What Makes Camphill Different

More and more people today are recognising the need to treat people with learning difficulties and disabilities as individuals. In the Camphill Movement, communities are formed in such a way that the members, whatever their abilities, can help to support the needs of their fellows, while they themselves are supported in turn.

The person with learning or social difficulties is accepted as an individual whose needs of body, soul and spirit are recognized by the whole community.

All live, work and learn together to form one community. This requires faith, love and hope. By making a commitment to a Camphill community, each person makes a sacrifice, giving something of himself to help another. Out of this attitude, the community grows stronger and all are helped.

One of the foundations of the Camphill Movement is a Fundamental Social Law expressed by Rudolf Steiner.

"The well-being of a community of people working together becomes greater, the less each individual demands for himself the products of his own achievements; that is, the more of those products he passes on to his fellow workers and the more his own needs are satisfied, not out of his own achievements, but out of the achievements of others."

Such communities can maintain themselves only if they uphold spiritual and social values as well as economic ones. Camphill communities are Christian communities, endeavoring to uphold Christian values. The celebration of the seasonal festivals, especially Christmas, Easter, Whitsun, St. John's and Michaelmas is important and provides a strong and natural rhythm to the year. The recognition of freedom in the spiritual-cultural life, equality in the social life, and brotherhood in the economic, working life forms the basis of life in each Camphill community.