Camphill community life is based on the ideals and the teaching of the philosopher Rudolf Steiner (1861-1925). Camphill is now a world-wide movement dedicated to building communities where everyone can find purpose and belonging.
The first Camphill community was founded in Aberdeen in 1939 by a group of refugees led by Dr Karl Konig, an Austrian paediatrician. Inspired by the ideas of Rudolf Steiner they found their purpose living and working with children with learning disabilities. At that time people with learning disabilities were excluded from education and many other dimensions of society. Camphill took the opposite approach and created communities where the individuality and potential of even profoundly challenged children was developed.
There are now more than 100 Camphill communities in over 20 countries in Europe, North America, Southern Africa and Asia. They provide opportunities for children, young people and adults with learning disabilities, mental health problems and other special needs to live, learn and work together with others in an atmosphere of mutual respect and equality.
In addition to caring for each other, those who make their lives at our Camphill centres care for the land and the environment around them, and where possible, by following organic and biodynamic principles in their gardens and on their farms
In Scotland there are over a dozen separate Camphill Communities, very diverse in their size and the focus of their work, but all inspired by the same convictions:
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- Belief in the spiritual uniqueness of every person. This encourages us to meet each other without prejudice or barriers.
- Belief that the most important help we can give or receive is through friendship and genuine interest which recognises our common humanity.
- Belief that it is possible to create a way of life in which, through sharing and working together, we do not experience the differences between people as a cause of division and anxiety.
The practical expression of these principles owes a great deal to the ideas and work of Rudolf Steiner who has had a widespread influence in education and many fields of therapy, art and social development.
We are affiliated with the following organisations:
Find out more: www.camphillscotland.org.uk
