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Activities
To deny a person the opportunity to engage in meaningful work is equal to starving her soul and spirit. The right to be needed, and thus the right to contribute, is a most important birthright.
Therefore, a meaningful, balanced work life for everyone, regardless of their ability, lies at the heart of the community endeavour. Our 160 acre mixed dairy farm, small forestry, extensive gardens and orchards, our weavery and wood workshop and, not least, households (cooking, cleaning, etc.), provide supported work opportunities for all members of the community. All members can engage in an – albeit supported - economic activity that contributes value for the benefit of others whilst developing personal will and skill. Both, however small and seemingly irrelevant, are true assets for the community. Thus the capacity of everyone is acknowledged and his/her contribution valued.
It is important to realize the value and importance placed on this work ethic for those who wish to join the Oaklands Park Community.‘If the nature of work is properly appreciated and applied, it will stand in the same relation to the higher faculties as food is to the physical body. It nourishes and enlivens the higher man and urges him to produce the best he is capable of. It directs his free will along the proper course and disciplines the animal in him into progressive channels. It furnishes an excellent background for man to display his scale of values and develop his personality.’ (J.C.Kamarupa)