Enjoying the sights and sounds of flourishing Camphill

Beyond the borders of Omagh’s leafy countryside lies Camphill Community, Clanabogan.

It is a tranquil place where residents live and work together with dedicated staff members and kindly volunteers to ensure that life is enjoyed in the healthiest and most creative way possible – even in the steely grips of a pandemic.

Every individual is valued here; and its people of all nationalities and abilities work gallantly together – through their own unique roles – to uphold the forward-thinking and honourable ethos of the village: Sustainable biodiversity and self-sufficiency.

When I arrived at Camphill, I was greeted by silence broken only by melodies of birdsong, and the sun had also made an appearance, as if smiling down upon this world within a world. It immediately quelled the Monday morning blues, and the chaos of sleepy thoughts that were whirring through my head quickly subsided as the path, towards the community’s Woodworking shop – my first stop – tumbled away under my feet. The views out into the distance were also breath-taking.

It was at this moment that I met Katrina Deas, staff member of Camphill and trained carpenter from Germany, who was keen to start our guided tour of a place which has been run by exemplary staff members and volunteers since its establishment in 1984.

Beckoned into the workshop by cheerful co-ordinator, Lee Cheung from China, we were immediately greeted by a wealth of intricately-carved structures of all kinds – from faces to owls and even squirrels; some textured, others smooth as silk. And the smiles of residents Chris, working hard on his larger-than-life wooden owl sculpture, and Alison, who was chanelling her colourful personality into an abstract rainbow painting, were immediately heartening.

Proud of the progress of his students, Lee explained that the workshop exists to ‘bring joy’.

“Residents are given pieces of wood, and immediately they become inspired,” he said. “From there, they create wonderful pieces of wood. They are amazing artists, who always find their own, unique ways to do their craft. And then, they are able to sell their works online, via Etsy, to help bring happiness to others.”

From chisels to pottery, our next stop brought us to the ceramics workshop, where teacher, Sigrid Burger from Holland compassionately shared her knowledge of the craft.

“I’m inspired by people, occasions, and the special moments that I’ve had in my life – such as giving birth,” Sigrid, who established the workshop with her twin sister, said. “However, many of our residents take inspiration from how they are feeling that day. Some prefer making plates, others enjoy creating vases.

“It’s a very mindful process from the start, and works take about a month to complete.”

Next up, was an exciting visit to the fragrant bakery.

En route, Katrina, who has been at Camphill for 5.5 years, spoke of the trials which the Covid-19 pandemic brought to the community’s safe haven.

“To keep everyone safe at the start of the pandemic, we divided our 30 residents into six groups,” she explained. “That way, the residents were able to enjoy regular interaction with one another, while also adhering strictly to social-distancing guidelines. It was a huge change for everyone at Clanabogan, and as the months went by, they all missed each other a lot. The national impact was a lot bigger than we first thought, but we managed very well.”

Katrina added, “Now, we have all received our vaccines and things are slowly getting back to normal.”

When we joined baker, Indah van Keulen and residents, we found them enjoying a well-earned break after a hectic morning of preparing wholemeal yeast bread which feeds the village.

“It’s always a busy business!” Indah laughed with enthusiasm. “We have to get our baking done on time, so we can provide bread to residents every day. Every baker has their own skills, and it is a real joy to see them develop.”

Sufficiently feeling full from the scents of baking bread, we wandered to Brigitte de Rhoter’s art workshop following a path dotted with daffodils, runner ducks – who eat the slugs! – and hearty wooden sculptures.

What was striking was not just the beauty of bright and abstract paintings peering down from their lofty perches, but also the tangible pride felt by the creators when they gazed upon their final pieces.

“I created this… and this!” excitedly said young Sophia, who enthusiastically pointed to a gallery of her mixed-media works on the walls.

Following on from the beauty of the art classes was an insight into textile creation at Clanabogan.

With hand-crafted hearts decorating the windows, and grand, hand-made tapestries of bleeding colours lovingly draped upon the inner walls and surrounded by scarves which lay folded neatly on the tables, it was a place of cosiness and comfort for crafty residents.

Support workers, Aude Skrzypczak and Gusta Peters were pleased to announce that residents’ wares – created using four, eight and two-shaft looms – had been selling ‘so well recently’.

“Our scarves are so popular right now,” they exclaimed. “Our eight-shaft loom enables our residents to create articles of very difficult, ornate patterns. It also gives them the opportunity to make whatever they want – and be as creative as they want.”

Serenaded by birds, we swung by the garden for our penultimate stop. Here, we caught up with gardener, Paul Savel from France who was diligently tending to his polytunnels, filled to the brim with flourishing fresh vegetables, including tomatoes, courgettes, and cucumbers.

“We also sell barley, carrots, and spring onions,” Paul described. “And we plan to plant potatoes when the beds are ready.

“We further grow parsley, coriander and even dill, and we have already seen many bumble bees this year joining us, too, which is encouraging.”

After saying ‘au revoir’ to Paul, who was soon to be be joined by all village residents eager to lend their green-fingered guidance, we traipsed to the bio-dynamic farm – where all hands were on deck.

“You missed all the hard work!” Seamus McCrossan laughed, as he and long-term volunteer, Michelle Sterm continued their chores, to the loud clanging of machinery. “We have 60 cows here at the minute. Our milk is all kept for butter and cheese, and some of the houses here use it for yoghurt. All the beef cows and the calves are for home consumption, and they are all hay-fed.

“The animals are also allowed to keep their horns.”

And the farm philosophy? To give back to the land.

“We have been biodynamic since day one,” Seamus said. “This means that we use natural processes, which is sustainable, and all the residents are keen to help in all manner of jobs – from cleaning to feeding, and we are privileged to work with them.”

Concluding, after a sprightly morning of soaking up the sights, sounds and wonders of Camphill, I bid farewell to Katrina, who concluded with these heartfelt words: “Our community life is truly special.

“We love it here, and we can’t wait to see what the future holds for us post-pandemic. We live sustainably; and at peace with nature and one another.

“And we wouldn’t have it any other way.”