As mentioned on our group blog Ecovillage Evolution, Kimberton is part of the Camphill Village movement. This movement began in Scotland and now has many villages throughout the world. Members of these villages are also natives from various parts of the globe. Camphill Villages emphasize ecologically sound living principles and community conviviality while recruiting members with disabilities, giving them a chance to be productive in life.
This village is in close proximity to Philadelphia, located in a town called Kimberton, Pennsylvania. The JEM group was given a personalized tour for over 2 hours around the village observing the low impact modes of living.
I was informed by Diedra, one of the coordinator's of the village/ tour guide, an array of information pertaining to water, waste, recycling and sewage.
Water, like most ecovillages, is seen as a precious necessity to life. Looking after its health is of utmost importance at Kimberton. Along its rivers they maintain riparian buffer zones to prevent runoff, contaminants and other threats to the health of the water. The also took out many invasives. All water is sourced from the creek and a well, which are both located on the 422 acre property.
They use a cistern to collect toilet water, landscape water and laundry water while rain water is collected in specialized catchment areas. They use a Wetlands mimicking system to purify their gray and black water. It purifies sewage for about 50-60 people. They also use flow forms to add oxygen to the water to help purify it.
Conservation is also key here. They use low-flow-toilets and shower heads and even have 2 composting toilets.
The community tries very hard to watch its trash output. They donate clothes, have rummage sales, make art out of old jeans and monitor carefully them amount of trash they produce. There craftiness is a communal attempt towards internal recycling. They collect food from Kimberton Whole Foods and Tritter Joes and consume what they can, feeding the pigs and composting. Recyclable items are sent to Pottstown by local services. There trash is collected by the local service.
All in all I was very impressed to have seen the village firsthand and witness the wonderful things being done! A+ to Kimberton! Thanks for allowing our visit!
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