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Monthly Market: Sunday 1 June
We’re having our monthly market on 1 June 2014. Stock up on some freshly baked bread, organic dairy and veggies from our garden. Browse the stalls with their wide variety of goods including clothing, jewellery, toys, books and much more. There will be art classes on offer to keep the little ones busy and a colouring-in competition with prizes. Enjoy the country air and scenery with a leisurely tractor ride around the farm. We’ll be serving lunch and baked treats at the Bayleaf Café. Please come join us for a relaxed, fun day in the countryside.
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Camphill Goes to the Poles
by Peter Henochsberg
Routine, ritual and celebration are a measure of our lives at Camphill. Routines encompass the daily processes involved in running a farm, our enterprises and a complex system of group homes and all that is involved in this, such as: preparing meals, tidying up, preparing for work, bathing on return from work, and so on. Ritual is based mainly on events related to the Church calendar such as Advent, Easter and Christmas, eating meals together, being thankful for and mindful of our meals.
Celebration, well, here we look for any opportunity! Birthdays are big! But we also look for other ways to celebrate significant events in our community. Then occasionally, much like a comet swinging past our orbit every five years, along come the general elections. This adds a bit of spice to our lives!
Camphill is an IEC voting station used by the entire community surrounding our farm. However, it is a big event for our residents too who also participate, if they choose to do so. The precursor to voting day was registration day. Residents turned out in their numbers to go through the registration process. Then, on the 7th May, the actual voting day, all those who indicated their desire to participate, went to the poles. Some, despite having registered, flatly refused to vote. Of course, we are not allowed to ask residents how they voted, this is their secret, but some did require assistance and here they were ably assisted by a very supportive IEC staff who have been most helpful and patient with our residents.
Needless to say, the excitement generated discussion and, as a social worker who likes to know what makes people tick, it is interesting to note how, despite their intellectual disability, people are quite capable of making up their minds about what parties to support. Some went along with family alliances, but others chose to vote their own mind, despite what their families think and based on their own reasoning which they articulated in their post-voting discussions.
So well done to all in our new democracy, where even people with disabilities, and even intellectual disabilities, are able to make their mark!
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New Representatives on Our Residents' Forum
by Peter Henochsberg
People with disabilities, like all other SA citizens, have rights that are guaranteed by the Bill of Rights underpinning our Constitution. In addition, SA is a signatory to the UN’s Convention of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. A general principal of this convention is that people with disabilities have full and effective participation in society. Camphill, although a protective environment, is very much a community. As such, and in order to promote communication, there are a number of forums which take place. All these feed into the main forum that meets weekly, called the Community Forum. Here every house, every enterprise, all managers and management departments are represented but, in addition, the residents of Camphill are also represented.
The Camphill Residents’ Forum meets every month and all residents are welcome and encouraged to attend. Every person present has a right to speak and raise concerns and issues that affect them. Recently, the residents elected three new representatives who take raised concerns to the Community Forum. These representatives are Karin Fourie, Anke Maas and Monte Clark.
A milestone was reached at our most recent forum when, for the first time, the elected representatives chaired and minuted the meeting. Previously either the director or social worker have performed these task. At future meetings, the positions will be rotated between the representatives.
Our congratulations to our new reps! Well done to all the Villagers for making such a good choice and exercising your rights!
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Pictured above – James Sleigh with representatives of First Solar, Sieckmann Engineering and Southern Sun Solar
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And the winner is …
African Utility week was held at the Cape Town International Convention Centre last week. It is attended by more than 5000 power and water professionals from more than 30 African countries and 70 worldwide, and is the largest utility gathering of its kind on the continent. It focuses on the renewable energy (hydro, wind, solar), water, large power users, investment and finance, transmission & distribution, smart grids and generation. At the end, it holds a prize giving in various categories, and in the one category, Best Community Project in Africa, we, Camphill Village, were one of four shortlisted. The awards ceremony was a black tie dinner and we were hosted by our one sponsor, First Solar. We waited in anticipation, speeches in hand, but unfortunately, we did not win. Nonetheless, it was a great achievement to be shortlisted.
