Visit to Camphill Village Kimberton Hills
On Sunday, April 13th, 2025, a contingency of the Endless Mountains Ecovillage set out on a field trip to Camphill Village Kimberton Hills, just outside of Phoenixville, PA. Along for the journey, Rob, Margaret, their friends Barbara and Avery, Karen, Jennie, Kelly and, yours truly, Samantha.
The main mansion at Camphill Village Kimberton Hills with herb gardens in the foreground.
The Camphill movement was founded in 1939 by Dr. Karl König, a pediatrician in Austria. Inspired by the the teachings of Anthroposophy, a philosophy pioneered by Rudolph Steiner, Dr. König fled the Nazi annexation of his home country, Austria, and set up the first Camphill Village in Aberdeen, Scotland. According to camphill.org, “Over the past eighty years, the international Camphill movement has grown to more than one hundred communities in twenty two countries, where people with and without intellectual and developmental disabilities live, work and care for each other based on social, spiritual, cultural and agricultural renewal.” The mission of the specific Camphill Village in Kimberton Hills is “to create and maintain a land-based community together with adults with special needs. Inspired by Anthroposophy, members of the community support one another to contribute to the wider society through biodynamic agriculture, social, craft, cultural, and educational endeavors.”
The population of Camphill Village Kimberton Hills is about 100 people, split into about 40 villagers, and 60 long term coworkers and short term coworkers. Villagers are the adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities, long and short term coworkers are adults without intellectual and developmental disablities. Groups of varying abilities live in group houses together, sharing meals. About 20 percent of Camphill Village Kimberton Hill's income comes from cottage industries at various onsite workshops. The residents help at the on site bakery, producing baked goods to sell at the cafe, as well as the local Kimberton Whole Foods market. The residents produce arts and crafts together for sale online and at various markets. The residents also steward a dairy farm that produces raw milk for sale, a vast farm that provides produce for a CSA (community supported agriculture), and a large herb garden in which residents create spice and tea blends. All residents learn and participate in the practice of Biodynamic Agriculture.
We were led on a wonderful tour by Anna, a long term co-worker who has lived and worked at the village for over three years.
The Endless Mountains Ecovillage dipping a toe into learning about Biodynamic Agriculture from Anna, longterm co-worker at Camphill Village Kimberton Hills
