Raj and I are vacationing in Ladakh, and we had an opportunity to visit the #SECMOLCampus - the inspiration behind the super hit movie 3 Idiots! To say the least, we were beyond inspired - yet the Q remains, will I send R n D to a school like this if I had a choice!
Founded by Sonam Wangchuk and inaugurated by HH the Dalai Lama, the SECMOL Campus is located near the village of Phey in the Indus valley in the outskirts of Leh. The Students’ Educational and Cultural Movement of Ladakh (SECMOL) is an alternative education system that focuses on sustainability, leadership and culture. The motto of the school is to move away from 3 Rs (Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic) to 3 Hs - Bright Head, Kind Heart and Skilled Hands, and the student guide who took us around the school on a tour seemed to be displaying this, and he’d been here for less than a month or so!
‘Learning by Doing’ vs blackboard and books makes this school stand out - and one can’t but gape at how different life is out here! Free play - learn as you like when you want - are you curios about electricity, solar energy, carpentry, diary, gardening & forestry, waste management, construction or water management - the list goes on… Now compare this to ‘your 4-year old doesn’t hold the pencil steady’, his cursive hand writing is not upto mark remark for a UKG kid that our traditional schools follow!
In the student’s own words, SECMOL inspires him to good more good for the world! Encouraging Ladakhi kids post 8th grade to spend at least a year, the place is writ with bright, smiling faces and curious minds that make independent decisions on when to undertake activities vs when to spend time in the library, when to wash their own clothes and when to volunteer to be a guide for the innumerable tourists that visit ‘em!
The campus itself is a stunner - a perfect example of how beautiful things can be and how simple life can be if we cared for nature and sustainability - and utilised our understanding of technology and advanced construction & storage techniques to do more good for the world. These Terra buildings with thick walls made only from materials found naturally are built facing the south to ensure 100% utilisation of sunlight for lighting and heat preservation during the cold, bitter winters! And across the campus, one can see the absolute focus on Reuse, Reduce, Recycle - even the way sanitation i.e. toilets are built! It’s little wonder that the campus has been awarded multiple international awards for sustainability, eco-friendliness including the Global awards for Sustainable Architecture at Paris in 2017..
Accepting children who have “failed” the 10th, 11th or 12th grade board exams, this place rebuilds their confidence and self-worth! We met a young adult who was taking a break after his 10th as he was overwhelmed and not sure what he really wanted to pursue as a career! We met another young adult who had “failed” his 11th grade thrice, yet today has been identified as a Youth Leader and now works at SECMOL spreading the idea of youth, esp women empowerment across villages in and around Phey. He also works with the local Municipalities to teach villagers ideas of sanitation and waste generation to make Ladakh a sustainable place!
The children and the staff help
1. Grow and preserve vegetables - they have built a green-house to help grow vegetables during the cold bitter winter months and a natural fridge under the ground to keep these vegetables cool for 20-21 days!
2. Draw water from the Indus River - and only the needed amounts! They use this water for irrigation and their needs - they even water the trees surrounding the campus to ensure the greenery is maintained!
3. Build things out of waste - the bricks used in the construction are of 2types - Mountainous clay/ hardened and cement like blocks made out of mud, wood shavings and waste & grass!
What more do we need from education - esp in today’s world when everyone speaks of sustainability with a plastic bottle in hand!
To me this place exudes simple thinking, high living, a perfect amalgamation of what our ancestors perhaps did without the electrical gadgets that we have come to rely on so heavily - Their life is hard though! When you look at how they make do with so little (and NO junk food), I wonder if our city-bred teenagers will adapt!
While I’m still unable to make up my mind if my kids can switch from 9 subjects a day to brick-making, carpentry or waste management for an entire year, I certainly plan to speak to their school principal to check if they will tie up with SECMOL to arrange a 2-week study trip to teach our kids a lesson or two in Gratitude, Independent thinking, and most importantly using their hands to create sustainable things - No more getting the maid to bring them a snack or clear the plates while they’re busy on their play station!
Some pics from our visit - They barely do justice to what we experienced! A must-visit if you’re in Leh….
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