Schumacher College and the flow of life
Autor: Izabella Ceccato | Publicado: 2012-05-30T10:41:00-03:00

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An article in the Vegetarian Magazine - english version
In the pictures: Ruth, Wayne, Satish Kumar, Brigita and Juliana. Thank you!

The magic of the
most renowned environmental education schools of in the world
Text and
Photos: Izabella Ceccato

Imagine a school where life is daily magical. Where
you learn not only in the classroom, but in the kitchen,&nbsp; with friends, in library and even at the bar!
Where you do not get lost in books or on your own thoughts, but find yourself.
Imagine a place where silence deafens you, where the green holds you, where the
night will soothe rather than scare you. In a collaborative environment where
learning, living, cooking, laughing and talking becomes a new and rich
experience at all times. So it is at Schumacher College.
Located in south Devon, England, the charming little
town of Totnes, distant 3 ½ hours from London, houses one of the most renowned
schools of environmental education, Schumacher College, focused on interactive,
experiential and transformation learning, which prepares students for the ecological,
economic and social challenges of 21st century.
Everything here is very pleasant, green and full of
history. The school is established in a building dating from the twelfth
century and have &nbsp;one of the most
respected teachers when the subject is sustainability, including Fritjof Capra,
James Lovelok and Sthephan Harding.
Founded by Satish Kumar, a former monk and peace
activist in 1991, the school's that name is a tribute to the German economist
EF Schumacher, author of "Small is Beautiful". The school gained
worldwide fame for unconventional methods of teaching holistic and today is one
of the most sought after in education for sustainability. Hundreds of
Brazilians have participated in short courses or Masters. After the United
States, Brazil is the country with more representation in the context students.
The collaborative and multi-ethnic environment favors
the teaching and learning. Students, volunteers, staff and teachers with the
same convictions share experiences, plans and hopes. The routine starts at 7h15
AM with a meditation followed by breakfast. 8h15AM, all meet in the main room
of the headquarters of the school for the morning meeting planning. The
sequence of the day happens with lectures, experiences, work groups and
immersion in the field. Classes are filled with new thoughts and knowledge, in
order to connect or reconnect students to nature, bringing a sublime and subtle
affection for our planet. 
Schumacher College offers Masters courses in Holistic
Science, Economics and Transition and Sustainable Horticulture, which have a
duration of eight months. Besides them there are short courses ranging from 1
to 3 weeks and discuss aspects of sustainability, philosophy, gardening,
holistic science, technology, economics, design, psychology, education, among
other topics.Students residents and staff form a 60 people community in full
connection. Here absolutely everyone, including the board, working to maintain
the flow of life, which are as important as the classes and lectures to connect
people with themselves, each other and the planet. Cook, clean accommodations,
gathering or making compost are part of daily routine. There is always a
multi-ethnic team in charge of any activity. We are people from all continents,
races, languages ​​and cultures, living, working and learning together, in the
conduct of an example of sustainable community.

Healthy body
- healthy mind
The school is one of the few completely vegetarian in
the world. The gardens are amazing and the atmosphere of the birds singing all day
fills all fulfill to the daily schedule. The food here is fantastic and
fascinating process. Some in the community or alumni appear only for a meal!
The in-house team of chefs, with the support of volunteers and students prepare
vegetarian meals, organic and locally sourced in a delicious and surprising mix
of flavors with each meal healthier.

