Living on the Isle of Erraid
“I like all the work I do. I love every bit of it. I often say it’s like living in paradise, because there is nothing I don’t like to do. For me it’s a lifestyle.”
The community practises ‘Work as Love in Action’ in Erraid’s organic gardens
Members of our community on the remote Isle of Erraid, on the west coast of Scotland opposite the sacred Isle of Iona, share about their unique lifestyle in the short video below. They talk about their everyday life, which is in tune with the change of seasons, the cycles of the moon and the tides, the weather, the various guests that visit from all over the world and the wild beauty and magic of this place. In their daily routines and rhythms they practise the three core principles of the Findhorn Foundation: Inner Listening, Co-Creation with Nature, and Work as Love in Action.
We hope you will enjoy this video which was filmed and directed by Giulia Candussi, who came to visit the community in 2019. Thank you, dear Giulia for painting such a rich picture of life on Erraid.
In the video Katie describes her island life like this:
“It’s like my dream. It’s a bit scarily like my dream. I felt so at home here straight away. I just felt like this is where I need to be at the moment. When I had taken my year off, I had this thought that I needed to be surrounded by beauty and I wanted to live somewhere wild. And it felt like: this is my place. It was kind of a gut feeling. I can’t really explain how right it felt to be here. The doors are open for visitors to come and just be here for a week or two and just let go of the business of everyday life.”
Katie on her way to the byre to feed the chickens and collect the eggs
Erraid History
For over 45 years the members of the Erraid community have been leading a simple, down to earth lifestyle which seems to be part of a bygone century. It involves growing their own organic food, preparing meals from the land and the sea, baking bread, cutting wood, lighting fires to heat their homes, drinking rainwater, holding daily meditations, sacred singing, sharings, attunements, walking on the raw, beautiful island, celebrating the turning of the seasons during their Celtic Festival Weeks and much more …
Lighting a candle in the sanctuary before the community’s daily meditation
In 1978 custodianship over the island was generously given to the Findhorn Foundation by the Dutch owners of the island, the Van der Sluis family. Since then the Erraid community has been taking care of the island with its old lighthouse keeper’s cottages, organic gardens, animals and all beings seen and unseen. The community’s vision is to live as sustainably as is possible whilst consciously embodying their spiritual values in everyday life. They invite guests to share their homes and lives for most of the year to experience this unique way of life in one of the most breathtaking places on the planet.
Start of the log-run: transporting the firewood from the woodshed up to the houses
“I think this place can help and be very beneficial for people from all different backgrounds and all different walks of life. Anyone can thrive here.”
