Work Life
Farm, Animals and Garden
Those who work on the land, farming and gardening, and also the bakers, have the satisfaction of seeing the fruits of their labour appear on the table every day. Matthew and Andrew faithfully care for our four-footed friends, our Highland cattle, pigs, sheep, llama and chickens. We have approximately an acre and a half of land in vegetables to feed our own community, and any over production is sold locally. We work with Bio-dynamic principles. It is our aim to develop our land to the point where it can also contribute financially to the community.
House
In keeping with our mission statement, we do much of the daily housework together, and our companions take turns helping with planning, shopping and preparing the meals. Other activities throughout the year are seasonal decorating and baking, hosting social events and festivals as well as interaction with other Camphill communities.
Crafts
At present we operate a weavery, candle and herb workshops four days a week. As well we make various seasonal crafts such as Christmas decorations or hand-painted Easter eggs. The weavery has 5 floor looms and 7 table looms, and produces high-quality material which is made into various items such as linen tea towels, wool, silk and rayon ponchos and shawls, pure wool horse blankets, chenille scarves, cotton table runners, bags, and household cloths. We also have five spinning wheels and produce yarn which is hand-dyed and sold.
A favourite summertime activity is the gathering of fresh herbs, which are then dried and put away for use in herb teas, remedies and cooking. The herb workshop now runs all year round and produces herb salt, vegetable bouillon, herb teas, oils and creams. We even make our own tea bags.
The candle workshop, using locally-produced beeswax, produces hand-dipped, 100% beeswax candles in a variety of sizes, from small ones (5") to 18" alter candles. We are becoming known at many of the local Christmas craft fairs, as well as our local farmers' market. We now host an Advent Open House where we offer our crafts for sale.
Cultural Life
Our life is enhanced by plays and festivals, by playing music, singing and folk dancing, handbell ringing and by welcoming co-workers from other countries. Friends from the wider community join us form many happy celebrations, and further enrich the fabric of our life together.
Adult Education
As a part of our aim to help each person reach his or her potential, we have designated one day a week as "College Day". In place of regular work, the day starts with eurythmy, speech and music, after which the main lesson content is presented, sometimes prepared by co-workers, sometimes by companions with support (and various trips to the library). Subjects which have been studied in the last year have included History, History of Art, Botany, Embryology, and Geography (in this lesson, each of the co-workers or companions chose an area they would like to do a presentation on). There are also tutorials during the week, in which the companions can work on reading, calligraphy or singing and music. Once a week we have a large recorder playing and percussion group, where we practice pieces for performance at our various seasonal festivals. “College Day” afternoons are given over to Drama, much enjoyed by all; we also sometimes prepare puppet shows using handmade silk marionettes.
Leisure Activities
In addition to our very full life, some our companions are enthusiastic participants in various local Special Olympic activities. Depending on the season, they play floor hockey, soccer, baseball, go bowling, swimming, and particularly enjoy being part of the Riding Program at Providence Farm in Duncan. All of these activities bring our companions into a wider social circle, and make them feel a part of the larger community.