Students practicing deep listening. After sitting quietly and listening carefully they shared their observations and identified 32 different sounds. The sound of a bee passing their face. A tractor ploughing the fields. A grunting buffalo. Heartbeat. #deeplistening #atloka

Students observed a mango tree. Madhu sketched how leaves create shadows on each other. How light enters the tree. Her classmate Dinesh noticed that the flowers have different colours: white, pink and black dots. A bird nest made of different types of grasses and lentil pods was built on the branches. He wondered how birds make their nests nice and round without having hands, only beaks?

Loka hosts weekly Shakti sessions during which girls living in a traditional village have open conversations in a safe environment about their bodies, relationships, families, education and dreams. What is more beautiful and nourishing for girls and women, who endure so much, to discover their strength in togetherness and start honouring their bodies and souls as beautiful vehicles and bright sparks that can live for a higher purpose and fully shine.

At Loka’s school students receive daily daily sport classes and every month a professional trainer of Shreeja India in Kolkata visits the school to teach students football. Loka’s girls and boys built stronger bodies, good health, confidence, discipline, a team spirit, a deeper love for their school and much more than that!

Every monsoon selected senior students visit International township Auroville for internships in social entrepreneurship and organic farming. Students build confidence, apply what they learned at school and start understanding how organisations work. They are made aware of practical aspects, such as finance, and also encouraged to be open, experiment and find out for themselves. The internships are part of Loka’s ‘from education to entrepreneurship’ program, meant for students from grade 9 onwards.

Loka student Sandeep has a clear aim: ‘My goal is to enhance my village with art and education – and no fear.’ He started taking some practical small steps to realise his big dream by continuously practicing his own art work and giving daily art classes to junior Loka students. Sandeeps’s art classes are holistic and always evolving. Children are made aware to take care of materials, to be authentic and observe the world around them closely. Most importantly: he values students just the way they are. There is a wonderful atmosphere in his ‘Loka art group’ as children shine and the great outdoors is their classroom.

At Loka every child receives one hour ‘homework class’ a day during which teachers and seniors guide students in making their homework as such a support structure is lacking in their homes. This often happens amid greenery, pets and flowers and in the late afternoon sun or shade – depending on the season.

Loka students participate in Out of Eden Learn – an online learning programme designed by Project Zero (Harvard) that allows for students to observe and document their local surroundings and share their findings online with other children all over the world. For example: students learn how to conduct interviews and to listen to and write stories of people living in their village.