CADI MOIXERO SCCL

Animal-Assisted Support in Bagà

CADI MOIXERO SCCL is a therapeutic resource center in Bagà, Barcelona province, that works with animals—especially horses—to support adolescents and young adults facing social adjustment challenges. Its work aims to help participants address conflicts and rebuild their ability to form positive relationships with people and their surroundings.

Animal-Assisted Therapy

The center offers animal-assisted therapy (AAT), in which professionals work with animals as a tool to address cognitive challenges, build knowledge, and encourage social interaction. An indoor arena allows activities to continue throughout the year, in both summer and winter.

Facilities and Animals

The nature classroom has:

• 7 horses
• 2 ponies
• 1 donkey
• 31 goats
• 3 Vietnamese pot-bellied pigs
• Sheep, rabbits, guinea pigs, and various kinds of birds

Participants help feed, clean, and care for the animals, building close bonds based on trust.

Participants and Community

Most young participants come from I.E.S. Alt Berguedà in Bagà and live in Bagà, Guardiola de Berguedà, Saldes, Gósol, or nearby towns. The profile says many have experienced serious behavioral challenges in previous residential settings or were referred by primary social services. The center seeks employment plans for participants over age 16 so they can be paid for cleaning and caring for the animals.

Professional Team

The interdisciplinary team includes:

• Bet and Gerard Bau, the cooperative's horse-handling and agricultural training technicians
• Trinitat Barceló, director of the AAT program, a social educator, and an equine-therapy technician trained at the University of Vic
• Miquel Gallardo, a special education teacher and volunteer

Miquel Gallardo and Trinitat Barceló have taken part in conferences, seminars, and forums in the United States, France, Denmark, Monaco, Belgium, Switzerland, New Zealand, Sweden, the Netherlands, Israel, Catalonia, and Spain, as well as events in Tokyo, Buenos Aires, New York, and Montserrat in 2008.

International Exchanges

The profile describes annual exchanges with European educational farms, the International Federation for the Treatment of People with Disabilities Through Horses (F.R.D.I.), and the European Association of Social Workers in the Justice System. It traces these experiences to 1985, when Trinitat Barceló visited programs in Berlin, the Netherlands, and Bologna that used horses in therapeutic work with children with physical and intellectual disabilities.

Location and Contact

Address: Ctra. de Gisclareny, Km 1, 08695 Bagà, Barcelona. Phone: 93 824 47 71 (phone and fax), 637 55 59 32 and 644 29 88 35 (Beth), 639 58 51 39 and 644 51 45 81 (Gerard), 644 51 45 74 (Trini), and 607 81 90 13 (Miquel).

Email: elisabethbau@gmail.com, dordalbau_klein@hotmail.com, trinibarcelo@gmail.com, and miquelgallardo@sacxiroi.cat.