Helgeseter
– a perfectly
self-contained community
The GC Rieber Foundations was key to the establishment of the Helgeseter foundation in 1954. Helgeseter was set up as a home for health education and learning for children with special needs who were not catered for by mainstream education at the time. Today Helgeseter offers social therapies to children and adults.
Projects at Helgeseter
Reflecting changes in society as a whole, the Helgeseter site has grown into a small village based around three interlinked units.
Adding to the original Helgeseter centre, the Eplekarten Steiner kindergarten opened in 2014. Helgetun senior village, which caters for active older people wanting to live in their own home for as long as possible, welcomed its first residents in spring 2019.
Operating as separate entities, the three units embrace the full cycle of life, they include people which special needs, and they draw on each other’s strengths. The farm, with its cows, horses, pigs, sheep and chickhens, are a focal point for all residents.
The Growth House
Human interaction with animals has always been central to the Helgeseter concept. The GC Rieber Foundations has funded The Growth House, a community space for all users of the Helgeseter village designed as a “greenhouse for plants and people” as an extension to the farming activities taking place on the site. The house is a meeting place where people grow organic herbs, attend choir practice, take exercise, enjoy communal dinners and engage in a range of other activities.
The building is in frequent use and has become a wonderful community hub for everyone living and working at Helgeseter and Helgetun..
Setersprell
Every year Helgeseter puts on its own arts festival called Setersprell. The festival is one of many successful outcomes of the work taking place at Helgeseter.
Work opportunities at Helgeseter
The farm is a key part of life at Helgeseter. The animals provide milk, wool, meat and a great deal of joy. They need to be petted and cared for, and animal feed is produced on the 8 hectares of farmland. In winter the residents chop wood and carry out road maintenance.
The bakery provides everyone at Helgeseter with healthy bread and slightly less healthy cakes, biscuits and other snacks.
The candle-making, weaving and felting workshops produce unique items often made with wool from the resident sheep. The products are sold at the Helgeseter summer and Christmas markets.
