Postgraduate Diploma in Sustainable Development
Sustainable Development
When the property in Lynedoch came up for sale, it was identified as the perfect base for the then leadership academy and to develop educational programmes focused on social justice and sustainable development.
The initial idea was to create a programme that wasn’t just environmental studies or development management or leadership, but an amalgamation of all three. In 2001/2002 thinking about what a programme like this could look like, started.
Inspired by the Schumacher College in the UK and the Goree Institute in Senegal, the Masters Programme in Sustainable Development, a Stellenbosch University programme, came to life in 2003. The vision was a programme rooted in transformative, radical learning relevant to the African context. The SI would be the space where this unfolded.
The basis of the programme would be the combination of three forms of knowledge: general knowledge, technical skills and sound judgement that is appropriate to the context. To equip people to understand context, to synthesise many different ideas, to think in transdisciplinary ways and to build capacity to work in teams and communicate ideas in presentations, in writing and in journaling. This would support the forming of a well-rounded individual that is geared to bring about change in the world.
Over the years this programme has grown in popularity, with a diverse mix of students making for a very rich learning experience. To find out more or to enroll in this programme, please click here.
The SI contributed towards the place-based experience of the students.
Taking care of the space and all those who inhabit it, was done through daily community work.
During modules, students spent an hour each morning either working in the woodlands or the food garden, helping to clean the building and make the spaces beautiful, or preparing food for the almost 200 children that receive meals at the SI every weekday. It is about giving back to the community that we all form a part of, and being aware of the influences we have on the spaces we use.
The SI, Eco-Village and the various green innovations on-site were incorporated into many research projects and case study work.
Between 2003 up to 2019, more than 800 students have walked through the doors of the SI.
And here the students were not just shaped academically, but also in community and amongst nature.