Camphill is a worldwide movement dedicated to community living that supports and values the contributions of all community participants without regard to their financial assets, or their intellectual or physical capabilities. Camphill communities have taken up many tasks. Among the most prominent in North American communities are:
  1. Providing education, advocacy, therapeutic care and other services to support people with special needs and help them participate fully in the world as contributing citizens;
  2. Caring for and healing the earth, together with people with special needs, through sustainable and healthy methods consumption, of agriculture and use of natural resources; and
  3. Creating new social arrangements and intentional relationships that nurture the growth and development of individuals and families, inwardly and outwardly.

A Pathway to Wholeness

Camphill communities are all different, adapting the worldwide movement mission to local circumstances and local needs. In every Camphill community, the path to wholeness involves relationships of mutual respect, education and (or) meaningful work, real participation in community life, including community decision-making, a healing rhythm of daily activities, seasonal celebrations, a rich artistic and cultural life, natural therapies, and acceptance, individual recognition, and dignity for everyone. This path - which is created for all Camphill community residents, not just for those with special needs -- is founded in the teachings of Camphill's founder, Dr Karl Koenig and the philosopher who inspired him, Rudolf Steiner. To learn more, please see the History of Camphill.

Camphill Workers

Camphill communities are "staffed" by people who choose the tasks and the lifestyle for a short time or for a life time. Called "co-workers" to acknowledge their role of working alongside people with disabilities or with other special needs, these staff are volunteers who make a commitment to the Camphill work. Although financial arrangements vary from country to country and community to community, Camphill co-workers are not jobholders in the traditional sense. They are people who have decided to live, however briefly, in a world where the dominant values are learning from others, practicing awareness, and appreciating and protecting the natural world. To learn more, please read about volunteering in Camphill.