Schumacher College

Schumacher College is based on the historic Dartington Estate near Totnes, Devon, England that offers ecology-centred degree programmes, short courses and horticultural programmes. In addition to British and European students, it attracts many international students from countries such as Brazil, Japan and the US.

Schumacher College
MottoSmall is beautiful
TypeEco-college, non-profit
Established1990
Parent institution
Dartington Trust
DirectorDr Pavel Cenkl
Location
Totnes
,
Devon
,
United Kingdom
Campus1,200 acres (490 ha)
Websitecampus.dartington.org/schumacher-college/

Description

The College was co-founded in 1990 by Satish Kumar, John Lane, Stephan Harding and others. They were inspired by E.F. Schumacher, the economist, environmentalist and author of Small Is Beautiful. which argued that the growth of capitalism came at a very high human and planetary cost. The first course ran in 1991 with visiting teacher James Lovelock, best known for proposing the Gaia hypothesis.

All courses are centred around holism, ecology and sustainability. The college is committed to reversing the notion of education focussing on academic theory and so all students are invited to engage hands-on with food growing in the gardens and preparation of meals in the kitchen.[1]

In 2019 the College was named as a finalist in the Green Gown Awards which celebrate sustainability in education.[2] The vegetarian College was recognised in the Food and Drink category as over half the food that is eaten by staff and students is grown in the College gardens by volunteers and students on the horticulture programmes.[3]

The College is part of Dartington Trust and is based on the 1,200 acre-Dartington Hall estate, northwest of the town of Totnes, Devon.[4]

Courses

In partnership with the University of Plymouth, Schumacher College offers an MA Engaged Ecology, MA Movement, Mind and Ecology, Transformative Education, MSc Regenerative Food and Farming, MA Ecological Design Thinking and MA Regenerative Economics.[5]

The College runs residential and online short courses throughout the year and a 6-month horticulture residency.[6] They are designed to combine personal transformation and collective action through bridging the gap between theory and practice, knowledge and experience.[7]

In 2022, the College launched undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in regenerative farming to become the first higher education provider in England to offer agricultural training exclusively focussed on ecologically-minded approaches to food production.[8]

In 2019 the College developed its masters programmes to encompass a blended learning model to allow students to remain primarily in-country and study at the College in intensive two-week blocks.


See also

References
  1. "The age of fake food: a conversation with Satish Kumar and Vandana Shiva". LifeGate. 28 January 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  2. "2019 Finalists". Green Gown Awards. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  3. "Horticulture Programmes". Schumacher College. 17 May 2018. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
  4. "Schumacher College celebrates 25 years of ecological teaching". The Ecologist. Retrieved 26 April 2017.
  5. "Schumacher College". Higher Education at Dartington Trust. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  6. "Short Courses". Dartington Trust. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  7. "Sarvodaya, or bioregionalism, is the solution to the ills of capitalism, socialism, and neoliberalism". The Hindu. 9 August 2017. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
  8. "Dartington college welcomes undergrads back for first time in 12 years | totnes-today.co.uk". Totnes Times. 5 October 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2022.
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