Garden

The vegetable garden, occupying a half-acre site at the heart of the Camphill Community, provides organic vegetables for our daily meals. Like all other workshops within the community, the garden purpose is to provide meaningful, therapeutic work for residents with special needs and for voluntary workers alike.
The garden has, depending on seasonal requirements, a team of between 5 and 12 persons working at any given time. The team will typically comprise one head gardener and a minimum of one co-worker for every two residents with special needs.
The work can at time be quite 'heavy' and demanding (digging, raking, lifting, pushing wheelbarrows) but at times calls for patience and close attention (weeding, planting, pruning and harvesting). Thus the garden caters for people of all abilities and strengths. Potential co-workers should not be averse to working outdoors in wet and windy conditions; such is the weather in Ireland. For periods of particularly inclement weather, e.g. during winter months, work is confined to within the Poly-tunnels and glass houses.
It is not possible here to deal with all the types of work and their therapeutic value, but suffice it to say that work is shared as far as possible to ensure maximum benefit and enjoyment to all.