Community School Maramar: when tourism promotes Goodness

This is the story of the fantastic work that was initiated by the partners of Pousada Lagoa do Cassange, in the Maraú Peninsula, Bahia. Twelve years ago, they decided to contribute to the social and sustainable development of their community through education and created what has now become the Maramar Community School.

They started by offering literacy classes for adults, the Pousada staff. The class completed high school, an unprecedented achievement in the region. Next, it was the graduated parents who requested a preschool, as there was none in the area. Maraú is a paradise but difficult to access. Thus was born the Jardim das Bromélias, a preschool with Waldorf Pedagogy, within the inn itself, in borrowed rooms. Thirty children learned there to be happy, secure, to live in community, and to care for the planet. From the beginning, the school was inclusive, mixing races, origins, and socioeconomic realities.

Five years later, they received a donation of land within the Saleiro community, from where most of the students came. Hence the name of the school: since it is on a peninsula and the school is located amidst the Atlantic Forest, it goes from sea to sea, between the river/mangrove and the sea. It was a moment of great hope, and the new school was built with collective financing and by the community itself, which helped, for example, to make the walls with locally produced clay bricks. Along with the school, other projects were created, such as a Cultural Center with free classes in music, handicrafts, and art. It was at the same time that elementary education was also born, as it was necessary to continue the Waldorf education initiated.

With donations from families and international foundations, they managed to build their own, structured headquarters, with new classrooms.

Today there are 8 classrooms, a music room, kitchen/canteen, library, teachers’ room, and office, 19 bathrooms, covered sports court, small soccer field, and pedagogical agroforestry space. Maramar School currently serves over 90 children, from 1 year and 6 months to the 5th grade of Elementary School, and educators are also trained in other innovative pedagogies.

In addition to the pedagogical aspect, the entire architecture was designed to be sustainable and cause the least possible impact on the environment. This is a strong legacy and philosophy of Pousada Lagoa do Cassange, which we speak of here.