Building a Better World
Building a Better World
A long-term residential service-learning program for compassionate and creative change-making
Building a Better World is a collaboration between Earthville Institute (USA) and Dharmalaya Institute (India), structured as an ongoing series of workshops, courses and retreats designed to empower the creators of a more sustainable and harmonious world.
Purpose
This contemplative and embodied program is designed to engage participants in empowering exploration of the most vital topics of our times:
Responsible local and global citizenship
Insightful and effective changemaking
Cultivating holistic well-being for self and others
Integrated personal and vocational development
Wise and compassionate leadership
The power of creativity to transform people and the world
Project & process
The Building a Better World course incorporates contributions from the entire Studio Lungta core team, integrating our respective disciplines to synthesize a holistic solution.
After over a decade of getting to know the kinds of participants who gravitate toward Earthville’s and Dharmalaya Institute’s programs and what they’re seeking, our international team worked with a number of the graduates and prospective students of these programs to design a long-term course that would explore all of the major themes that we identified.
The key recurring theme centered around this two-part question: “With so much going on in the world that needs attention, how do I identify the most effective ways that I can make a difference, and how can I find training and empowerment to make those contributions effectively and sustainably while taking care of my well-being in the process?”
Our roles:
Visioneering: We designed and facilitated the processes by which the objectives of the course were identified and the concept for the program was conceived to serve them.
Educational experience design & curriculum development: We started with the first principles of Earthville’s educational philosophy and from there we managed curriculum development for the overall program as well as the design of several of the individual program modules (courses, workshops, retreats, etc.) that combine to form the larger program.
Instruction & facilitation: We provided instruction and facilitation for several of these course modules (with each member contributing their respective specializations), including modules focused on training and mentoring other educators and facilitators contributing to the program.
Storytelling & PR: We produced a short video introducing the program to the public (see above). We developed the webpages for the program. We generated content to engage the public and managed communications with prospective students and other members of the public. We also trained others to fulfill these roles.
Key distinguishing features:
Holistic exploration of global, local, and personal themes: The course seeks to engage the whole person with the whole picture (with systems thinking) to identify whole solutions (with design thinking). It examines the concepts of sustainability, well-being, and flourishing on every level from the personal and organizational to the regional and international, and it does so understanding the inner and outer aspects of life as inextricably linked.
Residential program for real-world education: The program supports an immersive experience and a “learn it by living it” approach to empowerment and personal development through service learning and other forms of experiential education. The course provides precious opportunities to learn hard and soft skills for sustainable and compassionate living by studying and practicing them in the real-world context of the two partner institutes’ eco-campuses.
Contemplative approach: The course adapts the principles of Earthville Education, bringing a deeply reflective, contemplative approach to all aspects of the experience. This enhances learning, catalyzes deeper connection and engagement, and fosters personal development along with the topical learning, providing genuinely life-changing educational experiences.
Project at a Glance
Clients:
Collaboration between two nonprofit educational orgs: Earthville Institute in the US and Dharmalaya Institute in the Indian Himalayas
Location:
Colorado (USA), Himachal Pradesh (India), and globally via online courses
Scope of our work:
Visioneering: market research & concept development
Education: program & curriculum development, instruction & facilitation
Storytelling: short film, website, social media, etc.
Studio Lungta team member roles:
Mark Moore: visioneering, education (curriculum development, program design, instruction), storytelling (website development)
Amy Hiller: visioneering, HOD (communications & community building), education (program design & facilitation), storytelling (video production & social media)
Tom Skelton: visioneering, storytelling (video production, photography), education (program design & facilitation)
Mai-Linh Leminhbach: education (program design, instruction, retreat facilitation)
Daphne Charles: education (program design, instruction)
“With so much going on in the world that needs attention, how do I identify the most effective ways that I can make a difference, and how can I find training and empowerment to make those contributions effectively and sustainably while taking care of my well-being in the process?”
