Camphill Ghent's Place in the Camphill Movement
Of the more than 100 Camphill communities around the world, Camphill Ghent is the first Camphill community created specifically to support elders of all abilities. We were established by our sibling community, Camphill Village Copake, in 2012, to ensure a fulfilling life for elders of all abilities on their path, as well as continuity of the Camphill way of life.
Our community is a now wonderful mix of elders from all over, with people who are interested in spirituality and who are seeking deep connection with their peers and nature. Our independent living residents enjoy the arts, socializing, gardening, and exploring the local area. And our Adult Home residents live a uniquely healthful life, with many rewarding activities, and the companionship of Camphill Ghent's wonderful care stuff.
Our community is a now wonderful mix of elders from all over, with people who are interested in spirituality and who are seeking deep connection with their peers and nature. Our independent living residents enjoy the arts, socializing, gardening, and exploring the local area. And our Adult Home residents live a uniquely healthful life, with many rewarding activities, and the companionship of Camphill Ghent's wonderful care stuff.
About Camphill Communities
The Camphill Movement was begun by Dr. Karl König, an Austrian pediatrician and educator, who fled to Scotland to escape Nazi persecution. König was a student of anthroposophy, described as a “path of knowledge leading from the spiritual in the human being to the spiritual in the universe.” On this path, as articulated by Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner, one learns to meet every human being as an eternal spiritual being living in a particular configuration of body and soul. Inspired by anthroposophy, König and his colleagues in Scotland began the first Camphill community for children with developmental disabilities in 1939 in Aberdeen. (Rudolf Steiner founded the first Waldorf school, also based on anthroposophy, in 1919 in Stuttgart, Germany.)
When Carlo Pietzner, a colleague of Karl König, and others came to Sunny Valley Farm in Copake September 17, 1961, the Camphill Movement already consisted of twelve schools and villages in eight countries, including Scotland, Northern Ireland, England, Germany, South Africa, and the Netherlands. There were already two Camphill schools for children with special needs in Downingtown and Donegal Springs, Pennsylvania. (These two schools joined together in 1963 to form Camphill Special School Beaver Run.) Pietzner and others worked diligently to begin Camphill Village Copake, and to make meaningful connections in Columbia County, where there are now four different Camphill communities: Camphill Copake, Triform Camphill Community, Camphill Hudson, and Camphill Ghent.
After decades of living in Camphill Village since their 20s, many of Camphill Village's elders were ready to retire to a quieter setting and more suitable pace. We are delighted to not only carry on the extraordinary work of Camphill Village Copake, but to continuously evolve as a standout integrated community for elders with and without developmental disabilities.
When Carlo Pietzner, a colleague of Karl König, and others came to Sunny Valley Farm in Copake September 17, 1961, the Camphill Movement already consisted of twelve schools and villages in eight countries, including Scotland, Northern Ireland, England, Germany, South Africa, and the Netherlands. There were already two Camphill schools for children with special needs in Downingtown and Donegal Springs, Pennsylvania. (These two schools joined together in 1963 to form Camphill Special School Beaver Run.) Pietzner and others worked diligently to begin Camphill Village Copake, and to make meaningful connections in Columbia County, where there are now four different Camphill communities: Camphill Copake, Triform Camphill Community, Camphill Hudson, and Camphill Ghent.
After decades of living in Camphill Village since their 20s, many of Camphill Village's elders were ready to retire to a quieter setting and more suitable pace. We are delighted to not only carry on the extraordinary work of Camphill Village Copake, but to continuously evolve as a standout integrated community for elders with and without developmental disabilities.