Again, we might ask why women like Ella don't use existing social services. And yes, in some areas across rural Canada, Interval Homes provide refuge to women. But the lists are long and funds are decreasing. Often the remote, isolated woman has no way to get to the services. Public transportation is poor in many rural areas, when it exists.

So where is there hope for older farm women like Ella? In the criss-crossing of rural Saskatchewan, I discovered much about these amazing women. Their physical resilience, spiritual security and their ability to face reality are exemplary. Many women make room for change in their lives, frequently mediating in family conflicts, and providing child care for grandchildren, thereby enabling young mothers to work off the farm.

There is hope for the support networks that enable farm women to help each other. Informal groups do exist - quilters meet in seniors drop-in centers; older mothers gather in long-boarded-up rural schools. Church groups sometimes become safe places for sharing with sensitive leadership from clergy or lay-ministers. Widowed farm women retiring into small villages, which are largely populated by widows, offer encouragement to one another. Organization such as the National Farmers' Union and agriculture groups specifically for farm women have formed support groups which have even become groups which lobby for change.

A handbook, Sowing Circles of Hope, has been written to identify ways in which older farm women can benefit from their participation in support groups. Through the stories of women heard across Saskatchewan, with information on support groups and a resource list, the book offers hope and celebration. A video is being produced with the same name, using a documentary drama format to bring the issues clearly and understandably into view. Both the handbook and the video can be order from the Women's Inter-Church Council of Canada, 77 Charles Street West, Toronto, Ontario M5S 1K5 or by telephone (416) 922-6177. (Handbooks $3.25 including postage. Video will be available for $20.00 including postage and handling).

NOTES

1. Ella is a pseudonym. The location of the farm has been concealed to protect her identity; this is a true story.
   
   
2. This was a gathering held for a project of the Women's Inter-Church Council of Canada, Support Groups for Older Farm Women in Saskatchewan, funded by the Seniors Independence Program (SIP)

Ollie Miller is a gerontological social worker living in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. Her fifteen-month project, Support Groups for Older Farm Women in Saskatchewan, ends December 31, 1990.