Green School Tours, Bali, Indonesia
4.0 (129 reviews) Sunday: 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM Spent Ranking #5 in Abiansemal Sightseeing Tours
Elitist, over priced and great architecture
I came away from our tour with mixed reviews. No doubt that the architecture is fascinating and worth going just for that. The contribution of 12,000 is mandatory and it is an expensive taxi ride to get there (just so you know). Our guide,who was a Balinese "scholarship" recent graduate was quite egotistical and she was our only representative since school was on holiday break. If she is representing the values taught in the school then much is missing from the quality of education and values taught. She spent way too much time saying how "awesome" she was and showing off her "cool" hand signs. Many schools around the world have creative and progressive education with philosophy grounded in cutting edge educational reform. Our guide acted like they are the one and only, and according to the guide they are not aligned with anyone else. Too bad only 8% are Balinese and the $14,000/year price tag clearly makes it unaffordable for most. Too bad the school is in a village where the tuition is multiples more of what a family in that village makes in a year. The elitist feeling left an uncomfortable impression all around. And yet the architecture and classroom materials all out of 'natural' materials were beautiful.
Address
Jl. Raya Sibang Kaja, Banjar Saren , Indonesia, Postal Code: 80352.
Mobile
Website
http://www.greenschool.org/book-a-tour/
Working hours
Monday : 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Tuesday : 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Wednesday : 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Thursday : 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Friday : 9:00 AM - 10:00 AM
Saturday : 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Sunday : 10:30 AM - 11:30 AM
Current local date and time now
Sunday, May 12, 2024, 10:14
User Ratings
4.0 based on (129 reviews)
Reviews
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3Travels200 5:00 PM Apr 3, 2016
Good concept but still elitist
I really wanted to fall in love with this school, I love the concept and wish there were more like it, but unfortunately it has been designed for the rich. It is a shame they are not able to have more locals enrolled. It looked more like a summer camp than a proper school and I think it would actually be perfect as a summer camp. I am sure the founders have noble intentions but they are still businessmen and for this they charge an expensive yearly fee as well as tour fees and transport fees. I really do wish it was more accessible to not just the wealthy and I really would like it to be more accessible specifically to the Balinese and Indonesians, for every foreign child they should have at the very minimum one Indonesian child. I left with mixed feelings as I have watched the Ted talks and Elora's talks as well on Sharma Springs, she is a lovely young woman who tells a wonderful story, and you cannot dispute that her designs are a work of art and truly inspiring, but in the end my biggest problem with this family is that they are still looking at making money rather than sharing their in-depth knowledge on sustainable building which so many could benefit from. Such as how to make the best use of what has been learnt so far and how to expand their vision to use these concepts as a multiplier. If they could assist others to do similar things by creating a community, or a network of likeminded schools, resorts, villas, farms, etc. who open source their information and share expertise and potentially manpower. That is what they need to think about if they truly want to make a real difference in this world. I would be more than happy to come and learn from them then at a reasonable price.
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3Patty M 5:00 PM Dec 25, 2014
Elitist, over priced and great architecture
I came away from our tour with mixed reviews. No doubt that the architecture is fascinating and worth going just for that. The contribution of 12,000 is mandatory and it is an expensive taxi ride to get there (just so you know). Our guide,who was a Balinese "scholarship" recent graduate was quite egotistical and she was our only representative since school was on holiday break. If she is representing the values taught in the school then much is missing from the quality of education and values taught. She spent way too much time saying how "awesome" she was and showing off her "cool" hand signs. Many schools around the world have creative and progressive education with philosophy grounded in cutting edge educational reform. Our guide acted like they are the one and only, and according to the guide they are not aligned with anyone else. Too bad only 8% are Balinese and the $14,000/year price tag clearly makes it unaffordable for most. Too bad the school is in a village where the tuition is multiples more of what a family in that village makes in a year. The elitist feeling left an uncomfortable impression all around. And yet the architecture and classroom materials all out of 'natural' materials were beautiful.
