Broome Farm

 

David Clement talked about Broome

In 1934 I bought Broome Farm to grow biodynamic food for the children. Carl was living in the town, so we moved he and his family into the farm and he became the manager. We then thought that we would start biodynamic farming ‘proper’. My mother had died in a motor accident and that was where we got the money to buy the farm. Carl moved in with his family. However, we had some difficulties. The farm men, of whom we had about half a dozen, were typical English farm workers. They had mostly fought in the First War. Carl was anxious that his children could speak German, and so only German was spoken in the farmhouse. This led to a near revolt. So Carl had to move out after 3 years.

Derek Duffey then came to Sunfield together with his wife and a few other people and we ran a sort of Emerson College – a 3 year course in anthroposophy. At the end of a year Fried Geuter asked each of them what they wanted to do and they all wanted to work in anthroposophy and agriculture. So they moved into Broome Farm and Carl moved into Clent. He continued as the adviser for the Anthroposophical Agricultural Foundation and was also a lecturer and writer. He was busy enough and travelled. So we bought him a little car and he visited where he could. There were probably about a dozen (BD) gardens and farms altogether then. We were financed entirely by the private gardeners like Mrs Pease. The gardeners made it possible for the farmers to exist biodynamically. We were terribly poor. It was terribly difficult to find enough money to keep Carl and his family.