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Aims
The aims and objectives of the Camphill movement are set out in "An Introduction to Camphill Communities", published by the Association of Camphill Communities in 1997. The guiding principles contained therein influence the practical life of every Camphill community.
In a Camphill community with adults it is essential that the decision to join is made freely and that the implications of this are recognized, since there are also responsibilities which come with being a member of such a community. It is important, in particular, that a healthy balance is found between the expression and fulfilment of one’s own needs and aspirations (the realm of individual freedom) and consideration of those of other members of the community (the realm of social equality and cooperation). The art of community living lies in discovering a point of balance between individual choice and responsibility to others; independence and interdependence; self-fulfillment and mutual support
The aims and objectives are realized:
• Through a community life, which, although denominationally free, recognizes Christianity as an essential element in the celebration of the Christian festivals, concern for the environment, and mutual care.
• Through developing shared living situations that recognize the needs of individuals. The ‘staff/client’ relationship is replaced by mutual relationships based on sharing daily life in all its manifold aspects, including work, the preparation and sharing of meals, caring for the surroundings, creating social events etc.
• Through operating financially on the basis that work and income are separated. This means that work is contributed according to one’s abilities and income received according to one’s needs. A sophisticated structure of participatory and collaborative budgeting, allocation and accounting ensures fair and effective allocation of and access to resources in all fields of the organization. The underlying principle of this approach is the ‘Fundamental Social Law’ stated by Rudolf Steiner:
‘In a community of human beings working together, the well-being of the community will be the greater, the less the individual claims for himself the proceeds of the work he has himself done, i.e. the more of these proceeds he makes available to his fellow workers; and the more his own resource requirements are satisfied not out of the proceeds of his own work, but out of the work done by others’.