Kufunda Village Waldorf school
“We are supporting and enabling the learning and development of our children in creative ways both in and out of school, as they are our guides to the future”.
Kufunda 5 year vision and planning document
After several years of running a joint school with a partner in the city under the name Nyeredzi, Kufunda in 2017 embarked on the adventure of running our own school. Our vision continues to be a school that is worthy of the soul's and mind's of our children, and of a school that makes the most of our placement in beautiful nature, and in a learning village - integrating the best of what we already have for the deepening of our children's learning, curiosity and sense of wonder in the world around them. We are dedicated to providing learning that enables the development of the whole child, stimulating their creativity and imagination while giving them a strong foundation in learning and knowledge for life
In addition to the primary school, Kufunda's work with children includes:
-
Waldorf training and collaboration teachers working with rural pre-schools, often supporting orphans and vulnerable children
-
hosting after-school activities with and for our children at Kufunda
-
Experimenting with intergenerational retreats as a way of integrating children into the life and work of the village
Read more about each initiative below.
Kufunda Village Waldorf Inspired School
After several years of working with Nyeredzi, Kufunda has now started our own school. It is a school that seeks to support children in discovering and realising their capacity, gifts and purpose. We offer age-appropriate practical integrated education - head, heart and hands. The school is integrated with the village and the farm, with practical lessons happening in support of holistic learning.
Pre-school Work
Building capacity to care for our children
Since 2006 Kufunda has been working with women working with pre-school children. We created our own pre-school and have since then been involved in learning and sharing more life-affirming and enabling ways of working with young children, offering regular workshops and co-learning gatherings at Kufunda.
Kufunda After-school Programme
Kufunda has been organising after school activities for several years as a way to complement the formal schooling of our children with something that is more true to the spirit of learning and creation of our village.
Popular activities at the moment include:
Football; knitting and crocheting (hats, bags, scarves are being created by boys and girls alike!); outings to visit local parks where the kids can experience Zimbabwean wildlife; traditional dance and more.
Intergenerational Retreats
For the past two years Kufunda has made an extra effort to bring the generations together in our regular inter-generational retreat.
There is much to learn and gain from letting the wisdom and energy cross-pollinate over generations. In 2013 we agreed that our major planning and reflection sessions should happen with all the generations present. And so we now host an inter-generational retreat during each of the main school holidays. Everyone in the village comes together from the youngest to the oldest. We create space for every generation to dream and share what they want to see in the village. We use the Art of hosting as a tool to come together and spend time working side by side in our community work.