hometownsource. com / heartland / Stories of the Heartland • Sunday, September 20, 2026 Page 21
Camphill’ s rural Minnesota setting has an international dimension.
Volunteers have come from Mexico, Brazil, Hungary, Japan and Switzerland. Some stay for relatively short periods, while others remain longer.
“ It’ s this really unique diversity in rural Minnesota,” Welck said.
International volunteers work alongside long-term coworkers, house leaders, staff members and villagers throughout the community.
Village life also extends beyond the property. Some villagers participate in Special Olympics, and some hold parttime jobs in nearby communities. Camphill uses a one-to-one model that can connect villagers with outings to museums, theaters, parks and other destinations.
“ Someone from outside of the community comes in,” Welck said of the one-to-one program.
Children of resident families attend local schools or can participate in Waldorf-inspired education available within the community.
Life at Camphill also includes music, theater and social activities. Welck recalled a recent Hawaiian-themed night as one example. Festivals throughout the year mark the seasons and provide another reason for the community to gather.
Opening the gates
One of Camphill’ s largest connections with its neighbors comes during its annual fall festival.
Visitors tour homes, ride hay wagons, share a meal with a freewill offering and browse pottery, woven bags, bird feeders, baked goods and other products made in the workshops. Villagers help lead tours, staff booths and sell products.
For Welck, the festival is also a way of thanking those who support Camphill.
“ It’ s really a thank you to our greater surrounding community, to our donors,” she said.
It also gives people unfamiliar with Camphill an opportunity“ to come and see what we’ re about,” Welck said.
Sustaining the village
The work of maintaining Camphill extends beyond the gardens, homes and workshops.
Villagers living in its licensed homes must qualify through Minnesota’ s Community Access for Disability Inclusion or Developmental Disabilities waivers. Fundraising also plays a role. Welck said about 14 % of Camphill’ s operating budget is raised through donations, while capital projects depend on fundraising as well.
Finding villagers who will thrive in a rural setting takes time.
“ It’ s a process, trying to find the right fit,” Welck said.
Volunteer turnover, infrastructure needs and changing demands are part of running the community. An internal board handles matters involving daily community life, while an external board provides broader oversight. Case management, administration, volunteer coordination, fundraising and outreach continue behind the more visible work taking place in the gardens and workshops.
Where purpose takes root Angela Michieli came to Camphill in
Camphill Minnesota
Villagers Ben and Nicole are pictured in the Camphill Minnesota kitchen. Meals are often feature produce grown on the land in the Camphill Minnesota gardens. Each day villagers, staff and guests meet for lunch together in a community dining room. Breakfast and dinner are most often served at a villager’ s residence and shared among members of that residence. 1993 because of the biodynamic farming practiced there. More than three decades later, she has watched the garden and the community around it move through season after season.
Seedlings started in the greenhouse in March are transplanted into the garden in late May. Vegetables harvested during summer are eaten fresh or preserved for winter. Apples are picked and processed. Work moves indoors and outdoors as Minnesota’ s seasons change.
People have come and gone, too. International volunteers have arrived from around the world. Dureaux came expecting to stay three months and remained nearly 10 years. Diego and Chris Topete arrived with their family and became part of the daily life of a home and the work of the village.
The things produced at Camphill are easy to see: vegetables, bread, pottery, woven bags and woodworking projects. Less visible are the routines surrounding them— breakfast and dinner in the homes, work alongside neighbors and the daily gathering around the lunch tables.
“ We’ re here to support one another in achieving everybody’ s daily goals,” Welck said.
Back at the garden, those daily goals can be as practical as deciding what needs to be harvested next. Under the humid, cloudy sky, the basil gives off its familiar scent as another growing season moves along.
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