A Time for Growth: Camphill Kimberton from 1980-1989

The 1980s were a time of growth and expansion in Camphill Kimberton while the pursuit of balance continued.  “The interplay between farming, social life and cultural activities forms the very fabric of our existence… [Village life] is varied and colorful, like the change of seasons,” said Andrew Hoy, one of Camphill Kimberton’s founding members.

At the start of the decade, Camphill Kimberton continued to sell its bread, cheese and milk to Camphill Special School (then called Beaver Run) and to a co-op in Washington, D.C.  To meet the demands of local residents who wanted to enjoy the village’s food, a weekly Market Day was established. The Bakery at Kimberton Hills received a license from the State of Pennsylvania, enabling our bread to be sold.

A newsletter from 1980 announces, “We at Kimberton Hills, like everyone else, have woken up to the need to conserve energy.”  In every home, insulation and storm windows were added, as well as some woodburning stoves. Appliances were upgraded to more efficient models, bicycle paths were constructed and plans to add solar heating were made.

In 1982, the first year of Village Training in Social Therapy was established. “In the course of time it will have an impact upon every aspect of our life,” said Andrew, “for, with training, we accept the willingness to change ourselves and not merely to teach others.” The Agricultural Training Course continued and the publication of the Agricultural Calendar grew and drew people to the village.  Edited by Sherry Wildfeuer, the calendar, eventually named Stella Natura, has become an important reference for the field.

The official opening of the Bakery and Coffee Shop was held during an Open House on July 11, 1982. A small village store was also built next to the Bakery, Coffee Shop and processing room.  There were significant additions made to the interior of Rose Hall, with new lamps, stage curtains and an altar picture by Carlo Pietzner.

Andrew described the changes happening in the Village:
“Both Bakery and Coffee Shop play an important role in our life, socially as well as economically, and both hold a potential for growth. Through its proximity to Rose Hall this building has helped to strengthen the village center. ... [The Rose Hall additions] have given considerable support to our cultural life which is a continuing balance to our work on the land.  Each concert, eurythmy performance and play becomes a little festival. The real achievements of this year have been a stronger emphasis upon the social aspects of our life, the completion of a number of projects and the preparedness to begin a new phase of development.”

1983 brought the possibility to separate the Copake and Kimberton Villages of Camphill Village USA, Inc. into two corporations. Both villages began to write new by-laws and set up ways of integrating the wisdom and advice of Board and Local Management Committee members into social forms appropriate to each place.  By 1984, Camphill Village Kimberton Hills stepped out as its own corporation. 

That year, the Village also completed the purchase of the neighboring 78-acre farm.  Andrew described the event:  

"On the first Sunday after the purchase our entire community issued out of the drive onto Pughtown Road to ‘beat the bounds’ of our new land. Naturally there were the ‘old hands’ – the farmers – to point out the good and not-so-good fields. We all looked over the fences at our new neighbors and hoped, at the same time, that they were not frightened by our presence. Since then, we, and the land, have gone to sleep and so I doubt if they were disturbed.”

Poet, painter and potter MC Richards came to live in Camphill Kimberton in 1984, as an artist-in-residence.  Since MC’s arrival, work with clay has become an established part of life in Camphill Kimberton, as it has been in Camphill Villages since their inception.  

Construction on Martin’s House began in 1986, with intention of it being home to 13-14 people.  Kepler House was adapted and remodeled in 1987 and 1988, to serve the changing needs of the community while preserving as much of its own integrity as possible.  Joan Allen, of Camphill Architects, was invited to work on this and other projects.  Joan’s impact is felt in many areas of the village, most recently Serena House, The CHC, Erika Asten’s residence, and the Camphill Café renovations in 2008. 

The growth and impact of this decade spread beyond our Village in Kimberton. Coworkers Carrie and George Riley began what would eventually lead Carrie to open the House of Peace in Ipswich, MA, when they welcomed Vietnamese refugee children Nam and Coung into their home in Camphill Kimberton. Hue and Zia were soon to follow. They joined a lively group of other children of the village, spending many happy hours playing kick the can, chasing fireflies, helping out in the gardens and kitchens, and swimming.  Joyce Reilly lived in Kimberton Hills for a year to learn about Camphill life and to be able to initiate the Spirit of Gheel, nearby, a non-profit, residential psychiatric therapeutic community, which 26 years later, is still a resource for people with mental illness. 

With deinstitutionalization of people with disabilities, state governments were faced with some dilemmas.  Adults with disabilities needed both financial support and varying degrees of help in managing their lives. They were variously vulnerable to exploitation and neglect. Many good-willed neighbors opened their homes to one or more people with mental disabilities, in work and in daily living. Should these people be compensated or regulated by the State as “providers of care?” These questions gave rise to huge national and international discussions. The Camphill Kimberton lifestyle was clearly both helpful and challenging in the debate, entering wholeheartedly into the explorations. 

The Board of Directors refused to be licensed as “providers of care,” realizing the concept to be contradictory to Village intentions. Many visits from Harrisburg ensued.  Rose Hall hosted conferences including government officials and nation-wide leaders in the disabilities movement. The PA Developmental Disabilities Planning Council proposed a study on Real Safeguards for Vulnerable People in the Community. Camphill Kimberton applied and received a four-year grant to study these matters, in conjunction with John O’Brien, a wise leader in the field.  The questions raised during these exciting years continue to inspire the interactions of Camphill places worldwide.

This was a decade of growth, and of change. As we look back we may wonder how the Village strived for balance during so many changes.  In 1986 Michael Babitch said, “We follow our hearts and our heart-wise ideals. That’s how it works. And how well we follow is how well it works.”

See the entire Spring 2013 newsletter and 2012 Annual Report, where this article is taken from, by clicking here.