July 12, 2010 - Camphill Soltane students and residents are active in the legislative effort to remove the term "mental retardation" from state statutes and state use.  State Senator Andy Dinniman, who is spearheading the "Words Do Matter" campaign, invited Soltane resident Pam Smith to participate in a recent press conference on the issue, and to accompany him to Harrisburg to advocate for the measure in the Senate. See the television coverage of this issue from our Advocacy page, and a recent newspaper article from the Daily Local News.

June 13, 2010 - Camphill Soltane is proud to host an 'Empty Bowl' fundraiser on Sunday, June 13th from 4-6:30 PM, in the Rose Room at Iduna house. All are invited to attend!

 At an Empty Bowl fundraiser, a simple meal of soup and bread is provided to guests in exchange for a recommended donation, and the guests are invited to keep the homemade ceramic bowl as a reminder of hunger in the world.  The bowls are made in Camphill Soltane's Pottery class, and the soup is made in the Cooking class using ingredients grown, harvested and processed in the Gardening class.  The fundraiser this year ties in with this year's academic theme of World Cultures, and provides a wonderful opportunity for our college and transition students to do work that reaches beyond our community to help others in different cultures, and to recognize that their work can help alleviate another person’s suffering. 

This year’s beneficiary will be the internet-based micro-loan organization, Kiva.  You can learn more about how Kiva works at Kiva.org .  A micro-lending project encourages independence, self-sufficiency and pride in one's own work -- some of the same goals we have for our students in Soltane's Learning for Life and transition classes.

April 26 - April 30, 2010 - Camphill Soltane will host an "Advocacy Week", featuring evening events open to the public. Please join us for this celebration of individuals with developmental disabilities leading lives of self-determination.

Monday, April 26, 7 PM, Whitsun Hall: "Open Mic" night, with a $3 suggested donation; proceeds will benefit a charitable organization.

Tuesday, April 27, 7 PM, Whitsun Hall: Music and songs by "Tamara and BJ"

Wednesday, April 28, 7 PM, Rose Room: Presentation by Aldo Magazzeni of Traveling Mercies

Thursday, April 29, 7:30 PM, Whitsun Hall: Advocacy Movie Night. First up: "body and soul", a 40-minute documentary about two women with disabilities living together and supporting each other for 30 years, focusing on their friendship with and committment to each other. Followed by "Thumbs Down to Pity", a 1-minute piece from a student director with disabilities, and wrapping up with "I'm Tyler (don't be surprised)", a short film by an Eagle Scout with disabilities. Plan on being here for an hour.

Friday, April 30, 10 AM - 4 PM: Self Determination Conference, organized by the Chester County Self Determination Action Team. Topics will include relationships and presentations on self-advocacy by self-determination participants. The Conference will be followed by a dinner and dance.

April 23 - April 24, 2010 - Visit Eastern Mountain Sports in Exton as a member of the Camphill Soltane community and enjoy 20% off your purchases during their "Club Days" event! Coworkers, students, residents, employees, and family members qualify for this discount. Or, make a $10+ donation to Camphill Soltane at the door and receive the discount! Representatives from Camphill Soltane will be on hand throughout the event to speak with patrons and tell them about our community. Also enjoy raffle items, as well as food, fun and music.

February 28 and March 7, 2010 - Camphill Soltane will host two lectures in a free, 3-part lecture series based on the presentations of Sally Fallon Morel, President of the Weston A. Price Foundation. It describes the groundbreaking nutritional work of Dr. Weston A. Price, who traveled to the far corners of the world in the 1920’s and 30’s to study the diets of primitive peoples. He found that those who followed their traditional diets enjoyed abundant health and vigor, whereas those who consumed Western, processed foods experienced poor health. His subsequent research explained the causative factors involved. This lecture series integrates the lessons learned from traditional diets with the understandings of modern science.

Presenter Annmarie Cantrell will help attendees understand the importance of nutrient dense foods and how to incorporate them into their daily lives.

PART I - "Traditional Diets" – Sunday February 28th, 2-4 pm, Rose Room

Explore Dr. Price’s findings concerning the fat soluble vitamins, the “Price Factor” and lacto fermented foods. Samples and fermented foods demonstrations included.

PART II - "Health, Beauty and Strength with Nourishing Traditional Diets" – Sunday March 7th, 2-4 pm, Rose Room

Learn more about the importance of fats in the diet. Food preparation demonstrations will illustrate how to include high quality fats in your meals.

PART III will take place at the Henrietta Hankin Community Room on Sunday, March 14th from 2-4 PM, and will explore raw milk, pastured meats, and traditional foods.