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Men Shall Not Live by Bread Alone,
but also by rusks, buns, paninis...
by Lee Adams
At any given time, with a bun (or a few dozen) in the oven, rusks in the drying oven and loaves of fresh bread on the shelves, the Camphill Village Bakery Team is “on a roll”.
Besides all the abovementioned products, they also bake an increasingly popular light Rye bread, and (on contract) batches of six different flavoured rusks.
In the near future a rotary-rack oven, proudly sponsored by Appollo Bricks, will slice the rusk drying time from one and a half days to just four hours, and there is absolutely nothing “half-baked” about that!
The team, comprising of Marc (Bakery Manager), Max (Assistant Manager) and Zuko (Assistant Baker), have plans to bake amongst other things, granola rusks, 100% wholemeal rye rusks and even some Melonpan, a Japanese bread roll, soft on the inside with a sweet, crisp “upper” crust. They have also implemented the supper club which takes place every third Wednesday of the month, the Village and visitors gather to enjoy a meal and “break bread” together.
Should you “knead” to know more or place your orders, kindly contact Camphill Village Bakery on 021-571 8611.
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The Hay Ride
Interview with Esme Jedidja on the Garden Club Tour of Camphill
by Antoinette Leman
At 9h00 on the 14th, a group of 24 ladies from the Melkbos Garden Club arrived for a tour of the village, organised by Esme. Antoinette asked Esme about the day …
We met at the coffee shop where we had prepared refreshments. Before we embarked on the trailer we went to the bakery where Max told the Garden Club group all about the process from bread flour to the lovely loaves of bread we bake.
Then to Cosmetics where Craig and Mignon took the ladies through all the products from bath milk to insect repellent. The Ladies asked many questions and were very interested in our Products.
Off to the tractor and trailer. To fit in 24 women of different sizes on the few benches of our trailer was quite a mission. Three of us had to hang on like weaver birds at the back. We were driven to Rooikrans with the sound of cow bells filling the air. Sandy showed the group different vegetables, herbs and fruit that were packed by a team of residents, ready to be sold.
We stopped at the Moya where I told them bit of the history of Camphill West Coast, the style of our buildings, the different therapies we give and let them play a melody with the hand chimes.
We drove to Grover and from there to the Chapel. They were amazed by the natural chapel garden and the grave stones and the peace that surrounded us.
From the Chapel we headed to the Dairy, passing the Farm. The group were very interested in the making of or cheese, labaneh, yogurt etc. Hennie explained the different processes of cheese making. Once again, the Ladies were extremely interested (Hennie’s blue eyes perhaps?).
Back at Bay Leaf they walked into a self-help set up. Each person cut her own fresh bread, chose her own spreads and cheese and poured her own coffee or tea. It became a festive picnic in our coffee shop with buying some of Siggie’s jams and Ronel selling garden products to them on the stoep. One of the ladies remarked, ”I feel so at home, as if I walked into my mother’s kitchen with fresh bread, real butter and home made jam.”
Each received a booklet on the 50th anniversary of our Village. The group promised to come to our Market Days and to promote visits by other groups they know of.
A most enlightening and enjoyable outing. Perhaps something that should be encouraged? It could benefit all.
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My Name is John van Niekerk
Interview with our most long-standing resident
by Ninja Geissler
"I am 71 years old and since the age of 21 years have lived here in the village. (He has been here for 50 years!)
I lived in Pine Close in the beginning and I remember that we sat on apple boxes, because we didn’t have chairs. We used a wood stove for cooking and warming our water for bathing and washing.
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One big room in the house was dolls and weaving workshop during the week and our Chapel on Sundays, where we had Service. Our Telephone was a “Party Line” where we had to turn a big handle. It was horrible, because our neighbours from across the road could listen to our private conversations. I like being in Camphill!"
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