ExpO Conference

57 members and 27 guests

From Secretary’s letter # 5 of November 1946

(1) CONFERENCE OF THE EXPERIMENTAL CIRCLE.

The Experimental Circle was formed in the presence of Rudolf Steiner during the days of the Agriculture Course at Koberwitz in June 1924. Its main. function was the working out of the theoretioal background and the practical application of the new agricultural impulse, The Agriculture Course has been rem stricted to Members of this Circle until recently, but as announced in the last Secretary’s Letter, is now available like other Lecture Cycles. The Experimental Circle had to take note of this new situation,

During recent months the Circle in this country has met regularly for serious study and for discussion of practical problems, and we have realised that now the task of the Circle is perhaps even greater than before: to safeguard the integrity of Rudolf Steiner’s agricultural impulse. This can, quite obviously, be done only on the basis of Anthroposophy, as Rudolf Steiner himsell said that he was giving these lectures at Koberwitz “out of the heart of Anthroposophy”. The Experimental Circle can function properly only if all its Members approach this task in the light of Anthroposophy and agree to study the Agriculture Course with this as background.

At Clent, where we met for a 4 days! conference, a very important event has taken place which will have considerable repercussions upon our whole work, even beyond the Circle itself: The two groups of the Experimental Circle which for many years had worked quite independently and with but little knowledge of each other, have decided on a fusion, so that henceforth there will be only one Experimental Circle of Anthroposophical Farmers and Gardeners in this country. We can be deeply grateful for this having become possible,

One of the Circle’s most important tasks, also in future, will be the trusteeship of the Agriculture Course, now no longer of the book as such, but of its content. This work has two aspects: one is directed inwardly towards the study and further elaboration of Rudolf Steiner’s gift, the other is directed outwardly towards enquirers. This latter task is in the hands of two organisations for the furtherance of the practical application of the bio-dynamic methods: the Anthroposophical Agricultural Foundation and the Bio-Dynamic Association. You all will be glad to hear that close contact has been established between these two organisations.