At the Island Sustainability Education Center, every week  you have the opportunity to attend a special workshop :

Tomorrow, Wednesay the 22th you will learn the principles of the natural dying process! You will harvest the plant needed for the colors, and dye by yourself a piece of cotton fabric!

Week Ten: Forests, Tree Crops, Bamboo and Seed Saving

Walking through a pristine forest you cannot help feeling a sense of calm and connection with the trees around you. Forests have strong economic, social, recreational, environmental and spiritual significance to the people of Indonesia. They are the lungs of the earth and provide us with food, wood, natural materials, medicines, fuel and homes for animals and birds.

This week the Environmental Ambassadors have continued their study of forest systems. In this unit they have learnt the importance of forests, how to reforest, how to plant and maintain tree crops and how to grow and utilize bam.

They have been busy in the gardens re-modeling the front garden for the dry season, planting in the Mandala garden and finally introducing some baby fish into our aquaculture pond!

This week the Eco-Ambassadors are focusing on Forests, Tree Crops and Bamboo. Tuesday they were treating bamboo for our new garden bed borders and later in the week will be focusing on creating living fences, building swales and learning about Fukuokas method of natural reforestation.

CHILDREN ENVIRONMENTAL, DIET & EXERCISE INTERACTIVE EDUCATION PROGRAM

31 pupils of SMP 03 Kuta Seletan  went today at the Sustainablity Education Center for an interactive Kids Tour as a part of the Children’s Environmental, Diet and Exercise Education Program.

We are proud to announce that at the 05/16/13 wa have already welcomed 761 students!

During the last weeks we have been working on a natural dyes manual for our Weaving Futures trainees and all those interested in vegetable dyes. The sketch gives a preview of the ingredients we use to get beautifully colored yarn.

Credits go to Neliyo from Urban Sketchers Bali who visited us on our Earth Day event. We will keep  you updated about the release date!

Good morning! In Bali it is 8:40 am and the sky is blue, far from the heavy rain of yesterday afternoon!

Yesterday (may the 14th) R.O.L.E Foundation was glad to welcome the 25 pupils from Sekolah Mentari Fajar Jimbaran for an eco tour in the Eco Learning Park.

They discovered the activities such as the snail farm, planting the seedlings, and the weaving looms.

We hope to see them again very soon!

Donate a $1000 Scholarship for a local Environmental Ambassador

Donate any amount to help us fulfill our Wishlist:

• Laptop with charger cable for our students and teachers to use for research
• Gardening gloves for reforestation
• Soil testing equipment for the Waste-to-Wonder-Project
• Water testing equipment for the Canggu-Brawa Source to Sea Project
• 140Mhz walkie-talkie radio equipment
• Books – especially about permaculture, organic gardening, recycling etc. for the Environmental Ambassadors program
• Kitchen equipment (in reasonable condition) ie pots and pans, cutlery, cups/mugs for our cooking classes
• Head lamp or flashlights
• Pocket knives for reforestation
• Fridge and stove for our Jamu Bar
• Pens, crayons, painting materials, writing/coloring books for our school
• Board games, cards, musical instruments for our students and volunteers

You can donate directly here.

Become a corporate sponsor to help:

• Give illiterate and unskilled Indonesian women the tools necessary to succeed and become financially independent.
• Educate the local school group and orphanages on methods of sustainability
• Instill within those that visit the Eco-Learning Center the importance of environmental conservation.

Complete the form to Partner with Role

This year’s Earth Day at the Island Sustainability Education Center (ISEC) was a day mainly for children to raise awareness about the urgent environmental issues in Bali.

Around 450 kids from local schools from the Bukit followed the invitation to the Family and Kids Open Day Earth Day Event last Saturday.
In interactive games and activities the young visitors could learn about the environment and sustainability by making seedlings, tasting Jamu, playing the Reforestation-Seedball-Game and enjoying free snacks and drinks donated by Conrad Hotel, Alila Villas Uluwatu and Coca Cola Amatil. In addition to the ISEC staff and students, Surfer Girl took care of the kids entertainment and turned the day for the children into a great and fun experience.

“The focus of the whole event was on the kids because as the youngest members of Bali’s society they are the ones who can turn the island of Bali into a more sustainable place.” says Mike O’Leary, founder of ROLE Foundation.

In the week leading up to the Earth Day event school children and staff of enthusiastic hotels in the Nusa Dua/Bukit area were invited to fill in a pledge to Mother Earth – a secret promise how the individual will take care of Mother Earth in the following year. Some of the participants promised to ‘not burn rubbish’, ‘ to compost garbage’, ‘to pay the bills online and use their own bag for shopping’ or ‘to be loyal to Mother Earth because she gives us so much blessing and spiritual guidance to be a good person’.

“It was great to see all the kids from Sawangan coming to the Silly Snail Cafe to hand in their pledges over the last week! I think this campaign really can change their behavior and make the area a cleaner place!” ads O’Leary.

In collaboration with ROLE Foundation another Indonesian Yayasan – the Solemen – went on a 4 day barefoot walk around the Bukit visiting the participating schools and hotels collecting these pledges.
At the Earth Day Open Day ROLE’s president Mangku Made Ariawan offered the 2300 collected pledges to the Gods in presence of the local children who were praying for a cleaner Bali and a sustainable future.

But it was not only a day for children. Raffle tickets with attractive prizes were drawn, the “Urban Sketchers” documented the event by sketching the activities, “Dee Muay Thai” gave a Thai Kick Boxing Demonstration, “Bali Chiropractic” offered free spinal tests, “Mural Art” turned an empty white classroom wall into a piece of art and “Wimpy” entertained the guests with his guitar.

Furthermore Coca Cola Amatil signed the MOU for another year of supporting ROLE’s Bali WISE programs which aims to break the poverty cycle through women’s education.

The organizers of the event are pleased about the great success and thank all the generous sponsors and supporters of both the Earth Day Family and Kids Open Day as well as the Bukit Walk.