Founded in 1978, and situated on a 100 acre estate in rural Perthshire near Dunkeld, Corbenic Camphill Community is a Scottish charity providing residential care and day activities for adults with complex learning disabilities.

We meet the social, physical, emotional, and economic needs of 45 residents and 11 day participants, all of whom are adults with complex learning difficulties. They have a mix of conditions including Autism, Dyslexia, Dyspraxia, Downs Syndrome and Fragile X Syndrome.

Our residents and day participants gain self-fulfilment from everyday activities participating in in mixture of daily workshops including Craft, Farm, Garden, Pottery, Woodwork, Bakery and Horse Care, as well as looking after customers in the Corbenic Shop & Café in Dunkeld High Street. Residents live in seven shared homes, with specialist provision for those with a higher level of physical dependency. There are four studio flats for those who want to develop more independence, together with semi-independent bedsit type accommodation for others.

Our values and aims

• To provide the highest quality of care and support based on the principles of dignity and respect, compassion, inclusion, wellbeing, and responsiveness to individual need.

• To be a welcoming, genuine, and intentional community where members are treated, fairly, equally, listened to, empowered, and where diversity is celebrated.

• To afford choice and opportunity to all members to participate in and experience a rich cultural and spiritual life influenced by the traditions and rhythms of the Camphill movement based on life sharing and a programme of seasonal festivals.

• To provide opportunities for all members of the community to learn and develop through participation in meaningful activities that promote independence and contribute to the life of the community through work, creativity, and leisure.

• To be a community who value the environment, treating the land upon which we live, and the physical environment around us with respect and care in keeping with organic and biodynamic principles and recognising the wider concerns associated with the climate crises.

These aims are much more than words for our community where residents, day participants, families, volunteers and staff have an equal voice and status as they play their part in community life. Evidence for this is shown in the Care Inspectorate’s latest gradings. In an unannounced visit in March 2023 to assess the residential service, we were graded ‘Very Good’ in areas which focussed on the wellbeing of our residents and quality of leadership. In addition, our Day Service was inspected in October 2023, and we were graded ‘Very Good’ for the wellbeing of participants and ‘Good’ for the quality of leadership.

Growth & Development

The growth of our community over the past ten years and lessons learned during Covid prompted us to undertake a strategic review of our resources with a specific focus on how we use our estate for the benefit of our residents and day participants. This resulted in a 2022-27 Capital Development Programme which will enable us to double the size of our Day Service by the end of 2025 and, by 2028, increase residential numbers to 48.

Individual learning/development for residents and day participants is monitored routinely and recorded. There is staff professional evaluation as well as a clear management structure, leading to reports to Trustees and other bodies. This provides a framework within which we ‘plan, do and review’, producing plans, budgets and the aims and objectives which shape our work.  

Fundraising areas

We have two project areas which will require funds to deliver in 2026, and a third major area for which fundraising will likely begin in 2026.

1. Workshops - Our workshops provide daily therapeutic working environments which bring a lot of satisfaction to their participants. Whether it be the purchase of equipment like a tractor for the Farm Workshop, or repairing and extending the poly tunnels in the Garden Workshop, or refurbishing the aging workshop buildings themselves, there are always needs that cannot easily be met from our day to day income.

2. Renewable Energy - We have a commitment to achieving net zero in our energy consumption with the opportunity to use our buildings and estate to install solar PV panels and ground or air source heating systems and we need to fund installations. Apart from contributing to reducing the climate crisis, the ability to reallocate much of the money we currently spend annually on oil, gas and electricity would be a great benefit.

3. New Accommodation - Finally, our estate gives us the space to build more accommodation to enable more adults to join us as residents. Our current waiting list is capped at 40, which reflects our reputation and the shortage of residential care in Scotland. The design of any new accommodation will reflect the needs of our potential new residents e.g. offering more independent living, as this will complement the group homes already on site.

We would be so grateful for any support you can give us.