Creative School at Freedom Land
With a vision for Conscious Learning and Living possible in larger communities we started our operations of Creative School and Prajna at Freedom Land, a residential campus at Kalkunte Village, Doddaballapur district, Karnataka in the academic year 2021-22. Our Middle School and High School programs have been operating at the Freedom Land campus over these past two years.
Freedom Land is a centre for conscious living – a community space dedicated to soul-based living and education to truly live the vision with inner freedom and outer productivity. Through collaborative work and individual transformation, Freedom Land inspires us to transcend personal boundaries and co-create a better world for our children: one of empowerment, peace and harmony. The campus supports holistic education that fosters holistic development – of the mind, body and soul. We have experienced our children thriving in such a space. A natural sense of expansiveness and abundance has seeped into all our lives.
This eco-residential space for community living, built on a gentle hillside of 34 acres, is located a little over an hour away from Bangalore city. The space offers vast vistas of the nearby hills of North Bangalore cascading further into the hills and fields of Karnataka with an adjoining forest reserve, alongside many famous and ancient sites in its close environs.
Students on campus have shared their joy of experiencing: beautiful sunrises and sunsets; moon rises with abundant stars in open skies; full moon nights; resting in silence on rocks; working alongside farmers to reap the gifts of the soil; studying with certitude – all while being a part of this collective aspiration.
Sustainability
Over the last 4 years, our founders, Jayashree and Ashok have lead our team, parents and students to partake in building a conscious and sustainable community space through initiatives of afforestation and natural farming.
People have rejoiced witnessing the watershed management, eco-construction, solar electrification, and sustainable water treatment come into fruition. You can also watch the space transform through these efforts that are shared via the 1000 Together program at https://youtu.be/cFfAOBw3250.
The buildings have been designed skillfully to be energy efficient and healthy for people to work and live well. The eco-construction offers a beautiful flow of energy respecting the five elements and the needs of a conscious community and natural ecology.
Facilities at Freedom Land
Creative School at Freedom land currently has the following fully functional spaces
- Farm School – which houses the Parijatha program and the middle school program. The farm school has ample indoor and semi-outdoor spaces for meditation, boarding, recreation and studies.
- Hill School – which houses the laboratory spaces, halls, and classrooms for high school students.
- Prithvi Block – our first housing block, built with a central lit courtyard living space for high school students and teachers. Prithvi block also has lounge spaces and meeting areas for group study and individual quiet time in the evenings.
- Sun and Yoga Garden – a platform atop a hill for open air early morning and night meditations and sangha gatherings.
- East Garden – an open air seating area overlooking the farm that serves as a meeting and quiet area at different times of the day.
- A 5-acre sports ground with a basketball court, and a field lined with trees for ultimate, football, track and field events, and other games.
- A 24-hour clinic with a doctor on duty to support the medical needs on the campus.
Upcoming eco spaces for Academic year 2023-24:
- Varuna and Surya residential blocks – airy and green housing blocks for middle and high school students. Varuna block also has many lounge spaces and meeting areas for group study and individual quiet time in the evenings.
- Oneness Temple – A sacred space for silence, meditation, introspection and connection with the divine. It is a soul chamber where we can slow down gently to listen to our soul’s voice.
Other upcoming spaces for work and play include a full fledged sports centre, fine arts and performance arts centres, and more classrooms in the coming two years.
Operations
The school operates as a semi-residential or a residential campus for middle and high school children. Children come in on Mondays and return on Fridays after an immersive week of learning and exploring.
- Stay on campus for five days (four nights) – Monday through Fridays.
- Have a mid week going home routine with a three nights stay per week. They come in on Mondays and return midweek on Wednesday evenings. They return to Freedom land on Thursdays and go home for the weekend on Fridays after classes.
- Parijatha, Ixora, and Cosmos students come in on Mondays and depart on Fridays after classes.
- In addition we have an Early Childhood Centre called Sevanthi Nature school for the young learners.
A 7-day residential option is only open to a few students every year after a detailed admission process.
The school operates an inter-campus commuter system for transport of students and staff between the two campuses – at Freedom land and North Bangalore. Parents can choose stops in between the two campuses for student pick up and drop off locations.
Routines
Students at Freedom land live a healthy and holistic routine everyday at the school and visit the landscape for several needs for play and work.
- Every group has designated senior and junior house parents to connect as their advisor and anchor on campus. Senior house parents provide holistic counseling and support to help children grow into strong, confident and compassionate individuals. Junior houseparents help children with various day to day needs and are ready to ensure students follow a healthy routine.
- The school has a vibrant kitchen, with staff that provides sumptuous, organic and fully vegetarian meals including fresh fruit smoothies, hot breakfasts, a spread of sattvic lunches, snacks and dinners.
- Waking up at 5:45 AM, students receive a warm glass of kashayam (a home-made herbal immunity drink). Early mornings they participate in running, fitness, yoga and brain balancing exercises with trained experts. This is followed by the morning sun meditation which includes pranayama, meditation and chanting for an energizing start to the day. Some mornings are spent hiking to nearby hills to watch the sunrise and vast vistas.
- Post meditation, they have ample time for seva activities (farming, organic cooking, waste management), clean up and breakfast before the start of classes. Seva is an integral part of our community space and every person – adults and children participate age appropriately.
- Classes are held as a 90-minute block period throughout the day and include Life and Living or Teen Circle (our signature class for integral growth for the whole child), academics, skill based/vocational and creative arts activities.
- As a part of the community space and to develop their own personal interests students participate in club activities such as cooking, puppetry, pottery, theatre, farming, music, handwork, etc. Apart from the school time, students also have time to pursue their own interests at other times.
- Evening time is dedicated to sports, free play or hobby time. Students also spend time some evenings at the rock garden – journaling and watching the sunset across the west horizon.
- Night-time study is encouraged in the presence of the house parents. Children have bedtime routines between 9.30 and 10.30 pm depending upon their age.
- A Homeopathy centre, first aid and wellness clinic is on site with a residential doctor on board.
Join Us at Freedom Land
Overall we see students coming back to health and wellness of the whole body as each works at a pace that helps them grow to their fullest potential. The ambience provides for both the student and the adult, to emerge with strength and confidence to take up their unique position in the world. Come, join us in the journey of conscious co-creation!
Please note: Creative School operates out of two campuses. The North Bangalore campus, where we started in 2010, is where we are continuing our primary school wing along with Prajna, our healing centre’s operations.