Future school

Now you would have thought in the 60's that by now we would be living like the Jetsons - with our own spacecraft instead of cars and very very high tech surrounds. And things could not be more opposite - I have seen the future and it is made of Bamboo !

On a recent trip to Bali I visited the Green School to see what the future of education may look like. The School opened in Sept 08 and I understand they are going through their teething problems. (Bali is a small place with a fairly active bush telegraph)

The School, based on a Steiner and Australian level Curriculum starts and finishes there with any parallel to any kind of educational centre I have seen or attended.

The vision of the school by New Zealand Steiner educator Alan Wagstaff was realized by John & Cynthia Hardy, the Bali Based Canadian Jewelers. The Hardy's reportedly earned a cool US$200mil last year from the sale of shares in the company - so you know the scale of the place and project is massive.

The campus on two adjoining sides of the Agung river is really gorgeous. And the structures set in the landscape are a sight for sore eyes after looking at other "normal" schools.

- there are plenty of shots on the site.

The reason why this place intrigues me is this, my kid is about to start school, and I am looking for something extraordinary outside of the system.

What blew me away was the incredible architecture using Bamboo and the proliferation of food plants in the grounds. Being an avid organic gardener and a entrepreneur as well as growing up on the back of a national park - this ticks by innerchild's boxes for happiness.

My son could catch a chicken about the same time as he could write his name - good skills in this life I happen to think ;-)

As well as chickens (Ayum) they have water buffalo, goats, fish - and a mud wrestling pit !

The talking circle grounded with a giant Brazillian terminator Chrystal was hippy wonderland stuff. I am a Yippee - yuppie/Hippy so beautiful design and well thought out sustainability is right up my alley.

The web site is very comprehensive - to say they are media friendly over at the Green school would be a slight understatement.

So I wish the school much success in it's first year and I hope seeing the beautiful structures will inspire - Bamboo is a grass that grows up to a foot per day in the tropics - they have created something truly magnificent in the jungle of Bali.

And when the US dollar goes down or my income goes up, I may be one of the Green School Mummy's in the future.