Time and again I am being asked about what Camphill is - so I thought today that I would give a little bit of a history. The first Camphill was started in the 1940s by a group of war refugees who had been inspired by the philosophy of Rudolf Steiner. The group , who's leader was Karl Koenig , moved after some searching into an estate called Camphill near Aberdeen in Scotland and were soon joined by a group of children with special needs. As these children grew older and new children came the movement grew into England, Northern Ireland and later into the world.
40 years ago , in 1972 . the first Camphill in Ireland opened its doors. It is the the biggest of the 17 places that are now in Ireland and it is near Gorey in Wexford.
In Camphill we live and work together with the aim that all of us are equal. All of us , co-workers or companions , share in the daily responsibilities according to our abilities.
In Camphill Dingle live always about 20 people. Co-workers come for longer or shorter terms and share accordingly in the running of the place. At the moment we have 4 long-term co-workers who share in the responsibility for the long-term vision of the Community. Everyone of these would be responsible for different areas of the Community - but not one of us can make big decisions by ourselves. There are a few employees who are very much needed to give the continuity for the companions and for administrative purposes.
The short term co-workers come on average for a year and help in the daily and social life. There are also a number of volunteers who came on a daily basis or for specific tasks - and also some FAS workers and people from Mit freundlichen Grüßen. All in all there are a lot of people passing through - but then this is a big place and there is a lot to do. By putting so much effort into our place we all gain a sense of pride for our place and gain a purpose in our work. At the same time we try not only to care for each other but also for the environment.
Tuesday, 19 June 2012
Monday, 21 May 2012
May 2012 News
Another two weeks have past and we are now really starting to get busy for preparing for our Open Day which we will be having on the 3rd of June. There are lots of things to do - and of course we would like the place to look at its best for the day that is why we would like to invite everyone who loves weeding to come and join us on Saturday the 26th of May to help in the garden. We will be providing something to eat on the day. Also we would like to ask if anyone would like to do some baking for the Cake sale on the 3rd of June and contribute to the Bric-a - Brac Sale. Everything will be greatly appreciated. Also if you remember that dress/suit/ or any other item that is hanging in your cupboard waiting to be worn - why not give Neasa a call on 0876280108 as she is trying to organise a clothes sale for the day.
Furthermore I would like to take the opportunity to say thank you to the Cycling Club who donated €3000 to us after their recent Cycle challenge. Thanks a lot. I would also like to thank Joe Connolly and Julie Malone and Paul from Bee Supplies for donating a beehive and all the equipment to start keeping bees. It is all there now - just waiting for the bees - who will have a lovely place in our wonderful forest.
And as I am at the thank yous I would like to give a big thank you to all the people who have helped in the last weeks and years - and who are faithfully coming to support us. There is Paul Kirk who comes and does Reading and Writing with some of the people and there are all the FAS Workers who have very much contributed to what the place is looking like at the moment.
See you all on the 3rd of June for a wonderful - and hopefully sunny - day.
Furthermore I would like to take the opportunity to say thank you to the Cycling Club who donated €3000 to us after their recent Cycle challenge. Thanks a lot. I would also like to thank Joe Connolly and Julie Malone and Paul from Bee Supplies for donating a beehive and all the equipment to start keeping bees. It is all there now - just waiting for the bees - who will have a lovely place in our wonderful forest.
And as I am at the thank yous I would like to give a big thank you to all the people who have helped in the last weeks and years - and who are faithfully coming to support us. There is Paul Kirk who comes and does Reading and Writing with some of the people and there are all the FAS Workers who have very much contributed to what the place is looking like at the moment.
See you all on the 3rd of June for a wonderful - and hopefully sunny - day.
Saturday, 5 May 2012
May 2012 News
It has been a busy few weeks getting our place ready for Open Day - which we had on last sunday. It was a great success. Many people came and stayed around for a long time as it turned out to be a dry and sunny afternoon. - which we had hardly dared to hope for. A lot of cakes and bric-a-brac arrived -and all in all we were also able to raise close to €5000. Thank you to everyone who helped us with the Open Day - both on the day and before.
