Raised by the Village, RTÉ‘s heart-warming and engaging series is back, and is on the lookout for farming families to play host to a city teen for a week this summer.
The show, which had a hugely successful debut in 2019, gives city teens the opportunity to spend a week with farming families in the heart of rural Ireland, experiencing a way of life a million miles away from their own.
Two thirds of Irish children are raised in the city, where some families can find themselves living without the support of a strong community.
Along with the usual teenage pressures, growing up in the busy urban sprawl can make some city teens more stressed and difficult to live with, the producers have found.
The question posed in this series is whether time spent in a tight-knit rural community can make a difference.
Raised by the Village
In the previous series, one teenager said participation in the programme had made him want to be a farmer.
Of his week on a farm in Ballintubber, Co. Roscommon, he said: “Everyone was so nice, it made me start to be nice. It’s made me want to be a farmer.
“I hated it at first and I wanted to go home, but I’m glad I stayed.”
As well as giving the guest teen the chance to press the reset button by immersing themselves in village life, the host family get to proudly showcase their idyllic village and close-knit community.
The producers are keen to hear from farming families from all over rural Ireland, but in particular in counties Monaghan, Cavan and Cork.
Families should ideally have teenagers who muck in with daily farm chores and are happy to roll up their sleeves and show the visiting kids the ropes.
Full details are available from Ruth Roden, senior producer at WAKA TV.