@article{9254599af5904e0aa69f28301ae9be5e,
title = "Environmental education catalyzed by tourism: Ecoliteracy initiatives on the coast of Kenya",
abstract = "The Diani-Ukunda area on the Kenyan coast is one of the main tourism centers of the country. Over time, individuals who originally visited the area as tourists have started sustainability initiatives that are in part funded through donor networks from abroad (drawing on individuals who visited the country initially as tourists). This essay explores select German initiatives in the educational sector that have emerged in the context of the area{\textquoteright}s tourism industry. Diani Maendeleo Academy (a secondary school for girls) and the six primary and secondary schools known as Mekaela Academies collectively serve a significant portion of the population of the larger DianiUkunda area, including the hinterland extending widely into Kwale County. The study was designed to assess the schools{\textquoteright} approach toward sustainability and ecoliteracy, and centered on the following questions: 1. What kinds of sustainable practices are promoted in the select schools? 2. In what ways do students who attend these schools display environmental literacy? 3. Do these initiatives address UN SDGs, known as Education for Sustainable Development (ESD)? The study follows an interdisciplinary mixed method approach and is based on interviews, survey instruments, research on ecoliteracy and educational policy, and fieldwork data from previous stays. Findings reveal a lesser-known dimension of tourism: namely, the successful pursuit of ESD in schools thriving in the context of tourism through an integrated approach towards teaching ecoliteracy.",
keywords = "Citizen aid, Ecoliteracy, Education for sustainable development, Germany, Humanitarianism, Kenya, Kwale county, Sustainability, Sustainable development goals, Sustainable tourism",
author = "Nina Berman",
note = "Funding Information: Diani Maendeleo Academy is a private secondary school for girls. Its director, Inge-borg Langefeld, was employed in Germany as a social worker. In 2003 and after having visited the country for eight years as a tourist, she moved to Kenya with a specific plan to create opportunities for female students. Diani Maendeleo Academy is the result of her efforts. At the time, no such institution existed on the advanced level in the predominantly Muslim Diani area. (Research focused on Islam and education in the area, specifically, is scarce. The schools discussed here increase educational opportunities, particularly for girls. Over the past twenty years, I have not observed any risk to education in the area due to radical Islam. While a small segment of the male population is exposed to radicalization, the number of Muslim girls in the schooling system is increasing steadily.) As the managing director of the school, Langefeld has an investor{\textquoteright}s permit in the area of education, which includes both work and residency permits. Similar to Mekaela Academies, the school is supported by a Germany-based association: The NGO Girls{\textquoteright} Hope e.V. promotes the project and raises funds for scholarships, school supplies, and the construction and maintenance of buildings [94]. Langefeld is the chair of the German NGO, which increased its membership from twenty-eight in 2010 to currently forty. The relationship between the German NGO and the Kenyan school is regulated through a contract. Buildings constructed with money from Girls{\textquoteright} Hope belong to Girls{\textquoteright} Hope, and the NGO also holds first buyer{\textquoteright}s right for buildings that belong to the school but were not built with funds from Girls{\textquoteright} Hope. Funding Information: In terms of extracurricular activities, Diani Maendeleo features the Interact Club, which is supported by the Kwale Rotary Club and officially registered as a Rotary Youth organization. At club meetings, students are taught, for example, how to clean the SODIS project bottles and how to recycle. The Interact Club also participates in community and beach clean-up events. Students are also engaging in recycling drives by collecting and sorting waste. Over the years, the students have discussed the benefits of solar and wind technology, made soap from neem leaves, assisted in medical camps and participated in various social projects. Diani Maendeleo also hosts a chapter of the Girl Scouts, and some of their activities are also dedicated to the environment, mirroring the activities of the Interact Club. The very popular Agriculture Club, led by one of the school{\textquoteright}s teachers, was lacking good leadership for many years; in fact, to the chagrin of the director, one teacher was using pesticides and other chemicals. The current teacher is focusing on sustainable practices, such as teaching students how to compost. Publisher Copyright: {\textcopyright} 2021 by the author. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.",
year = "2021",
month = aug,
day = "1",
doi = "10.3390/su13158501",
language = "English (US)",
volume = "13",
journal = "Sustainability (Switzerland)",
issn = "2071-1050",
publisher = "Mary Ann Liebert Inc.",
number = "15",
}