The week before we were presented with a cheque of €350 from the children in the school in Ventry. Before Easter they held a raffle and decided that they would like to donate the money to us. Thank you very much to you all.
On Sunday morning a new calf was born - this time a little Kerry calf - and over the weekend we were joined by two new co-workers - Fiona from Germany and England - and Lea from Switzerland. Sadly we also had to say goodbye to Christine who left us after having been with us for a year to go back to Germany.
Now we are all looking forward to a very warm summer!!!!
The week before we were presented with a cheque of €350 from the children in the school in Ventry. Before Easter they held a raffle and decided that they would like to donate the money to us. Thank you very much to you all.
On Sunday morning a new calf was born - this time a little Kerry calf - and over the weekend we were joined by two new co-workers - Fiona from Germany and England - and Lea from Switzerland. Sadly we also had to say goodbye to Christine who left us after having been with us for a year to go back to Germany.
Now we are all looking forward to a very warm summer!!!!
Tuesday, 24 April 2012
April 2012 News
Like everyone else we all have been struggling with the change of weather and there has been a lot of illness and struggles which has at times left us a bit thin on the ground - but life goes on and we are happy to say that another healthy calf was born - much to Tomas's delight. It is a little Jersey calf.
Sadly we are going to loose Kathleen who was working with us through FAS and I would like to take the opportunity here to thank her for all the help and support she gave us over the last few months.
Lately we have been asked a lot about how our planning application is going - and I thought to give a brief update on that. After having to give up on our initial house which we had planned due to funding issues we designed a new house and a workshop for which the application went in just a few weeks before Christmas last year.We now have got the plans back a second time asking for more information ( on colour schemes and building materials ) - and a detailed landscape plan which will unfortunately set us back both time wise and financially.We can of course only keep our fingers crossed that these will be the only requirements....!!!!
Lastly I would just like to say that we will be having our Open Day this year on the 3rd of June - so keep looking out for more news on that.
Sadly we are going to loose Kathleen who was working with us through FAS and I would like to take the opportunity here to thank her for all the help and support she gave us over the last few months.
Lately we have been asked a lot about how our planning application is going - and I thought to give a brief update on that. After having to give up on our initial house which we had planned due to funding issues we designed a new house and a workshop for which the application went in just a few weeks before Christmas last year.We now have got the plans back a second time asking for more information ( on colour schemes and building materials ) - and a detailed landscape plan which will unfortunately set us back both time wise and financially.We can of course only keep our fingers crossed that these will be the only requirements....!!!!
Lastly I would just like to say that we will be having our Open Day this year on the 3rd of June - so keep looking out for more news on that.
Tuesday, 10 April 2012
April 2012 News
Easter has been - and everyone is having a little bit of a quieter time after our Easter celebrations. Quite a few people went on holiday- and a lot of visitors have come and gone.
The second Dexter calf was born and all the lambs that we had been expecting are happily running around the field.
We would like to thank the Transition year students in the Poabail Scoil for donating the money they raised with their recent Fashion show to us. It was very much appreciated. All the money that has been donated and that was fundraised for goes to our building fund as we are still very much hoping to build our first house and a workshop building in the very near future - and due to the current financial situation their is no funding available.
If anyone would still like to run or walk the Women's Mini Marathon in Dublin in June in order to fundraise for us please contact me on 0861522483 - as there are still a few days left in order to sign up. A group of us went last year - and it was a great day.
The second Dexter calf was born and all the lambs that we had been expecting are happily running around the field.
We would like to thank the Transition year students in the Poabail Scoil for donating the money they raised with their recent Fashion show to us. It was very much appreciated. All the money that has been donated and that was fundraised for goes to our building fund as we are still very much hoping to build our first house and a workshop building in the very near future - and due to the current financial situation their is no funding available.
