The Camphill Village Trust Ltd.

descrição da organização

Camphill Village Trust - CVT is a British national charity and non-profit organisation with over 65 years of experience, knowledge and passion to supporting people with learning disabilities, autism, mental health problems and other complex special needs.

The Camphill movement founded in Scotland in 1939 by an Austrian Doctor Karl König with a group of young helpers. They were all refugees, mainly German Jewish, who had escaped Austria following the 1938 Anschluss. Born in 1902, König had significant experience in working with children with a learning disability within a residential setting.

Camphill communities began with children who had a learning disability. König claimed that these children were social refugees whilst he and his co-workers were political ones. These children had been cast out of society in a similar way that he had been cast out of his homeland. König and the other founding Camphill members aimed to live and work with children with a learning disability carrying out what König termed ‘Curative Education’ with them. It takes its primary inspiration from the ideas of the 19th century Austrian polymath Rudolf Steiner. Steiner’s worldview is called Anthroposophy. It is a human oriented spiritual worldview the premise of which is that each person carries a destiny worthy of fulfilment in body soul and spirit. This idea persists as a major influence today and remains a relevant inspiration to the current social care drive to ensure that all people with disabilities are supported in an individual person centred way.

The Camphill Village Trust Limited (a company limited by guarantee and not having a share capital) was formed in October 1954. In 1955 after parental requests, the first adult provision was established by the Camphill movement.
Botton village, the first Camphill Village Trust and Camphill provision for adults was situated in the North Yorkshire countryside. Now sixty years on it is home for almost one hundred learning disabled adults. Farms, a range of workshops including a printing press and extensive gardens complement the lifestyle. Following on from the development at Botton, further villages and other communities were established.
CVT remains committed to the benefits that a sense of community brings to everyone, whilst constantly responding to people’s changing lifestyles and support needs, along with wider regulatory UK requirements. CVT recognises the importance of combining neighbourly cohesion with individual wellbeing. To be human is to be a social being. Both the person being supported and the person giving the support are interdependent and each has the potential to benefit and grow from the relationships that naturally develop.

In the United Kingdom there are nine Camphill Village Trust communities, providing a home for almost 400 adults with a learning disability.These different centres are residential life-sharing centers’ for the people CVT provides daily living services and support to work and learn. CVT is committed to the benefits that a sense of belonging and community brings to everyone, whilst constantly responding to people’s changing lifestyles and support needs, along with wider regulatory UK requirements and responding to society itself.

In terms of daily activities offered to the residents there are five broad categories. These are 1)Arts: music theatre and dance 2)Crafts: especially basketry woodwork pottery and bakery 3)Gardening and Farming in the beautiful biodynamic farms and gardens
4)Education including further education 5) Community Engagement. This last category includes opportunities to work in the social enterprise businesses, such as cafés and local shops. There is also the social aspect of life in the communities which revolves around weekly social gatherings artistic shows and festival celebrations in shared communal spaces.

Today CVT based communities the people it supports are offered opportunities for personal growth fulfilling work friendship social interaction education training and cultural and spiritual inspiration. This all takes place within living communities where those with learning disabilities work alongside those who support them in an atmosphere of mutual respect and equality. CVT is a part of the international Camphill Movement that has centres in twenty three countries in Europe North America Africa and Asia.

A fundamental aspect of the Camphill ethos is to involve volunteers from all over the world, which is why since its creation, CVT communities simultaneously hosted approximately six to twelve young volunteers a year. 5 years ago, UK government funding requirements reduced funds which left CVT unable to recruit and host volunteers. EU programme, however, offered the possibility to continue volunteering projects enriching the lives of the people with special needs, the wellbeing of the communities on the whole, and the young people who come to offer their time and energy to a Camphill community experience.