October 3, 2009 - Camphill Soltane is proud to host a presentation of "Songbirds", a concert by Irish singer Fil Campbell, at 7:30 in Whitsun Hall. Featuring "If I Were a Blackbird", "Connemara Cradle Song", "The Castle of Drumore", and many more. Please RSVP to Jim at 484-986-4405, or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . More info. is available at www.filcampbell.com

 October 10, 2009 - Camphill Soltane welcomes back performer Sujeet Desai for a concert at 7:30 PM in Whitsun Hall. 27-year old Sujeet is an accomplished musician, born with Down Syndrome. Sujeet plays 6 instruments: Bb and bass clarinet, alto sax, violin, piano, and drums. Sujeet travels around the world to give inspirational solo performances and self-advocacy workshops. Please RSVP to Jim at 484-986-4405, or This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . More info. is available at www.sujeet.com

June 18, 2009 - Camphill Soltane has been featured in the latest issue of Communities Magazine, with an article entitled "Community Composting: A Transformative Practice", by Jason Grubb and Mason Vollmer. The article begins,

"Composting within an intentional community is a wonderful metaphor for the process of building community. It is an opportunity to transform ideals about the environment, held by many people, into real practice; and to transform waste, generated by many people, into a valuable material that nurtures the environment." Click here to read the full article.

May 15-16, 2009 - Camphill Soltane will host a Regional Board Members Meeting. This event will draw members of the Board of Directors of Camphill communities across North America for two days of networking, exploring current issues of concern, and sharing best practices.

April 21, 2009 - The public is warmly invited to a Wellspring for Wellbeing community fair, to be held from 10 AM - 2 PM in Whitsun Hall. There will be information about health, the environment, nutrition, therapy, and social wellness.   

April 5, 2009 - 2009 is Soltane's 21st year! We begin the celebrations with a 21st Anniversary Concert at 4 PM in Whitsun Hall, with Tom Buckner, a parent of a founding member of Soltane, and current coworker Marcus Macauley accompanying on piano. 

March 16, 2009 - Camphill Soltane invites people with prior experience in Camphill or other life-sharing communities to join us next year as householders, or as members of house teams. We are looking for people with a strong interest in creating home life. For more information, please see our service descriptions, available from our application page .

March 15, 2009 - The pre-vocational classes of Camphill Soltane's Learning for Life program will host an 'Empty Bowl' fundraiser from 1-4 PM in the Rose Room (Iduna House). Proceeds from the event will go to the SHARE Foundation, an organization devoted to stopping hunger in El Salvador. Advance tickets will be for sale in the Soltane office. Suggested minimum donation: $15 for meal and handcrafted pottery bowl; $8 for meal.

This event will feature soups made by the cooking class (including vegan options), using ingredients grown and harvested by the gardening class, served in bowls made by the pottery class. The bicycle shop has also donated a bicycle for a silent auction, which will be held during the event.Please join us for a memorable afternoon!

December 5, 2008 - Camphill Soltane has received a commendation from the Governor, congratulating us on our 20th anniversary. The full text reads:

GREETINGS:

It is my pleasure to join with students, staff, residents, family, friends and volunteers to congratulate Camphill Soltane on its 20^th anniversary.

While we have made tremendous progress reducing barriers and creating opportunities for Pennsylvanians with developmental disabilities, the work of dedicated organizations like Camphill Soltane will never be finished. Our commonwealth will face many changes and challenges in the years ahead and we cannot afford to overlook the contributions that individuals with developmental disabilities can make to the improvement of our economy and communities. That is why the work of Camphill Soltane will remain critical as we continue to support people with all types of disabilities in their pursuit of independence, contribution, inclusion, and self-determination. Your efforts over the past 20 years have made a difference for so many Pennsylvanians, and I know you will continue to do so for many more years to come.

As Governor and on behalf of all Pennsylvanians, I commend everyone involved with the Camphill Soltane center for working to better serve our citizens with disabilities and open the doors of opportunity for all people. Congratulations on your 20^th anniversary and best wishes for continued success and fulfillment in all that you do.

Edward G. Rendell, Governor

September 16, 2008 - A warm welcome to Mason Vollmer, Camphill Soltane's new Agricultural Director. Mason has an extensive background in agriculture; most recently he was the creator of the Kimberton Waldorf School garden program. He will be working with Soltane Works, our newly-formed vocational focus group for work within and outside our community. Mason brings the qualities we have longed for over the past year to help create a culture that celebrates and honors the beauty and bounty that our land offers to us. 

August 30, 2008 - Thirteen new coworkers have joined Camphill Soltane for the year, and we welcomed them warmly on the first day of orientation! The new coworkers join us from across the U.S., Germany, Peru, and South Korea. They are an amazing group of people, and we are looking forward to living and working together with them this year. 

June 29, 2008 - Six students graduated from Camphill Soltane's Learning for Life Program in a ceremony at Whitsun Hall attended by nearly 200 people. We offer our congratulations to graduates Justin Cheng, Michael Curran, Isaac Levy, Kate Keitzman-Nicklin, Matthew Shumaker, and Kevin Williams.

June 11, 2008 - Check out the latest video produced about the Camphill Soltane community by filmmaker Steve Mohl, of American Filmworks, Inc.  If a picture is worth a thousand words, a video is worth many more! View video here