I’d like you to meet Dominic, one of our live-in volunteers.

Dominic is in his early 20s & joined us here at Camphill back in February 2023. He had been living quite the nomadic life ever since he had turned 18 & during that season he gained experience through farm apprenticeships at both vegetable & flower farms.

While he was working on a biodynamic farm he visited a retreat center in New York where he learned about Camphill as a whole. Due to Dominic’s desire & need to build a stronger social life and his experience with biodynamic farming, Camphill seemed like a good next step.

As he joined us in the village he expressed his hope to learn to love & care for people, how to channel his parental instinct, & how to have a family, all while embracing a desire for selflessness. And although this was his desire, he was also nervous about the process of loving others and that he’d resist being loved.

We are currently about 9 months into Dominic’s time with us and it has been an absolute joy to see him embrace compassion, empathy, & his ability to nurture & love well. Although he has found this to be the most strenuous and stressful job he has ever done, it has also been very rewarding. He has found that due to how emotionally involved the work is that he has grown immensely on an emotional level, he has developed stronger social skills, learned the importance of how your words may impact each person differently, & how to be gentle yet sometimes firm. Alongside this he has found the importance of learning how to balance a schedule with personal time and embracing the ability to change habits in a nurturing environment. Dominic has found that loving some individuals comes instinctively while loving others takes choice & effort and that we can choose this. By living in a life-sharing environment Dominic has learned the importance of keeping the home a sacred space where people feel completely safe & loved. And finally, during his time here, he’s found direction.

Connection is something Dominic has been seeking throughout most of his life & by building one specific relationship here at Camphill, he was able to learn more about himself through what they saw in him. Ana expressed to Dominic that he may be good at Social Work. As he reflected on this, he thought about how the inner city & homeless situation bothered him when he was younger. He also thought about the 2 men who really impacted his life in high school - they were gentle and wise. They were also social workers. Being empathetic in nature, he hopes that he can employ this through the field of social work. He also desires to be of service to others who may struggle with loneliness. What a gift this connection has brought to him.

Dominic making flower bouquets with the community members in his house

This is the beauty of experiential learning - these are the lessons that take you through life in a way that allow you to create harmony & embrace joy along your path. We hope you are inspired to take a leap of faith in your life to learn & grow in ways that will transform not just your life, but other people's lives as well.

To learn more about volunteering at Camphill Village & how you are compensated/cared for go here:

Link Coming Soon