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Findhorn Foundation Community

The Findhorn community is an international center in northeast Scotland where people live and work together creating new models of ecology, economics, culture, and spirituality. Love and respect for the divinity in all life has given rise to the development of an ecovillage that nurtures holistic education and a rich community life that inspires individuals and other communities. There is no formal creed or doctrine at Findhorn, and many forms of spirituality, both traditional and new, are practiced. Findhorn's Statement of Common Ground, which includes the honoring of personal integrity, mutual respect, nonviolence, spiritual practice, and service, has been adopted as a code of ethics. The community encourages personal and collective spiritual growth, as well as direct knowledge of the interconnectedness between ourselves, divinity, and the natural world.

Brief History

The community began unintentionally in the Findhorn Bay Caravan Park in 1962 when Eileen and Peter Caddy, their three young children, and Dorothy Maclean arrived for what they thought was a temporary stay. They began a garden in sandy soil, which flourished, they believed, thanks to Dorothy's awareness of the nature spirits in the garden and Peter's implementation of their directions. The consequent growth of huge vegetables and an array of flowers, and the wisdom of Eileen's guidance received in meditation, attracted many people to the community. Eileen received guidance to build six bungalows on wheels (which were legally seen as caravans) for houseguests. The land was rented from the park owners who were in residence all year and were quite happy to see their land being improved by this growing group of people.

In 1972, the community became the Findhorn Foundation, a registered charitable trust. In 1975 the Cluny Hill Hotel in the nearby town of Forres was purchased and became Cluny Hill College, the Foundation's base for educational programs. By 1980, there were 315 community members year round, and in 1983 the caravan park at Findhorn was purchased and renamed The Park. In the 1990s, the growth of the Foundation and the number of businesses and initiatives arising from it made it necessary to restructure. The Findhorn Foundation decided to focus on education and general organization, keeping itself as a smaller community of coworkers. In the meantime, the businesses that had been created and growing gradually over the years, along with likeminded individuals who wanted to live in community but not be part of the Foundation, joined together to become the New Findhorn Association, creating an “open” community of which the Findhorn Foundation is the largest member.

Structure of the Findhorn Foundation

The Findhorn Foundation remains the educational and organizational cornerstone of the Findhorn community. It is a community within a community, with 120 coworkers and their families. It includes a trading branch, New Findhorn Directions Ltd, and five areas of management: education, spiritual and personal development, central services, assets, and living education and services. The Foundation also includes a global network of supporters: 160 resource people, 520 stewards, 200 friends, and 110 fellows, honored for their transformational work in the world. The Foundation has a board of trustees that is ultimately responsible for it. The trustees mandate a management committee to make everyday decisions; the management committee in turn refers to a self-selected group of decision makers, composed of coworkers of the Foundation (coworkers being all workers, including management, and students).

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