Woman smiling while hanging wind chimes in a cozy indoor space.

Camphill Village Copake

  • Communities

About the Communities

  • Established
  • Spiritual
  • Rural

Founding year

  • 1959

What we do

Camphill Village USA is a unique and vibrant life-sharing community of 250 individuals, including 95 adults with developmental disabilities. Founded in Copake, New York in 1961, Camphill Village USA is the oldest and largest Camphill community in North America and sits on 615 acres of verdant hills, pastures, and beautiful gardens in southern Columbia County. Camphill Village is part of the international Camphill Movement, which is based on the insights of anthroposophy, the philosophy, world view, and spiritual path of Rudolf Steiner Ph.D. Life at Camphill Village is based on the active affirmation of the dignity, spiritual integrity, and valued contribution of each individual.

Our Mission

Camphill Village USA is a community of people, some with special needs, who live and work together caring for each other and the Earth.

  • Purpose
  • Spiritual
  • Community type
  • Commune
  • Spiritual Retreat Centers

Commemorative dates

  • January 1, 1959
  • Started planning
  • January 1, 1961
  • Started living together

Gallery

  • 240 Total members
  • Open to new members
  • Open to visitors
Total
275

Basic expectations or agreements for members

Contact the Coworker Development Office at vo*******@*************ge.org or 518-329-4851

Primary decision-making authority

  • Small Leadership Group

A few people (not elected by the broader community) make the major decisions.

Decision-making process

  • Full Consensus

Everyone must agree before moving forward.

Governance structure

  • Collaborative/Horizontal

Power and responsibility are shared relatively equally among members.

Economic model

  • Complete Income-Sharing

All member income goes into common pool for community use.

Economic scenarios for this community

  • There is a labor obligation

Additional economic information

Labor: Yes
Members with pre-existing debt: allowed
Co-worker volunteers do not collect wages. The community budget provides for all living needs.
Service to others and to the earth is the motivation to work in the Village. Everyone is expected to contribute at the level to which they are capable of contributing.

Shared resources and amenities that are accessible to everyone in the community

Garden(s), Greenhouse(s), Vehicle Share, Library, Workshop, Outbuilding(s), Tractor & Farm Equipment, Stage or Auditorium, Fire pit, Swingsets & play areas, Waterfront access, Gym or sports area, Internet

Frequency of communal meals

  • 1-3 times per month

Substance use culture

  • Substance use occurs primarily at celebrations or ceremonies

Gender composition

  • Roughly balanced (no group over 60%)

Age demographics

  • Family-focused (many children and parents)

Guest Book

Written reviews are available for plus members. Click here to upgrade.

Location

  • New York, United States

Camphill Village Copake

Needs and Offers

Connecting people and communities through an intentional online marketplace

  • Promoted
  • Events
3 weeks ago

Healing Love Healing Money: Trust As The Foundation For A New Culture

Money, love and power are among the hardest things any community works with, and many of us carry the same fears into both: not having enough, losing what we have, and the sense that if someone else gets money or love, we won’t. Healing Love, Healing Money: Trust as the Foundation for a New Culture is taught by two intentional communities. Karen McAllister and Duncan Cryle are from Clear Sky Meditation and Retreat Center, a Buddhist-lineage community in the BC Rockies. Monika Alleweldt and Benjamin von Mendelssohn from Tamera Healing Biotope, a community of about 160 people in southern Portugal that has spent decades studying love, trust and relationship. Clear Sky has spent years working on its relationship with money, and our two communities found surprising parallels in the fears beneath both. Over four sessions we explore the roots of fear around money and belonging, love, possession and power, trust as infrastructure (community as a container for healing), and ethical livelihood. We use short meditations, body-based practices, reflection and small-group conversation. You do not need to be in a romantic relationship or live in community. When: October 27, Nov 3, 10, 17. All four sessions: 12–2pm Vancouver, 1–3pm Alberta, 7–9pm UK and Portugal, 8–10pm Central Europe. Note: US and some Canadian provinces change clocks on November 1, so the US west coast is 12–2pm on October 27, then 11am–1pm for the remaining sessions, and Eastern is 3–5pm on October 27, then 2–4pm for the rest. Cost: sliding scale Details and registration: https://www.clearskycenter.org/event/healing-love-healing-money-online/  
October 27, 2026 13:00 – November 17, 2026 15:00
  • Promoted
Offer
  • Promoted
Need
Offer
Offer

Update to a Public Profile

  • Log in
  • Go to your profile page
  • Toggle on the "Add my profile to the directory"
  • Save your profile

Information

Communities

A residential project: people live here as their primary home.

Organizations

An institution, business, network, or project that isn’t a residence (e.g. a learning center, farm, or network with no one living there full-time).

Plus Community Membership

  • Find people with Profile Match
  • Access to your community listing statistics
  • Create Discussion Groups
  • Access to our affiliate program
  • Member badge on your community profile
I am an official member of this community
Disclaimer
I affirm that my information is accurate and I am authorized to manage this listing
Foundation for Intentional Community FIC Member badge logo.

Free Plan

Free Membership
Free

Intentional Advertising

  • Subtotal

    {{ currencyFormat( pricing_summary.total_amount ) }}

Icon representing community connections and collaboration for intentional communities.

Plus Membership

  • Find communities with Profile Match
  • View detailed reviews about communities
  • Create free listings in Needs & Offers
  • Plus Member resources in CommUniversity
  • View communities detailed reviews
  • Plus Member badge on your profile