Foreign investors to set up visionary school
Ecology college a first for EC

By Gavin de Villiers

EAST LONDON -- The headmistress of Nahoon Montessori school, Sharon Caldwell, has secured a lucrative foreign educational investment from a German-based couple who have been looking around the world for a site to build their visionary college for secondary, tertiary and lifelong learning.

Malc Dow, a Zambian-born Scot, and his wife Louise had received offers from various countries, including Australia, Ecuador, the US, Spain and Thailand, to build the college, but none of the countries seemed quite right for a number of reasons.

Said Dow: "We were looking for a spot somewhere on the coast with a good climate and a progressive governmental attitude towards education. My wife suggested South Africa. Right from the start it seemed like a good idea. I have been looking for a good reason to return to Africa; when you are born here you never quite lose the feel for the country." he said

Dow contacted the Alternative Education Resource Organisation (Aero) based in New York to inquire if they had anyone on their list in South Africa who could help set him up with educational options in which to invest.

Aero referred him to Caldwell.

Caldwell was overjoyed when she heard about the couple's ideas for their visionary college, which will be named Blue Crane College for Ecological Studies, and persuaded them to set it up here. The college is a first for the Eastern Cape, and will provide alternative methods of learning which are widely used abroad and have proved very successful.

"Democratic education is not something new. It has been around for many years and has been successful in producing talented and gifted students. Generally there are also long waiting lists such as at the famous Hadera College in Israel," she said

"The institution complements the Nahoon Montessori as students from there can now also move over to the Blue Crane College when they have reached a certain level," said Caldwell.

An offer has been accepted for the purchase of a 21-hectare piece of land between Gonubie and Beacon Bay.

Last month Dow attended a conference on Education and Training Models for Best Practice hosted by the Delta Foundation in Port Elizabeth.

"I then returned to East London to see the property and to meet some of the people who will be involved in the development of the college. The country is wonderful and the people most friendly and positive," he said.

Various other bodies, including the Education Department, were contacted regarding the setting up of the college.

The Dows are now busy submitting documentation for final approval.

The project and its development costs to date, including the purchase of land, have been privately funded and the start-up costs, estimated at R6million, will be covered by various international investors.

Future development costs will be covered by the fees paid by the international residential community and there are no plans in place to use local funding. Parts of the infrastructure of the college will be sponsored by the corporate sector.

The college will provide a mixed media learning facility and computer-based distance learning, from ITC, ecological science and pure academics to motor mechanics, pottery, horse riding and permaculture farming techniques as well as arts and sciences. The overall structure of the college will be democratic and ecological in all aspects.

According to Dow the college will generate in the region of R5m to R6m a year in foreign currency which will be ploughed back into the local community and in turn provide job opportunities.

It is expected the proposed site will eventually have about 60 structures which will include residential, teaching and workshop units.

The school will be built to high ecological specifications and have a low impact on the environment. Building is scheduled to start by the end of 2003, with a small intake of foreign students initially.

Dow said investments over the next three to five years would be in the region of R15m-R30m. The college would be community based and would focus on job creation for many in the area.