The FRIENDs Community is a Camphill-inspired community located in Muaklek, a small town two and a half hours Northeast of Bangkok. In 1997, before this journey started, Suphot Teerasawad bought the land without knowing that one day it would hold spaces and assist many families and individuals with special needs. Dairy farming was a main activity back then. Later, Teerasawad’s family discovered that their youngest son, Tanayu, has ‹Cri du chat› syndrome, a rare genetic disorder. Tanayu’s mother, Suwannee, began exploring ways to live healthily with her child and find ways to help Tanayu improve. Without having any search engines like today, ‹Camphill› was among the first few keywords she came across. Anthroposophy was introduced to her along this new learning path. She studied many anthroposophy-related subjects and, in 2015, she decided to gather almost 20 families to spend six weekends together by using anthroposophical approaches to design activities. By the end of that year, all members agreed that six weekends were not enough. Therefore, in 2017, their work grew from 6 to 24 weekends, including a school day and excursion days.
The community usually has a special annual excursion. In 2016, members were joining the ‹3rd Thailand Congress for Persons with Special Needs›. One of a few inspirations shared among members was attending the first World Congress in Russia in 2017. One inspiring story was a partner with Down Syndrome who owned a bakery and hired caregivers to look after him and his business. More inspirations came from visiting Peaceful Bamboo Family in Vietnam in 2018 and from attending an international Camphill Movement meeting in Vietnam in 2019. By seeing what others are doing, we have always asked ourselves, «Are we doing things right?», and now we have the answers. During our visit to Vietnam, we recognized the need for additional core principles and knowledge to maintain a more practical approach. We invited Becky Rutherford to Thailand to teach curative education and social therapy.
Of course, when things were still in a pioneering phase, many challenges came from outsiders who doubted our ways of interpreting and integrating anthroposophical approaches into community life. However, by trusting in the process and the core principles, the results of what we do lay now in front of us, in everyday life, in the process of transforming ourselves as parents, teachers, and caregivers. We are all growing together at our own pace.
After many conversations at the Camphill movement meeting in Vietnam, we came to realize that there are no ‹right› or ‹wrong› ways. No one can really judge. It depends on the context, culture, and people in a particular community. The message that we hold in our hearts is «keep doing what we are doing, keep transforming ourselves.» Those are the most important things: to have courage and have the will to do what is needed.
Everything was slightly slowing down in 2020 when we faced the COVID-19 lockdown. Things seemed chaotic everywhere outside the community. However, life inside the community was still going on peacefully. The community became a shelter for others during the pandemic. In the community, it’s important that all voices are heard, and the direction and future after the pandemic were discussed among members. Eventually, it was agreed that we will still be working on the weekend school and social therapy for families with adolescent special needs and open the third training class to develop more teachers and caretakers, so they understand and seek the same perspectives. The center of that future is depending on the growth of each individual adolescent member in our community.
Nowadays, the FRIENDs Community has 23 members and four families who have decided to live here as our residents. One family member, Vutika, has just finished building her own house by the help of Mr. Suphot, a landowner and a former civil engineer. Vutika’s son, Tanupat, who has autism, helped build his house, too. When asking Tanupat, he looks very delighted, he adds: «I’m proud of myself.» It was his dream to be an engineer. A regular task assigned to Tanupat was to make a brick as a way to calm down. He explained that: «I’m very happy and light when making bricks, I also earn money from selling them.» The bricks will be sold to the community and used to create a garden near the classroom. He says: «With this money, I will go travelling.» Happiness shows in his eyes when he talks about his life in the community. By being here, his dreams could be fulfilled. At the beginning, things were not so easy for Tanupat; it took patience and time to adapt his life to the rhythm of the community.
The same is true for Tanayu. When asking about what makes him happy and excited, he replies: «Friday Circle Cool Cool», which was named by him and refers to the Friday evening barbecue, «and also workshop.» Tanayu always wanted to be a workshop instructor, therefore, we provide a space for him in the workshop as a teacher assistant. He looks forward to the upcoming schedule and is very excited when the community hosts classrooms and social events. Last year, the community had a special cultural event, known as a ‹new house blessing ceremony›. It was for the new house of Korakot, a big brother of Tanayu. The community invited nine monks to come and pour holy water around the house. It was a very rare occasion. For Korakot and his family, the ceremony is very sacred and pure. The monks who provided this service were from the temple where all our members with special needs were ordained.
Inviting the members to important events is a part of the social inclusion here. This includes a ‹birthday blessing ceremony›. A blessing will be given from all members, along with lighting candles, for anyone who turns 21. This ceremony marks the turning point in becoming a fully individual human being. Last year, the community welcomed a newborn, Puri. His father, Korakot, gathered all members to join a ‹placenta-burying ceremony› when Puri turned one year old. Thai people believe that if we bury a placenta under a big tree, a child will never forget their home, and when they grow up, they will eventually requite a favor to this place.
In the coming years, our designed classroom activities will continue, such as gardening, cooking, farming, and handcrafts, for those who are between 14 to 20 years old. Those who are older than 21 will be assigned to support the teacher’s activities. The recent idea for 2027 is to expand spaces for younger people with special needs aged between 8 to 13. In addition to the weekend school, the FRIENDs Community accommodates a yearly farming camp for many Waldorf schools. It is an honor for us to be a significant part of Thailand’s anthroposophical society. When asking our community members for reasons to settle their lives here, many agree that they feel safe. The community provides a sustainable knowledge, so they can look after their children with special needs. Many agree that they have a good quality of life, a life that has a future, a career path, and a chance to transform themselves. Typically, Thai communities are sharing communities. FRIENDs Community emphasizes this. We have fun making bread, trying new recipes, planting trees, reflecting on goals, and having barbecue evenings together. All of the ceremonies and important events pull everyone together. We all feel that this is a safe space and a place where we can try and fail as many times as we need until we find a true path to meet our destiny. It is the safest ‹sandbox› for everyone.
Contact: Pailin Teerasawad, pailinkunnawat@gmail.com / FRIENDs Community is on Facebook.
Photo: FRIENDs Community
