IASWECE Newsletter 03/2017
Waldorf Education in the Dominican Republic
An education for all children
Louise deForest
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The Dominican Republic, which shares the island of Hispañola with the nation of Haiti, lies just southeast
of Cuba. It is the second largest Caribbean nation by area (after Cuba) and the third largest in
population, with just over 10 million people, most of whom live in the capital city of Santo Domingo.
Christopher Columbus landed here in 1492 and it is here that the first permanent European settlement
in the New World was established. The Dominican people declared their independence from Spain in
1821 but it wasn’t until 1865 that they were truly free of Spain.
While it was once primarily an agricultural and mining nation, today tourism is on the rise, especially in
the northern and eastern sides of the island. Over the last few decades, the Dominican Republic stands
out as one of the fastest growing economies in the Caribbean but because of wide-spread corruption
there is grinding poverty in many areas.
One such area is Azua de Compostela, in the southern coast of the Dominican Republic, not far from the
border with Haiti. There, hidden behind banana and mango trees, is a small Waldorf school, the only
Waldorf school in the DR, called Colegio Girasol (Sunflower). Started 11 years ago, it now has three
kindergartens (with 69 children) and a first and second grade with a total enrollment of about 90
children, all Haitian or Dominican.
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De Forest, Dominican Republic
IASWECE Newsletter 03/2017
While the children are all local children, the teachers, with the exception of one, come from Colombia,
Peru and Spain. The one local teacher is Dominican and has been with the school for 10 years and is the
director of the early childhood. The assistant teachers are all local women.
Being the first school in any country is quite an accomplishment but being a school that is essentially
free for every family is a miracle.
Tuition is charged to each family, of course, but if they cannot afford it (and most can hardly afford food)
their child attends the school for free. The only charge is a nominal fee for one of the three buses that
pick up children in three different places around Azua to bring them to school. Many of the children are
the children of the workers at the banana plantation, whose parents live right on the plantation, but
most of the children are either the children of Haitian immigrants (usually based on the season of the
year) or Dominican children in or around Azua.
How is this possible? The banana plantation is a biodynamic plantation and, together with other organic
growers throughout the DR, exports about 200 tons of organic bananas to Europe each week. They are
shipped into Germany and from there are shipped to Amsterdam where they are then distributed across
Europe. If you eat an organic banana in Europe, chances are that it comes from this remote farm!
One of the German importers, wanting to be socially responsible, has sent back a percentage of its
profits to benefit the people of the Dominican Republic. Christoph and Annelien Meier , the founders of
this plantation and the banana cooperative, created a foundation for these donations and 11 years ago
decided to found a Waldorf school, thinking this would be the best way to reinvest in the Dominican
Republic. So today, thanks to a forward thinking German business, to anthroposophists from Switzerland
(Christoph) and Holland (Annelien), some of the poorest children in the world are now able to have a
Waldorf education.
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De Forest, Dominican Republic
IASWECE Newsletter 03/2017
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Louise deForest, from Massachusetts, USA, and a former kindergarten teacher, is active internationally
as a mentor, trainer and advisor. She is a member of the board of the Waldorf Early Childhood
Association of North America and an IASWECE Council member.
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De Forest, Dominican Republic