Every day here is Earth Day

Gonna make a difference, that’s why we came here

We’re planting seeds, it’s a birth day

We create the future, that’s what we learn here

– Green School Song –

As we shared with you before, the Green School in Bali is one of the primary reasons why we chose South East Asia as our destination for this Follow your Sun inspiration and development trip. This private school is known for its curriculum that is learning children to be conscious of the environment and the society in which we live. Besides this the Green School is pioneering in the way they embody sustainability, having this as one of their core values. Through friends who visited the school before or who worked for the organization, we had been in touch with them trying to find out what the opportunities are to learn more about their way of work and their vision. However, because of the immense publicity and (media) attention for the school, we turned out not being the only one. At the moment, daily tours are organized for visitors to get an impression of what the school is like.

But when we met a group of Dutch people earlier this week, there turned out to be another possibility to see more of the daily life at the school. Hence, some men of the group explained that their children are currently going to the Green School and we got invited to join them for a weekly assembly. Of course this was exactly what we were hoping for. Spontaneous meetings and opportunities like this are the main reason we chose to start our journey this way. Outside of your comfort zone, the space you know, you seem to be even more open to these encounters. The things you need will then naturally cross your path. Everything is already there there, you just have to see it. Another insight we will take home. We like to believe that the Universe is constantly providing us with chances, and that it’s up to you to act upon these opportunities. Until now, this magic has worked very well.

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Last Friday was the day: after a scooter ride of half an hour, we arrived at the Green School. Rides like these have quickly become part of our lifestyle here. The day before, we had been scootering around the island for about six hours, enjoying the beautiful rice fields, mountains and small villages that Bali has to offer. It’s interesting to see how most tourists and foreigners seem to be concentrated around a few places, whereas the rest of the island is just as beautiful. After receiving a fine for driving without an international driving license – of course –  we feel fully integrated in Indonesian life!

Back to the Green School, located in the middle of the Balinese nature. The moment we entered the compound, the architecture of the impressive buildings immediately stood out: sustainable designs with beautiful constructions made out of bamboo. The compound felt like a village, with in the middle of it ‘the heart of the school’. About 400 children between the age of four and fifteen are attending this school. The diversity in (Western) nationalities is special: most of the families moved to Bali especially to send their children to this special school. Each week is being closed by an assembly, in which different classes showcase what they have been working on in the last six weeks. This week it was showtime for classes 6, 7 and 8. The performances – from presentations to videos, dances and music – were focused around the theme of poverty. Impressive presentations and musical performances about the effects of poverty were shared. Witnessing the drive and courage of these children gave us goose bumps. Children who used this stage to passionately explain their peers and parents about the difference they can and should make. Obviously, every education system effects children in shaping thoughts, but these teaching styles would definitely be examples we would support. 

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Our favorite way of doing research is doing semi-structured interviews with as many involved parties as possible. In this case, we interviewed various parents, a local, a former employee and a teacher about their experiences at the Green School. The majority of the parents are very positive about the program and the approach of the school. One father proudly shared that his two children both were being recognized for their unique qualities, therefore feeling very much at home here. Whereas most education systems are usually much more focused on the subjects that you need to improve, here more attention is being given to the passions and natural talents of the children. The role of the teacher is perceived as being a coach and mentor,  encouraging initiative of the children. Hence, there are several examples of successful projects by students who now share their stories on international stages and speak about the role that youth can play in building a sustainable world. Stories like these prove that young people are able to do amazing things if we give them the space, attention and trust to do this. This is one of the ambitions of Follow your Sun, and the Green School is definitely an inspiration in this.

Ourselves coming from an academic background, of course we also had a few points of critique. First, school fees are incredibly high, which results in almost only Western children from relatively wealthy parents attending this school. Although the aim of the school seems to be that through scholarships at least 20% Indonesian children can attend, we could only count a few.  Secondly, we wonder to what extent the school is truly integrated with the community around it, something that we believe is critical in terms of sustainability. Thirdly, the curriculum of the school seems to be missing some cohesiveness, although good intentions from the creative staff are clearly visible. All in all, it is a beautiful initiative that you would want to be accessible for everyone. We hope that the children of the Green School, thanks to this conscious education, will initiate organizations themselves that will be sustainable but also inclusive.

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From one kind of education, to the other. Yesterday we started a five-day training in facilitative leadership in Ubud, an experience from which we hope to learn a lot. The first impression is positive, the group includes a variety of people from all over the world. We are very curious to the coming days and we’re grateful for another great opportunity to develop ourselves. And we are even more grateful to be able to say: we are creating the live we want to live. We are aware of the fact that we find ourselves in an extremely privileged position by being able to do this. At the same time, we want to show that this is possible for everyone of us. As long as you dare to take chances in order to build your own future. We know you can do it.

In our next blog, we will share more about the training.

With love from Ubud,

Myrthe and Kiymet

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