The Harmony Project

Kwendalo is home to South Africa's first Harmony Project initiative

What if children learned from nature instead of simple learning about nature? The Harmony Project is a UK-based learning philosophy and curriculum that aims to transform education to ensure it is fit for purpose in preparing young people for life in the 21st Century, working with teachers and educators to reframe teaching and learning around natural laws and life principles which illuminate the world as an interconnected whole. Kwendalo founder, John Cavill introduced the Harmony Project to South Africa and Plettenberg Bay through Bahia Formosa Primary School in 2020 and it is this project that formed the base of the Kwendalo Institute.

Tash Wilbert heads up our Harmony Project implementation in South Africa. She has implemented an exciting program with Bahia Formosa Primary School in Plettenberg Bay that has already yielded wonderful results – not only with knowledge learning capacities based but also in enhancing learners’ enthusiasm and general conduct toward one another. Under the guidance of Neil Graham – Kwendalo’s Estate Manager – learners have also been involved in planting a kitchen garden while learning about cyclical and regenerative principles of nature. If you would like to find out more about our local Harmony Project pilot, to learn how to implement a Harmony Project in your school or community, or if you would like to help us in sponsoring this vital initiative, then please email us at: [email protected]

Kwendalo’s founder, John Cavill, was inspired by the principles of The Harmony Project when he first met Richard Dunne, the project’s director, in the UK back in 2019. John found the project’s philosophy profound and beautiful in its simplicity by creating a new way of learning, inspired by Nature. And it was many of these principles that helped to inform John’s strategy for the development of Kwendalo.

The Harmony Project aims to transform education to ensure it is fit for purpose in preparing young people to engage with the environmental and social challenges we face, not just to pass exams. As a result, The Harmony Project invites a rethink of education, encouraging hands-on nature-centred learning that is interesting, relevant, fun, and which inspires learners to be advocates and leaders for sustainable nature-inspired solutions.

The Kwendalo Institute

The initial success of the Harmony Project’s first international pilot program at Plett’s Bahia Formosa Primary School encouraged John to establish the Kwendalo Institute with a view to extending the Harmony Project’s core principles of nature-centred learning and research into the field of natural wellness.