THE LIFE

In terms of size, a bruderhof is really a communal village rather than a ‘communal house’ type of commune. A contemporary bruderhof might have in excess of 300 adults and children living on it. Recently, Darvell Bruderhof in East Sussex, England, indicated that it had 303 persons living there, 157 over 18 and 146 under 18 (Bunker et al. 1999, 140). A bruderhof will, accordingly, have a substantial number of buildings, including a number of blocks for accommodation. There will be a large dining room, a central feature of community life; there will be a small factory, informally called the workshop, in which production of Community Playthings educational toys and Rifton products for the disabled will be undertaken; there may also be blocks in which offices connected to the movement's publishing activities will be located, and in which an archive might be maintained. The bruderhof will also have a sewing room and a laundry. A school for the children under 14 years old will also be a feature – at 14 they go to local state schools. A kindergarten and baby house will be another important part of the site, and a large room in which the brotherhood of adult members – male and female – can hold meetings, both practical and religious, the latter being called gemeindestunde, will also be a central focal point. This list does not exhaust the facilities on the site, which might also include libraries for adults and children and other buildings connected with the community's agricultural activities. These are no longer of a commercial nature and are called ‘gardening’.

Both the sites in England have had previous occupiers, one being a TB sanatorium and the other a physical education college. The American sites include at least one former hotel. Having said this, the Bruderhof ‘customises’ its sites, even if only in terms of atmosphere: the buildings are given names drawing upon the movement's history. So, the dining room building at Darvell is the Rhön house, evocatively named in memory of a site that the movement occupied in Germany between 1927 and 1937. The sight of the members around the ‘hof’ will also make clear to the casual passer-by that something extraordinary is happening: the men tend to wear blue or check shirts with jeans, often black. Many also have beards and braces.