Tolstoy Farm
In 1910, a community in the Transvaal province of South Africa took the name of a Russian philosopher: Tolstoy Farm. Mohandas Gandhi founded it as an ashram, a place of communal living organized around a political struggle. That struggle was satyagraha, a campaign of principled nonviolent resistance against laws that discriminated against Indians in the Transvaal. Leo Tolstoy, a Russian writer and philosopher, gave the farm its name. The man who put the land at Gandhi's disposal was Hermann Kallenbach, a supporter whose role extended into the very identity of the community.
Phoenix Farm, in Natal, was Gandhi's first South African ashram, established in 1904. It preceded Tolstoy Farm by six years. Gandhi's approach to nonviolence was shaped by one particular text: The Kingdom of God Is Within You, a book by Leo Tolstoy. This work had greatly influenced Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence. Hermann Kallenbach's contribution to Tolstoy Farm extended well beyond making the land available, as the community that grew there would make clear.
Hermann Kallenbach allowed Gandhi and between seventy and eighty other people to live at Tolstoy Farm. The arrangement held for as long as their local movement remained in effect. Kallenbach had also been the one to propose the community's name. The residents soon constructed three new buildings to serve their life there: one for living quarters, one as a workshop, and one as a school. Sjt. Pragji Desai was among those who helped with this effort. There were no servants on the farm. Every task, from cooking to scavenging, was carried out by the residents themselves. Tolstoy Farm was built to last exactly as long as the campaign it was built to serve.
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Common questions
What was Tolstoy Farm and who founded it?
Tolstoy Farm was an ashram founded by Mohandas Gandhi in 1910 in the Transvaal province of South Africa. It served as the headquarters of a satyagraha campaign against laws that discriminated against Indians in the Transvaal.
Was Tolstoy Farm Gandhi's first ashram in South Africa?
Tolstoy Farm was Gandhi's second ashram in South Africa, not his first. His first South African ashram was Phoenix Farm, established in Natal in 1904, six years before Tolstoy Farm opened.
Why was Tolstoy Farm named after Leo Tolstoy?
Tolstoy Farm was named after Leo Tolstoy, a Russian writer and philosopher whose 1894 book, The Kingdom of God Is Within You, had greatly influenced Gandhi's philosophy of nonviolence. The name was proposed by Hermann Kallenbach, the Gandhi supporter who made the land available.
Who was Hermann Kallenbach and what did he do at Tolstoy Farm?
Hermann Kallenbach was a Gandhi supporter who allowed Gandhi and between seventy and eighty other people to live at Tolstoy Farm for as long as their local satyagraha movement remained active. He also proposed the community's name.
How was daily life organized at Tolstoy Farm?
Tolstoy Farm operated without servants. Every task, from cooking to scavenging, was carried out by the residents themselves. The community housed Gandhi and between seventy and eighty other people.
What buildings were constructed at Tolstoy Farm?
The residents of Tolstoy Farm constructed three new buildings: one for living quarters, one as a workshop, and one as a school.
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3 references cited across the entry
- 1Tolstoy FarmSouth African Historical Journal, No. 7 — November 1975
- 3JournalGandhi's Decisive South African 1913 Campaign: A Personal Perspective from the Letters of Betty MoltenoCorder, Catherine et al. — 2014