Participate in an extraordinary eco-learning experience on the island of Bali – a magical paradise to immerse your family in green living and sustainable, innovative thinking. At the same time, absorb the rich and remarkable Balinese culture.
Youth will spend their days in a custom-designed program at Green School, while adults meet local villagers, enjoy Ubud’s rich art offerings, visit temples, hike the countryside, or sample an array of yoga classes and wellness treatments. Children and adults explore the area’s sights and culture together each afternoon. The program ends with a special two-day family ecological and cultural experience at Green School.
Our host in Bali is Green School, a remarkable international school dedicated to inspiring young people to become global citizens and green innovators. The campus is an experiment in sustainability, with open-air buildings of local bamboo, lush
organic gardens, and renewable energy sources that include solar panels, hydropower, and bamboo sawdust cooking.
Our youth program offers an introduction to the school’s innovative, hands-on approach to sustainability and environmental leadership, in harmony with Bali’s eco-system and culture. Our Global Buddies science teacher will participate in all activities, helping youth integrate and later implement what they are learning in their lives at home.
Highlights Include:
– Innovative Green School sustainability learning for youth
– Hands-on introduction to bamboo building, design thinking,
and engineering strategies
– Two-night family stay in yurts at the Green School
– Experience Balinese culture & meet local families
– Explore Ubud, the art and cultural center of Bali
Cost:
From $2,500 per person
Included:
– Accommodations for eight nights in Bali
– 6 nights at the UMA UBUD
– 2 nights in a yurt on the Green School campus
– Airport transfer on arrival and departure
– Ground transportation for all scheduled excursions
– Specified meals, including 8 breakfasts, 8 lunches and
4 dinners (featuring much locally grown, organic food)
– US trip leader & science teacher
Not Included:
International flights; visa fees; travel insurance (highly recommended); personal expenses, including local purchases, optional activities and alcoholic beverages; meals not specified.
Airfare:
International flights are arranged separately. Travelers may make their own arrangements or work with us to secure competitive airfares.
Register:
A deposit of $500 per person will hold your place in the 2011 Global Buddies trip to Bali. Please register early, as our trips fill quickly.
While we make every effort to maintain the listed price, drastic fluctuations in fuel cost and currency exchange rates may require the addition of a fuel surcharge or foreign exchange adjustment. All prices based on double occupancy; single supplements apply.
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ARRIVAL: Arrive in Bali. You will be met at Denpasar (Ngurah Rai) International Airport and transported to your accommodations, where Global Buddies staff will greet you. |
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Get oriented to the area with a walking tour of Ubud and surrounding villages, followed by an opening dinner to welcome you to Bali. |
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YOUTH: Get introduced to the Green School with team building, mud play and swimming in the Ayung River. ADULTS: Tour the Green School and learn about its history and amazing bamboo architecture. Explore the spectacular Tegallalang Rice Terraces, a great photo opportunity. FAMILY: Enjoy a free evening with a stroll through Ubud and time to let the experience of Bali soak in. |
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YOUTH: Learn about Bali’s traditional culture, through more games and hands-on activities. Make organic chocolate sauce, straight from the tree, and analyze the difference between this and commercial chocolate – packaging, food miles, sugar production, etc. ADULTS: Spend the morning in community service with local villagers. Fill the afternoon as you choose – hike the countryside, take a workshop, visit a temple, indulge in a spa, try a yoga class, or maybe just nap! FAMILY: Visit the Sacred Monkey Forest, a sanctuary for the long-tailed macaques. |
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YOUTH: Tour Green School’s unique campus, to start getting ideas for your own bamboo architecture. Design, build and test a bamboo bridge, using all natural materials. Explore the Canang ritual, offered every morning in Balinese households and temples. ADULTS: Continue your service project in the morning. In the afternoon, visit local temples and learn the meaning behind the beautiful Canang offerings seen everywhere in Bali. FAMILY: Meet as a group for dinner and a Balinese dance performance. |
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YOUTH: Tour the Subak water irrigation system to learn about the traditional Balinese way of life, based on rice growing. Split into teams to design and build your own bamboo rafts, then race each other down the Subak. ADULTS: Continue your service project with local villagers in the morning. In the afternoon, get in a hike or take one more chance to shop for crafts – remember that each village has its own specialty. FAMILY: Enjoy a free night as a family to explore as you wish. |
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YOUTH: Visit a school in the community, to exchange skills with local Balinese students and share each other’s culture. Tour a local silk making factory, to see and handle silk worms and make your own unique batik arts. ADULTS: You’ll have the morning free, before checking out of the hotel to join your children at the Green School for a special family weekend. FAMILY: Get settled into yurts, where you’ll spend the next two nights on the Green School campus. Enjoy a delicious organic dinner, followed by a campfire and an exciting night safari. |
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FAMILY: Today’s program focuses on bamboo and green design technology. You’ll develop plans for a house, find the materials, build the house and evaluate the result, all in one day! In the late afternoon, a cooking lesson will give you the skills to prepare a special Green School barbecue, followed by dinner in the Heart of School (Green School’s central building, one of the world’s largest bamboo buildings). Enjoy another campfire, complete with a drum circle and a chance to experience the traditional Balinese martial art of Mepantigan, before heading to your yurt for the night. |
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FAMILY: Today’s activities include learning about traditional Balinese movement and dance, rice planting, and – if you’re feeling daring – the chance to climb a coconut tree. Our time at the Green School will come to an end by 3:00pm, when it’s time for transportation back to Denpasar (Ngurah Rai) International Airport. Families may add on a side trip to explore the rest of Bali on their own before returning home. |
We reserve the right to adjust individual items on this itinerary as needed; the main components will not change.