School in a Suitcase

Here in Ubud, the Green School has created quite a buzz, and has been garnering international media attention (BBC, CNN, ABC, CNBC, TED.com, and even The Globe and Mail, Feb, 11, 2011).   I first came across this school on the internet a few months ago; in that short time, the school’s renown has increased exponentially.  Only 3 years after it’s inception, the school is suddenly a draw for many international students and their families.  Classes are filling up.

Why all the excitement about Green School?   It’s mode of operation is, “Empowering global citizens and green innovators who are inspired to take responsibility for the sustainability of the world”.  A tall order, but certainly some interesting ideas have taken shape.  Also, there is rising controversy about the project.

Théo, Vivi, and I visited the Green School on one of their bi-weekly, after-school tours.  We hired a driver to get the 30 minutes to and from the country location.  There were approximately 30 people on our tour, ranging in description from prospective parents and their children, to grandparents, tourists, architecture buffs, and engineers.

The school itself is beautiful, all of the buildings open-air and made of bamboo.  Even the furniture is beautiful, sleek, and made of bamboo.  Green jungle and rice patties surround the campus.  There are interesting sights, from the hand-placed volcanic rock pathways, to exotic endangered birds (a grade 9 biology project),water-buffalo, and a cow, to a mud-pit created to honor a popular local sport (some sort of mixed martial-arts mud-wrestling – I didn’t quite figure that one out).  Each class has its own organic garden.

The “heart of school” is a gigantic bamboo, 3-story structure, which is apparently a big draw for the architectural crowd.  There are even sunken “pods”, which on the hottest days can be turned into air-conditioned “bubbles” complete with desks and benches.  There is an interesting project going on, involving a “vortex” turbine to get Green School completely off the grid.

The brainchild behind this school is a man named John Hardy.  He came to Bali as a young man and artist, and developed an internationally successful jewellery company based on traditional Balinese jewelery making.   After selling his share in the business in 2006, he set about creating the “Green School”.   Besides being “green”, the Green School is meant to promote Steiner-influenced, holistic, experiential learning, a contrast to Hardy’s own school experiences.  Although only wealthy foreigners can actually afford the tuition ($10 000.00/year), there is a scholarship fund for local kids – 20% of enrollment.  The school has spin-off projects such as “Green Camp” for visiting schools, and even a concierge to help with visa and housing requirements.

Hardy has now become a champion for bamboo.  A grass, it can release 35% more oxygen into the air than trees, and it grows exceptionally fast.  As a building material, it is very “green”, can be treated against termites or beetles, and if protected (by elephant grass), can be exceptionally strong and durable (can last 150 years).  Hardy has developed a program to give bamboo seeds to farmers, and buy the resulting bamboo for harvest.  He also built a bamboo hotel, Bambu Indah, and has helped start Ibuku, a bamboo building and furniture company.  A current project is building a master-planned “green village” of 32 homes close to the school.  Hardy also wishes to build another 50 Green Schools.

Théo and Vivianne adored the school, and of course want to go there.   Théo has been concerned about “being green”, since a year of hype in a Calgary grade 1 with no real action.  I think he was surprised to see a school actually trying to live up to its message in a practical way.  The kids have begged to attend all of the Waldorf/Steiner influenced schools we’ve visited, and I certainly wish that I could have given them that kind of gentle start to their formal education.

Either way, the Green School will be an interesting project to watch, in terms of how it handles its growth and manages the surrounding controversy, and whether it achieves its goals.

Watch John Hardy’s talk on TED.com.  It’s called My Green School Dream.   The comments are also interesting.