Working

The Soltane Works program offers on and off-site work opportunities for residents and day workers - those individuals who have graduated from Soltane's Learning for Life Program and have decided to continue to live and/or work at Soltane. All Soltane Works sites offer individuals the opportunity to develop skills at a professional level in a vocational area, and to make meaningful contributions towards needed work. Soltane Works also provides internships for students, helping them gain valuable work experience. Soltane Works is geared towards developing associative economic and social relationships with related businesses and organizations in the surrounding community.

The textile design enterprise, "in good company", functions as a collective of artists who collaborate on themes, colors and designs for a range of apparel. A team of weavers produces cloth of various hues and patterns (right) which is used in the production of bags, jackets, scarves and more. Original designs are also produced and screen-printed onto bags or organic cotton tees.  Finished products are featured and sold on Etsy.com and at juried craft shows in the Philadelphia region. This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it for a list of upcoming craft shows.

The Community Services crew provides recycling services for the community and local neighborhood, cleans and maintains the beauty of the public spaces in the community, and helps with set-up and take-down of events. This "behind-the-scenes" crew helps Soltane maintain its high standards for beauty and cleanliness, while also meeting our commitment to a low-impact lifestyle.

A land crew, Soltane Orchard, tends our orchard and berries with organic, often biodynamic methods. Every fall, the entire community participates in the apple harvest from our 200+ tree orchard (left); a local mill processes the apples into organic apple cider and apple butter. In the winter, the crew turns to maple syrup production from our stand of sugar maples, prunes the apple orchard, and paints the apple trees with biodynamic preparations for health and vitality.  Summer is given over to tending the blueberry, raspberry and blackberry bushes, and a number of vegetable crops. Soltane Orchard also manages our year-round composting operations (see our "Composting in Community" article in the June 2009 issue of Communities Magazine).

The crew of Iduna's Kitchen produces baked goods and granola, and processes fruit, vegetables and herbs from our gardens into a variety of delicious products, including homemade sauerkraut, yogurt cheese, gingered carrots, marmalade and pasta.

Soltane Breads and Spreads, a bakery and cafe in downtown Phoenixville, is the only off-site work area of Soltane Works. Soltane Breads and Spreads produces artisan breads made with organic, whole grains, baked in a wood-fired oven. Other handmade delicacies include croissants, scones, and more. The cafe serves direct-trade Stumptown coffee, fresh roasted daily, from a network of direct-trade growers who utilize sustainable growing practices. This setting allows individuals to further develop their baking or customer service skills in a setting open to the general public.

Soltane's organic apple cider, apple butter, ketchup, and Berry Blues fruit spread are not available to be shipped, but can be found locally at Kimberton Whole Foods.