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The work of our co-workers is twofold:

• In workshops supporting the disabled and helping to run the workshop.
• In living and working in one of the houses, taking part in wider community life, including cultural and social activities.

The co-worker will be assigned a morning and an afternoon workshop, for example on the farm, the vegetable garden, the herb garden, the forest group, the weavery, bakery or preparing a meal in a house. Generally the co-worker will be a part of all the tasks in the workshop. Workshop time is from Monday to Friday from 9-12 and 14-17. Our workshops change according to season, from summer to winter rhythm. Usually the co-workers will therefore change workshops at least once during their stay. We try to find a balance between the co-worker’s wishes and the needs of the workshop. We try to take these wishes into account, although the needs of the village have to come first.

Typical tasks for the workshops:

Farm: milking the cows, feeding all animals, driving tractor and other.
Weavery: learning to weave, sew, felt and assisting others in these tasks.
Bakery: baking bread and buns for approximately 50 people.
Vegetable garden: planting, weeding, harvesting.
Forest: making firewood for the whole village, and tending the forest.
Herb garden: planting, harvesting, drying and packing herbs.
Cooking: Learning to prepare a meal for as many as 12-15 people, using ecological ingredients, mostly grown on our own farm.

All these tasks will be carried out in cooperation with people with special needs and the co-worker will receive training. One principle of our working life is to help wherever help is needed, so we expect our co-workers to be open-minded and flexible towards their tasks. As far as it is possible the co-worker will be placed in a workshop based on their interests and preferences however we do ask that co-workers are flexible where it is necessary.

We welcome ideas for activities and where co-workers have specific skills or interests it may be possible for them to form their own workshops with the disabled. We have had co-workers organizing creative workshops, music or sports activities together with people with special needs. The co-worker is welcome to bring her/his own initiative, to organise activities if there is a need for this and if it is possible to combine this with the life in the community. We are also open to make special arrangements for the individual co-worker, so that she/he can follow up on free-time activities, extra Norwegian classes, or similar things.

The co-worker will receive information for each workshop and house. In workshops with potentially dangerous tasks (for example the farm or the forest), the co-worker will receive protective clothing. In all the tasks that the co-worker will be asked to do, the co-worker will receive training.

The co-worker is expected to participate in the daily tasks in the house he/she is living in. These tasks in the house include housekeeping routines like washing the dishes, preparing meals, general cleaning, helping our villagers to keep their rooms clean and help them with bathing and personal hygiene when needed. All these tasks are shared between all the co-workers in a house. Every Saturday we have a house-cleaning morning, where everyone helps to clean the house. The co-worker is expected to help with these tasks every other weekend.

All co-workers are expected to take part in free time activities; plays, preparing village celebrations, attending the Introduction Seminar and Norwegian classes and generally to be open to learn about our way of life.

A typical day of a co-worker:

The co-workers have breakfast and all other meals in a family house with the extended family.

• At 8.45 the whole village meets for a short morning gathering to start the day together.

• Afterwards everyone continues to their morning workshops. The morning workshop lasts from 9.00 to 12.00

• At 12.30 we eat a warm meal in our extended families and have lunch break until 14.00

• From 14.00 to 17.00 everyone goes to their afternoon workshops.

• At 17.30 we eat supper in our family houses.

Some evenings (on a rota basis), the co-worker will be asked to be evening responsible, which means that he/she should stay available in the house, prepare supper, participate in the housework and provide some pastoral care for the disabled of his/her house. Some evenings there are activities organised, social events, cultural activities and meetings, which the co-workers are encouraged to attend to participate fully in community life. Every house is run a bit different but usually the tasks are shared out amongst the co-workers on the weekly house meetings.

We offer a huge variety of learning possibilities: we train each co-worker for the tasks in his/her workshops. We provide Norwegian classes at least once a week and the co-worker is obliged to attend them and is given additional help when needed. Most of our people with special needs speak only Norwegian, so the volunteers learn daily vocabulary quickly through practice with them.

We also offer an introduction seminar for new co-workers, which is usually one afternoon a week from autumn to easter. This provides an insight into the anthroposophical foundations of the village. This is a good place to ask questions and find out more about our traditions and history. Here we share basic ideas about anthroposophy and the camphill movement.

In addition we hope to arrange again three weekend seminars in the course of the year for all the new co-workers from all the Camphill places in Norway. The co-workers can share their experiences, get to know other co-workers and places and have some fun.

