The Woodhead Community

The Woodhead Community started on 1 April 1994. The founders, two families with young children, and an older man, met at Findhorn.

Reg was over 70 when he came to Findhorn. As a young man he had spent 25 years in an AngloGerman Christian community based on self sufficiency. His enthusiasm for community living played a key part in Woodhead’s early years.

Janet and Hugh each began visiting the Findhorn Foundation in the late 70s, having both lived in community previously. They met on the Isle of Erraid, and inspired by the small-scale, land-based community with a spiritual focus, wanted to create something similar when they moved to Findhorn with their young daughter. They purchased Woodhead, an old farmhouse near Kinloss, two miles from Findhorn, in 1992. Reg joined them and helped to create a productive vegetable and fruit garden.

Carola and Stephen came to Findhorn that year with their two young sons, having lived in communities with an ecological and politically active ethos in Germany. Living nearby enabled a closer connection to develop and in 1994 they bought the house and farm out-buildings adjoining Woodhead. Much building and renovation work followed, as well as extending the vegetable and flower gardens, creating a carpool, buying supplies communally and sharing childcare. Equally important were the many meetings, sharings and meditations.

Over the years, many people of various nationalities have lived with us for between six months and seven years. As well as exploring spirituality in our daily lives, we aspire to have honest communication and to lead a sustainable and ecological lifestyle. We embrace alternative technology and engage with political and ecological causes. We endeavour to balance the needs of individually earning a living with the joys and challenges of living in close relationship, sharing resources, growing our own food and eating together several times a week.

Celebrations have always played an important part in our community. Sometimes people get together spontaneously to play music or watch a film, or linger after a communal meal to continue a lively discussion on a current political or philosophical topic. To honour our connection to the land we bless the gardens in springtime and in autumn we celebrate the abundance and variety of all that grows here.

Often we have a garden party in summer for our local friends, featuring live music, outdoor games and dancing on the lawns. On Christmas Day we have a more intimate gathering with one or two invited guests. The present members are Janet and Hugh, Stephen and Carola, and Katharina and Mark, who joined us in 2007 having spent many years living and working in the Findhorn Foundation Community.

We are now entering a phase of reorientation, as our children are grown up and moving on. We have rearranged the living accommodation to allow for another family to join us and contemplate possible building and new directions.

Janet Banks