This important event took place in early May in the Camphill School and Farm Community at Hemel en Arde, Hermanus, South Africa, on the spectacular coast about two hours’ drive east of Cape Town. It was the 10th Dialogue I have attended since my first time in Perceval, St-Prex, Switzerland, in 1993. For several years, I was also a member of the international steering group which maintained continuity in the Dialogue process from place to place every three years. It started life with the title ‘International Camphill Board Members’ Meeting’ and later developed into being ‘Camphill Dialogue’, but its essential nature has remained the same. It operates clearly within the realm of governance.
Hermanus has the honour of being the only Camphill community to have hosted Dialogue twice, in 2005 and 2025, three times if you include the attempt to hold it in 2020 which was aborted by the sudden Covid crisis, but even then, allowed for a kind of ‘summer school’ or retreat for about 20 people who remained, which was almost like a mini Dialogue in itself.
There were a good number of people from North America, Scandinavia, and Northern Ireland, and of course from Africa, but very few from the rest of the UK and Ireland and no one at all from central Europe.
This year’s theme was “The Organisational Evolution of Camphill; what do we need to bring with us from our pioneering past to continue to differentiate?” There were a number of keynote speakers, guest speakers, workshops, activities, and breakaway sessions. The organising committee, ably led by Geoffrey Weir and Dave Mitchell of the Association of Camphill Communities UK & Ireland (AOCC) had devised a very interesting approach to the structure and dynamic of the gathering. The breakaway conversation groups were a crucial element in the process. All the names of the participants had been efficiently correlated in such a way that we started off with a larger number of small groups and gradually day by day, the groups became fewer and bigger, so that by the end we just had two large groups. This was a great success because it enabled each one of us to meet and converse with a large proportion of participants, enabling a high level of sharing, debate and cross-fertilisation.
Alongside this process the organisers had also ensured that there would be a regular and rigorous process of reporting and note taking, which developed more and more as a clear and reliable backup framework for the process we were going through.
It almost goes without saying that such a gathering is a fount of personal warmth, openness, sharing, friendliness, mutual interest, and fellow feeling etc, and not least a feeling of shared responsibility in the serious task of governance in Camphill communities. As we progressed through the various stages of development in Dialogue, we could feel to begin with, that there were so many different and diverse points of view about the various topics that we addressed that one wondered if it would ever be possible to come to some sort of common picture or agreement. This aspect was both exciting and challenging.
However, we need not have worried. My own experience was that out of this great diversity we arrived at a picture of remarkable clarity and resolution, thanks largely to the meticulous note taking and recording which had been going on. Almost one entire wall was taken up with a large number of papers and stick-it notes recording the various points, questions and issues which had been raised during the days. At first glance this looked rather chaotic but somehow a remarkable alchemy took place. It could not have been entirely coincidental and one or more of the organising groups must have exercised some form of conscious coordinating activity along the way. However, on one morning I stood before this array and recognised that it had fallen into a perfect threefoldness.
One third, on the left, was indicative of all the basic elements that are required for the actual running of a Camphill community, and all the challenges and issues encountered in daily life in community.
The middle third referred to the next level above that which one can sum up by the word ‘Administration’. I vividly recalled how in the English-Welsh Region in the 80s and 90s in particular, we had a very strong threefold activity in the English-Welsh Region and the Administration Group was very effective in supporting and coordinating many important aspects of life which were pertinent for all the communities in the region. Virtually all the issues dealt with there were of common importance and interest to all the communities.
The final third of the stick-it notes on the right-hand side were relating to what you could call ‘Principles and Values’. It was easy to see that the majority of these could be classified as ‘general human values’ in any society or any part of the world. But it was also clear that there was one element in the extreme top right-hand corner which you could say was somewhat esoteric, nevertheless. That was the element deriving from the teachings and inspirations of Rudolf Steiner in his “Spiritual Science” – his renewed image of the human being and his or her place in world evolution, commonly known as ‘Anthroposophy’. It was clear that a lot of people have had an ongoing problem with this awkward word, which is not even easy to pronounce. Happily, it was also possible to reassure people that once past this word the whole concept and worldview is not so daunting or difficult to embrace. The key to it is conversation and communication, as Rudolf Steiner himself would have wanted. If there can be listening, sharing, conversation and debate then the difficulties can be overcome, and a new understanding achieved.
This goes hand in hand with the stream of thinking, endeavour and spirituality which emanated from Karl König himself and his work with the early pioneers of Camphill, which constitutes what we refer to as the Camphill Impulse, consciously maintained and upheld by those who have actively committed themselves to membership of the Camphill Community, to being active ‘bearers’ of the Camphill Impulse.
I had the overwhelming conviction that all those present and all the places they came from are in complete agreement about almost every single one of the issues listed on that wall of notes. We do, in fact, have ‘unity in diversity’. It is absolutely clear that in all walks of life encompassed by Camphill communities, there is never any one specific way of doing something, even something as fundamental as ‘life sharing’. Life sharing can take place and be expressed in all manner of ways and new ways are constantly being discovered. There is no dogma or blueprint. This is such an exciting element for Camphill as it moves into the future and enables us to find new ways of meeting the needs of ever wider circles of people.
But the issues of Anthroposophy and the ‘inner’ Camphill Impulse do remain controversial. In some communities it is increasingly difficult or even impossible for them to maintain a footing. This has quite justifiably led to serious questions of, “What does it actually mean to be called Camphill?” Emerging from the Dialogue process I don’t think that this has to be an insurmountable problem or obstruction. The key thing is that there will be continued communication, questioning and debate about these issues and that the whole subject is kept alive. That process can also be a unifying factor if it is approached in a robust and positive way, with real listening and open-mindedness.
At the very end of Dialogue there was a session in which we almost arrived at a kind of official statement releasing communities from the obligation to encompass Anthroposophy and the Camphill Impulse in their work, but this did not happen. The process stopped short of that, and this was a blessing. Since we were an international gathering involving various different regions of Camphill it was extremely significant that strong voices were heard, particularly from North America and Scandinavia, upholding the importance of these core elements in the Camphill Movement. The main challenge and task we carried away with us from Dialogue was to keep this process alive.
Warmest thanks and appreciation are due to the organising committee and the wonderful team of people in Hermanus community, which included all the people they support and even the school children. No one could ever forget the boy who leapt off the stage with a long stick in hand and did a spectacular Zulu dance!
The Camphill Dialogue is an important international gathering, held every three years, to strengthen collaboration among Camphill boards worldwide. We are delighted that Peter Bateson represented the Camphill Foundation UK & Ireland at this year’s event, and we thank him for sharing his insights and experiences.
