Colorado Life-Sharing |
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Camphill Philosophy and History
The Plan In Colorado Providing Comprehensive Services Community Connections |
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New Beginnings The Bringing Camphill to Colorado effort will join over one hundred Camphill locations world-wide in a movement where people live and work together in ways that mutually support both people with developmental disabilities, and the co-workers who not only provide care but who see sharing this life as a way to help everyone realize their full potential. Camphill philosophy integrates a healthy lifestyle with inclusion in local jobs and activities. There should be more communities like Camphill Communities. How to ‘get’ them? We can only build them inch by inch, in our lives, in our hearts.
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A Rich TraditionThe Colorado community will be built on the strong foundation provided by the Camphill movement that began in 1939 when the Austrian pediatrician and educator Dr. Karl Konig and a group of like-minded physicians, artists and caregivers fled the Nazis and settled in Scotland on a property called Camphill Estate. Together they founded the first Camphill community for children with developmental disabilities. They began with the fundamental belief in the equality of all people. Dr. Konig's vision was that by living together in a lively community--where the focus was valuing the unique qualities of every person--Camphill would help improve human society and make life richer, more compassionate and more connective. |
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Dr. Konig and his colleagues were inspired by the philosophies that
had been developed previously by the Austrian educator Dr. Rudolf
Steiner (1861-1925), who postulated ideas about the spiritual nature
of human beings and the ways in which spiritual life connects in practical
ways with the physical world. Activities influenced by the philosophy
of Rudolf Steiner include the Waldorf education movement, Curative
Education, Organizational Development, Eurythmy, Therapeutic Painting,
Rhythmical Massage, Youth Guidance, Social Therapy, Biodynamic Agriculture,
and Anthroposophical Medicine and Architecture. Rudolf Steiner lectured
extensively in Europe and published forty books on a variety of subjects
as he developed his thinking about fostering "the life of the soul,
both in the individual and in society on the basis of a true knowledge
of the spiritual world." |
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At a time when inclusion and normalization are important ideas in
providing comprehensive services for people with developmental disabilities,
Camphill offers a life of celebration, service, meaningful work, and
personal development by providing a living environment that is rich
in friendship and neighborhood integration and connection in which
all participants can flourish. The Camphill movement is internationally
renowned, having brought enlightened understanding and the highest
quality care to generations of people around the world. |
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It is certainly true that the ‘Camphill approach’ differs significantly from conventional modes of providing residential and vocational supports to people with developmental disabilities. For one thing, those people in Camphill share their lives with people with disabilities because of a commitment to the well being of those they live with rather than as paid staff. Secondly, the communities are based on well-articulated ethical values that are continually discussed and examined to ensure that they are present in practice as well as theory. Thirdly, each community includes a strong emphasis on the arts, music, and celebrations—unlike the conventional approaches to ‘day activities.’ | ||
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