Schumacher College and the flow of life





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,  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  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  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  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     
Info: admin@schumachercollege.org.uk
To learn more about the region, visit:
http://www.totnesinformation.co.uk
http://www.transitiontowntotnes.org