Belonging in Camphill: Spiritualized Disability and Staggered Knowledge Systems as an Anti-Statist Communal Alternative

In this chapter, I consider how people with different relationships to disability, practicality, science, spirituality, religion, and philosophy cultivate belonging within a Biodynamic garden. I argue that Camphill communities cultivate a twofold sense of belonging, primarily by employing Biodynamic Agriculture’s staggered knowledge system such that people with conflicting relationships to Spiritual Science can coexist amicably. The possibility of a spiritual reality, whether taken seriously or viewed with incredulity, is grounded in practical behaviors that unifies residents. Thus, belonging itself is rooted in shared behaviors that are postured towards spiritual reality. Since the setup of knowledge builds upward from practical insight, everyone who is a participating member of the community has satisfied the knowledge requirement to belong. A secondary argument I make is about disabled belonging. The concept of spiritual reality provides a lens for positively interpreting the behavior of residents with disabilities when they do not complete material tasks or satisfy standards by presuming they have strong spiritual capabilities. Since nondisabled Coworkers are predisposed towards taking spiritual reality seriously in the garden, so too they are prepared to affirm the spiritual capacity of their disabled neighbors. This fosters belonging by extending the criteria through which someone can be “competent,” creating a strong precedent to dignify Villagers. I will consider how the practice of Biodynamic Agriculture connects with people of different identities and relationships to the technique. By outlining four profiles of my research participants, I will demonstrate how belonging is cultivated across dis/ability distinctions and different resonances with the Biodynamic approach to knowledge. Each profile closely follows the experience and opinions of a resident of Camphill and their interview responses.