Glenora (golden valley) seems an appropriate name for a farm community that has taken root in the Cowichan Valley just south of Duncan on Vancouver Island. We are working out of the impulses that stand behind the Camphill Movement, a worldwide organization of schools, training colleges and adult villages where care givers and people with developmental disabilities live, learn and work together, sharing in a culturally rich and productive environment. This way of working is based on the ideas developed by Rudolf Steiner in his lectures and writings on Anthroposophy, with the assumption that every individual, regardless of ability, is an independent spiritual being. Developmental disabilities are treated, not as illnesses, but as a part of the fabric of human experience, and are cared for in the context of a healthy home and community life.

One young family lives nearby on their 10 acre property and another lives in Duncan in a home purchased to meet the needs of the family and three companions. A beautiful log house located close to the main farmhouse has been recently finished and is occupied by a retired doctor who is a friend of our community. We have also acquired property known locally as Glenora Corners where the Glenora General Store is located. Our weavery and an apartment for co-workers are next door. Last year we received re-zoning approval to build five additional houses on the farm. Building will soon begin on the first two which will be finished and occupied in 2007.

It is our endeavour to create an environment in which those who are in need of special care, and those who provide it, can relate to each other as companions, rather than as professionals and clients. Thus we make room for creativity and personal fulfillment in the context of each individual's privacy and spiritual freedom. In the way we live together, in the way we care for the land and in the things we make, we intend to uphold the ideals of Camphill, in which each contributes what he or she is able to, and receives in turn what he or she needs.