For Satish Kumar, founder of the school, vegetarianism
is a holistic philosophy and not only a food choice. "A vegetarian diet is
healthy and human beings do not need the meat. I'm 75 years old and I don’t
lack energy by not eating meat, "he says.
The vital center of the school is the kitchen. 7 AM in
the morning and Ruth arrives to begin preparing biscuits for the coffee break,
including, gluten and dairy free. With amazing flavors and formats, each
interval, a new surprise. The movement of the kitchen non stop until 1 or 2 AM.
Students making breads and cakes, volunteers preparing fruit compotes for
breakfast, all talking, playing guitar, a symbiosis between humans and great
food, a contagious joy. Johan Van As, a former graduate student 2010-2011 and
voluntary comments: "For me, cooking is one of the most important parts of
school, because here we can really experience our attitude toward food. Being
present here, we can actually experience our relationship with food and with
the planet and this exchange is very enriching. "
The concern by lowering the ecological footprint of
the school permeates every detail of day-to-day. The waste is carefully
separated, the organic waste is composted inside the school and used in the
garden and the inorganic going for recycling.
Wayne Schroeder and Julia Ponsonby divide the
direction of food and kitchen of Schumacher College. Julia is a shy English
writer the Gaia's vegetarian kitchen cookbook and &nbsp;won the "Gourmand World Cookbook
Award" for best vegetarian cookbook in 2001. For Julia, only here it could
actually apply what she believes: teamwork and love for fresh, local food.
"It's exciting to see the importance of food being placed at the forefront
of the movement today and see how the kitchen holistic learning is gaining
ground," she says.
Wayne, a charming South African man, began working
here in 2001 and is a thorough researcher of food. He has the challenge of
keeping the school at the forefront of food policy in relation to organic food
and fair trade, a way to stimulate the local economy. Being in the kitchen with
Wayne is inspiring. Each stirred the pot of soup, a new learning about
awareness, health, food and its preparation go together to create joy and
happiness. He inspires students and everyone around him to relate to food and
their bodies in a new way, helping the transition of not "thinking"
about food and nature, but "felt" them.
It is in September, a month of plenty for gardeners
and food lovers, students can actually experience the kitchen and the whole
process and magic, in the course Gaia's Kitchen meets Gaia's Garden. Every
year, Schumacher finds inspiring ways to work with the huge variety of seasonal
products produced locally in the neighborhood and the school garden. In the
course of a week in person (300 pounds), students experience the relationship
of food preparation in the garden and nature, running recipes in the book
Gaia's Kitchen, learn to enjoy and be creative with leftovers, enjoy the
company other lovers of the kitchen and reflect on the relationship with food,
always with an inspiring and experiential approach.
The learning that takes in &nbsp;Schumacher College kitchen is immeasurable.
The pleasure in planting, caring, flourish, harvest food and then cook, bless,
eat, enjoy are for life! It is a change of attitude towards the whole process
food. It is as if something changed within each one doing the gratitude and
respect for the planet and life flowing in the veins.

Creativity in
action
Wayne had always thought that his life had a definite
purpose, but at first did not understand why life led him to be so involved
with food and wondered how to integrate his spiritual practices, healing power
and technical training. "If the life led for so many years studying food,
I must have some mission," Wayne says. It was only after going through
pilgrimages to India, Tibet, 10 years living in the Findhorn Foundation in
Scotland, that life brought him to South Devon, UK to study cranial therapy and
11 years ago, he began his career at the school. "It really was being led
by Schumacher and is one of the deepest connections I've ever had in my life.
It was exactly what I needed to heal myself and that is why now teaching how to
treat body, mind and spirit together, helping people see the world in a new
way, "he says.
Always creative, happy and inspired, Wayne uses all
the food left over to create new dishes that inspires a lot. And so with the
leftover soup of leeks and potatoes the day before. He put into practice all
their creativity and created a Lasagna, where the sauce was the soup. He dubbed
this new and unusual dish "Sopanha." The recipe? Simple, healthy,
tasty and best, with no waste. Incredible!
- Place the soup over low heat until it becomes the
consistency of a full-bodied sauce to make a bechamel sauce;
- Check which local and seasonal vegetables do you
have available at home. Here at school we had pumpkin and cabbage;
- Cut the squash into cubes and bake;
- Cut the cabbage into strips;
- Put salt and pepper and some other herb that you
like;
- Take a square or rectangular bowl to assemble;
- Merge the layers: pumpkin, pasta, sauce, cabbage,
pasta sauce, until ingredients are gone.


If you and your family eat milk and dairy products,
sprinkle a little parmesan cheese or grated cheddar on top of everything. Bake
at 180 degrees for 60 minutes (the time can depend on the potency of your oven).
Enjoy!
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Schumacher College • www.schumachercollege.org.uk
The Old Postern Dartington • • • Totnes Devon TQ9 6EA
- UK
Tel: +44 (0)
1803 865934&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; 
Info:
admin@schumachercollege.org.uk
To learn more about the region, visit:
http://www.totnesinformation.co.uk
http://www.transitiontowntotnes.org