A visit to Loch Arthur Camphill Community
As Loch Arthur Camphill Community celebrates its 40th anniversary, we chat to Barry Graham - a man who built up the creamery from scratch and played a central role in Britain’s artisan cheese revival during the 1980s, including the formation of the Specialist Cheesemakers Association.
Barry talks about the past, present and future of this working community in Dumfries & Galloway, which includes men and women with learning disabilities – offering an insight into a very special piece of our cheesemaking landscape.
WHAT IS LOCH ARTHUR CAMPHILL COMMUNITY?
Loch Arthur is part of the Camphill movement, created in the 1940s to give opportunities to children with learning disabilities. To be educated, lived with, to have a richness and fullness of life that any human being would be entitled to, with no discrimination to say they can't achieve. It started with children, but when faced with going out into a world which was not so accepting, Camphill developed into an adult community. It's not a community caring for people with learning disabilities. They are part of the community.
WHY DID YOU START MAKING CHEESE?
Following the introduction of milk quotas, we thought, if we can't sell the milk, let's process something. We also had people whose disabilities meant it was difficult for them to work on the land, so we had an incentive to offer more indoor working opportunities. There was one man who needed a wheelchair or Zimmer to walk. So he was sat down at the kitchen table to turn butter, and he did this to cries of exuberance for the love of his work. So that’s where it started. I came along a few months later. I had never made cheese, but I was soon gripped. We moved from a few cows up to 150,000 litres of milk making 15 tonnes of cheese, sending it all over the country and winning a host of awards. But most importantly, we were giving people really good working opportunities.
WHO MAKES THE CHEESE?
Originally I learned cheesemaking, but I had a group of community members with me from the beginning. Certain people said this was too big a challenge – to work alongside people with personal needs, while making a high profile product with unpasteurised milk. But somehow the more challenging it was, the more the people responded to it. They appreciated the clarity, the routine, the expectancy. At our peak we made five different cheeses, but we’ve pared back to focus on our Farmhouse Cheese.
WHERE DOES THE MILK COME FROM?
The milk comes from our own farm. We only had four cows when we started, but we’ve built up to around 35-40 cows.
WHAT ROLE HAS CHEESEMAKING PLAYED IN THE COMMUNITY'S DEVELOPMENT?
A lot of what our creamery has been about is connection. When we came here, we didn't know anyone. It’s not an easy life making cheese – but cheese has been our conduit to reach out into the world.
WHAT WAS THE INSPIRATION FOR THE FARM SHOP & CAFE?
Outside the creamery, we had a little shop. I used to refer to the pilgrims who made the journey up here to find good quality cheese. I loved the interaction and dealing with people. I started bringing our meat, bread, jams and chutneys in. People loved it. Ten years later, we said… we’ve got to do this. It's a big adventure, but I think it's been really worthwhile for us and for the region.
WHAT'S NEXT FOR LOCH ARTHUR CAMPHILL COMMUNITY?
Succession is next. To see if we can make this work, in such challenging times. These have been remarkable years, but that doesn't mean they need to be the same forever. I think we've got a very good foundation for things to go forward in a positive way. You know, I've been a sort of figurehead for it all because I'm out front and passionate, but I couldn't have done it without an incredibly supportive team of colleagues and community members.
WHERE CAN WE BUY YOUR CHEESE?
Loch Arthur Farmhouse Cheese is stocked at I.J. Mellis and other independent cheese shops across Scotland. It can also be ordered from locharthur.org.uk.