If anyone would still like to run or walk the Women's Mini Marathon in Dublin in June in order to fundraise for us please contact me on 0861522483 - as there are still a few days left in order to sign up. A group of us went last year - and it was a great day.
Monday, 26 March 2012
March 2012 News
The summer has arrived - at least it seems like it. The last few days have been magnificent - and like everyone else most likely we have been all trying to spend as much time outside as possible. We had a picnic on our cliffs - and instead of having the Zumba afternoon in the farm there was a lot of dancing outside the weavery. There are quite a few red faces and arms - and Thomas Ryan and Hangul have been brave enough to jump into the sea ( with wetsuits though ).Tomas is is going up to the cliffs every day to check up on the cows which are all happy to be outside again - and we are only waiting for one more sheep to lamb.Sadly Marion left us last week but we will not have to go to far to see her as she is living and working in town.
The weavers have been incredibly productive with making rugs and scarves in lots of different colours for the market season and the gardeners are busy with tending to all the seedlings that have been planted - and have done a lot of planting outside. The garden looks amazing.So far the battle with the weeds has not yet started - but later on in the early summer we will welcome some extra help of some enthusiastic weeders.
Easter is around the corner - and once again we are busy preparing for a festival - which is very important in our Camphill life. People have been blowing out eggs to paint and decorate the houses with - and we are doing a lot of singing.We wish you all a lovely Easter day - and great weather.
The weavers have been incredibly productive with making rugs and scarves in lots of different colours for the market season and the gardeners are busy with tending to all the seedlings that have been planted - and have done a lot of planting outside. The garden looks amazing.So far the battle with the weeds has not yet started - but later on in the early summer we will welcome some extra help of some enthusiastic weeders.
Easter is around the corner - and once again we are busy preparing for a festival - which is very important in our Camphill life. People have been blowing out eggs to paint and decorate the houses with - and we are doing a lot of singing.We wish you all a lovely Easter day - and great weather.
Monday, 12 March 2012
March 2012 News
Lots has happened in the last few weeks. We have nine new lambs and they are all happily jumping around on the field . Everyone really enjoys watching them as they are all on the field that we need to pass to get to work. One of the Dexter cows that we got in the autumn had a calf - which is tiny compared to the calfs one usually sees as the Dexter Cows are quite small.
A lot of excitement was had last week when the Container that has been on our land since before we started seven years was removed. It was a little bit like the end of an era. We were remembering back to when we first opened it - packed with old bedsprings and lots of other things.It took us days to empty it - and it was soon filled with lots of other things as it has been the only storage space we had for a long time. Some of the benches we found are still being used to this day - although they got the occasional lick of paint.The bedsprings we had found also had been used for many things - as fences, wire for the beans and peas to grow up on and one is still being used as the door to the chicken run.But now there is a nice space which is being straight away filled with various sheds- so that all looks a little bit neat and tidy. Otherwise people are busy with getting ready for St. Patricks day. A group is busy with rehearsing drumming - while others are going to join the Bee-keepers at the Parade on Saturday - and the rest of the Community will be found watching the parade this year.
A lot of excitement was had last week when the Container that has been on our land since before we started seven years was removed. It was a little bit like the end of an era. We were remembering back to when we first opened it - packed with old bedsprings and lots of other things.It took us days to empty it - and it was soon filled with lots of other things as it has been the only storage space we had for a long time. Some of the benches we found are still being used to this day - although they got the occasional lick of paint.The bedsprings we had found also had been used for many things - as fences, wire for the beans and peas to grow up on and one is still being used as the door to the chicken run.But now there is a nice space which is being straight away filled with various sheds- so that all looks a little bit neat and tidy. Otherwise people are busy with getting ready for St. Patricks day. A group is busy with rehearsing drumming - while others are going to join the Bee-keepers at the Parade on Saturday - and the rest of the Community will be found watching the parade this year.
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