Lose It! – July 2019

VOLUME 31 LOSE IT! 31

THE GOOD STUFF

BY CAROLINE PETERSEN

PHOTOGRAPHS: LIZA VAN DEVENTER

husband-to-be) packed up, left

Scotland behind, and made their

way to South Africa in 1957.

Their goal? To recreate Renate’s

father’s dream for children, in

Hermanus. But they took it a step

further. ‘Once the children grew

up and turned 18, state funding

stopped. What often happened

was that the parents then put

the children in an institution or

kept them at home. We realised

someone had to do something

for the adults – and that’s how

Camphill Villages began.’ The

idea was to create a village

where adults with intellectual

development disorders could live

and work together.

When the Sleighs relocated to

their new plot in Malmesbury in

1964, it was ‘jolly empty!’ Renate

laughs. ‘Just sand! There were no

roads. It was just one little house

and no electricity.’ Julien, Renate

and their first four residents built

up the 250-hectare farmland into

the productive farm it is today.

Camphill is a worldwide

movement now, with more than

100 Camphill communities across

the globe. The Camphill Farm

Village in Malmesbury is celebra-

ting its 55th year; there are 13

group homes where residents live

communally, watched over by their

own house-mothers and chefs, as

well as two independent homes

and a couple living separately.

‘Every morning the residents

wake up, have breakfast, and then

go to their various enterprises to

work – either the dairy, the bakery

or the cosmetics department,’

says Ricus Niemand, who handles

Camphill Village’s marketing.

The farm’s additive- and

preservative-free dairy products

are the newest addition to our

low-carb shopping list. The Jersey

cows happily grazing on the

farm produce rich, creamy milk

for Camphill’s famous yoghurt,

cheeses, butter and crème fraiche.

Although the products are top

quality, organic and delicious,

Camphill’s main sources of

pride are the residents and the

wonderful work they do on the

farm. Once a month, the farm

hosts a market where residents

sell their own organic fruits and

vegetables, herbs, breads and

cosmetics in the peaceful gardens.

Find Camphill’s dairy products

in Spars, Wellness Warehouses and

most health stores. ■

Once a month, the farm hosts a

market where residents sell their

own organic fruits and vegetables,

herbs, breads and cosmetics

in the peaceful gardens.

WEBSITE: CAMPHILL.ORG.ZA

INSTAGRAM: @CAMPHILLWESTCOAST

FACEBOOK: CAMPHILL VILLAGE WEST COAST

Above: Camphill Residents

take pride in their work.

This pic: The cows at Camphill provide

additive-free milk for wholesome dairy products.