Our Rich History

Garvald Edinburgh grew out of an established community of people living and working together at Garvald, West Linton, in the Scottish Borders. Social Therapy, the organisation’s underpinning principles and approach to its work, is based in Anthroposophy which stems from the approaches developed through the Camphill Movement and the ideas of Rudolf Steiner. From the start, we were committed to providing meaningful development, high quality care and creative and inclusive opportunities for people with disabilities.

In 1968 a group who had been living at West Linton moved from there to establish a new community in the city. A new “community” was established in initially one, and following some growth, three community houses. In 1969 the community was formally developed into a constituted charitable organisation and limited company in and became known as the Garvald Training Centre

In addition to three community houses, staffed mainly by volunteers, activities took place that were aimed at supporting development. These included traditional crafts such as weaving, woodworking and metalworking, cooking and baking, as well as artistic endeavours like printmaking, puppetry and drama. The focus was to support creativity, individual growth and make a real contribution to society. The craft activity eventually outgrew the houses and in time Day services began to take place at two locations in the Gorgie-Dalry area: the Caledonia Works and Gorgie Workshop and a shop – the Mulberry bush in Morningside.

By the late 1990s, the organisation had become more structured and volunteer roles had become paid positions. The accommodation services continued to evolve and by around 2015 all the community houses had closed with everyone having moved out to individual or shared flats reflecting more independent living. In 2017, Garvald Edinburgh ceased to provide supported living services (although many former residents still access our workshops) and instead concentrated on responding to the growing demand for creative day services.

Now, Garvald operates day services across five locations offering a wide range of opportunities. Caledonia Works moved to a new building and became Orwell Arts. The Gorgie Workshop has been recently upgraded and modernised. We have two additional facilities: Waterside Workshops in Edinburgh and Mayfield House in Midlothian now supporting over 240 members. In 2023, our Garvald shop, the Mulberry Bush, closed its doors after many years of trading and supporting members. The Shop reopened on a new site in Morningside, changing its name to Garvald  Makers; evolving to stock even more products created in the workshops. The shop continues to offer our members the opportunity to gain retail experience in a busy, trading shop.

Photos: Caledonia Works and Gorgie Workshop ©Donald Ker circa 1982