Approaching the plants to approach the world.
At age 18, Sherry Wildfeuer began learning more about anthroposophy by working in a Camphill community. There, she met a gardener who had a special approach to plants, which inspired Sherry to become a gardener herself. Since then, she has worked at a Camphill Village in Pennsylvania, USA, in a community of 110 people, for about 50 years. The community farms 420 acres of land and has a bakery. It also produces dairy products and crafts. Although she didn’t have as much time for gardening once she started her family, Sherry was able to bring the same attention she had given to plants to her Camphill household of ten people. In 1978, she began publishing the agricultural calendar Stella Natura, and in 1981 went on to co-found the Biodynamic Association in the USA. Today, she teaches the basics of anthroposophy at Camphill Academy. Although Sherry has experienced being taken less seriously in the biodynamic movement because she is a woman, she has persevered and in doing so has helped change perceptions towards women.
Source Panel ‘Women as pioneers in biodynamics’, March 2023, Agriculture Section
More Biodynamics at ‘Women’s History Month Profile’, March 30, 2023
Translation Eliza Rozeboom
Image Sherry Wildfeuer. Photo: Xue Li