To ensure the well-being of the co-workers, each is assigned a mentor and has regular meetings with him/her, where all problems can be taken up. The mentor will help the co-worker to find his/her place in the community. The house-parents and the workshop leaders will give the volunteer additional training and information about all the tasks of the co-workers.

By working and living with other young volunteers from around the world co-workers in Solborg will have lots of opportunities to engage in cultural exchange. Solborg has strong cultural traditions itself, some of which are Norwegian and some of which are the result of being an international community and being part of the international network of Camphill villages. Co-workers are encouraged not only to become involved in community cultural events but to have their own cultural impact by sharing their own culture and traditions. Because we both live and work as an international community there are ample opportunities to participate in cultural exchange, not only the big holiday events but the small day to day aspects of culture.

The biggest part of living and working at Solborg is the intercultural learning from other people and to get to know intimately people with special needs and to understand the value each human being has, with or without handicap. Providing care and meaningful work for the disabled is the reason for the existence of Solborg. Co-workers in Solborg work and live with people with all kinds of disabilities. In this manner co-workers come to a greater understanding of disability and what it in fact means to be disabled. Co-workers often find that they themselves can learn from the disabled community members as well as helping the disabled with those things that they cannot manage themselves. What makes Solborg special is that the disabled community members are fully integrated into community life so co-workers work in workshops with the disabled, eat with them and participate in social and cultural activities with the disabled. This enables an understanding of the person behind the disability. Living and working in Solborg develops a sense of tolerance and increases appreciation for diversity as living and working with such a variety of people with such a variety of needs requires tolerance and an appreciation of the worth of each individual.

By the end of their stay in Solborg, the co-worker can expect to have experienced significant social and personal development, gained a number of practical personal competencies such as the ability to speak Norwegian and milk a cow or bake bread for 50 people; other skills are less practical but equally useful such as the ability to empathise with and tolerate all kinds of people. Possibly most important from a personal point of view, volunteers will have gained a sense of confidence in their abilities. After you have run a farm, taken a group of disabled people on holiday and cooked dinner for 15 people for 12 months, all in a foreign language, anything seems impossible.

Every co-worker belongs to a house-community, and extended family, where 3-5 people with special needs, house-parents (sometimes with children) and 2-3 volunteers (usually young people from all over the world) live together. The co-worker is provided with food in the house he/she will belong to. The extended family shares all meals and the co-worker will be expected to participate in the tasks in the house and provide some pastoral care for the disabled of his/her house.

The monthly pocket money (at January 2012) is 2000 NOK (250€). The co-worker is entitled to have refunded 400 NOK (50€) monthly for local transport, and 800 NOK (100€) travel allowance for travelling within Norway every six months.

If the co-worker has a driving license they will be able to drive the community cars after a period in the village and upon meeting insurance requirements.

The co-worker is expected to work 5 days a week in the workshops but has one free afternoon or morning every week, which is arranged with the workshop.

The co-worker will also have responsibilities in the house every second weekend which entails helping the disabled people with everyday activities and providing pastoral care. The work tasks in the weekends are to help with the house cleaning, help with meals, sometimes social/cultural program. The volunteer shares these tasks with the other co-workers in the house, so the co-worker is not ‘at work’ all weekend. The co-worker is also expected to join in our cultural and social arrangements, which vary from week to week. In consequences, the co-worker will be free every other weekend. Please note that the specific times are always going to vary from house to house and week to week.

In Solborg it is not always possible to differentiate between work time and free-time. It is important that the co-worker is aware that at times staying in Solborg can be intense, since we not only work together, but also live together. To live in a community like this is very rewarding, instructive and gives personal growth, but can at times also be demanding. We have a system to support and help the co-workers when problems arise, but it is also important that the volunteers are aware that they might meet some challenges here.

The co-worker is entitled to take five weeks of holidays a year, preferably in the second half of the activity period.

We ask that all applicants to fill in an application form, which can be done online or downloaded from tyhe links at the top of this page. We try to have an international mix of co-workers. It is not necessary that applicants have previous experience with people with special needs. We try not to ask: "What are you good at already?" but rather "What are you willing to learn?"

Camphill villages are based on Christian values. We are open to people from other faiths, spiritual spheres or cultural backgrounds, however it is important that volunteers respect our rhythm, events and traditions. As Solborg welcome people from any cultural background, without any discrimination based on race, religion, gender or sexual orientation, we expect the volunteers to respect our anthroposophic and Christian background too.