than he has been since he was 14. Kate has cut her methadone use by more than 50%.

The success of this project in its first year has resulted in the creation of a new charity, The Monty Project. It aims to use the site as a blueprint that others can follow. In the longer term it aims to educate and train addicts so that they can find employment.

At first the project wasnt well received in the area but it is local people who will benefit. By helping addicts quit crime will fall. As Monty says in his book: we are not brining in dangerous criminals but providing an opportunity for people who would anyway be legitimately out and about in the community.

A spokesperson for the charity said the project is now going from strength to strength: Most of the group are still carrying out there court orders which won't finish until one years time, and there are more new people attending the site each week. The response has been positive locally and nationally, recently Monty met with the prisons minister who was very supportive of the project.

A documentary is scheduled for BBC2 on the 7th December, which will show the work that has taken place on the site over the past few years. More information about the charity is available on their website, themontyproject.com. It may only be making a small difference but its a step in the right direction that others can follow.