By Brad Wilcox, Odyssey Institute Advisor
February, 2011
A bold new vision for adventure travel in Indonesia launched in 2010. The Odyssey Institute is a for-profit social enterprise delivering rich educational travel adventures and eco-expeditions to schools and youth groups from around the world.
I interviewed Ben Tamblyn, the Company’s founder, while sitting in a cafe in his home town of Ubud, Bali. Ben quickly declared “our mission is to inspire and equip youth for the 21st century. Our programs are catalysts for conservation and the development of sustainable livelihoods.”
Ben speaks so excitedly about the Odyssey Institute that one cannot help but want to go on every course he designs. At the core of Ben’s passion lies a clear understanding of the metaphorical potency of these adventures: “They help us learn about ourselves”, says Ben, “- and if we do not go within, we will go without! This is a critical time for us to take inventory of who we are – both collectively and individually. The crises that humanity faces today can all be resolved, but only if we take the courage to build healthy relationships with one another and the natural world.”
The Challenge
“One of the biggest problems for schools today is that they struggle to maintain the capacity to really impact students through classroom-based lessons. We can’t solely rely on a video about global warming, or deforestation and expect to inspire a generation to take action. But if you give them a week in a rainforest, a remote village, or a week exploring coral reefs, then you will inspire an army of green leaders! Our job is to work with the teachers and schools to develop programs that compliment curriculum and take it a stage further. Our job is to get them out there and bring them back inspired and equipped!”
The Product
Odyssey Institute is rolling out a series of programs over the next year – including some amazing ethnographic and conservation film making and photography courses. All have a strong educational focus and involve travel to a mixture of both famous and completely unheard of locations in Indonesia.
Arts and cultural studies programs are already underway in Bali, where rural village home stays, service projects and environmental education are the mainstays of group experiences.
Hoga Island, Wakatobi National Marine Park, is the Institute’s base for marine ecology, where they run eco-camps as well as year-round school programs. Amazingly, their field site contains cabins, a canteen, lecture theatre, IT suite, library, staff offices and a medical facility, as well as an assortment of boats and dive equipment (including a liveaboard).
Morowali is the base for the Odyssey’s most challenging film making course; a once-in-a-lifetime expedition into a stunning coastal mountain rainforest – complete with guest facilitators from Jungle Run Productions.
Odyssey Institute also has a rainforest research center under construction on the island of Buton, where local conservation initiatives could possibly lead to creation of a new National Park, an exciting prospect given some of the local inhabitants include the endangered anoa, tarsier and maleo jungle fowl.
The Odyssey Foundation
As if that isn’t enough already, the Odyssey Institute is pledging to return a percentage of profits to the development of a Foundation. Starting in 2012, the Odyssey Foundation will provide free and/or at-cost global leadership training and environmental education to underprivileged Indonesian youth. “How cool is that?”, says Ben, with a big grin on his face. After an hour in his company I am grinning, too, and leave dreaming about an army of inspired green leaders…
About the Odyssey Institute
The Odyssey Institute is a for-profit social enterprise specializing in the delivery of rich educational learning adventures in Indonesia. The O.I. offers cultural studies, leadership development and experiential ecology courses at breathtaking locations in Sulawesi and Bali. Courses are intended for youth groups (either schools or groups of individuals signing up independently) and are delivered year-round. All courses are designed to support our mission to inspire and equip participants for the 21st century and through doing so to become a catalyst for conservation and the development of sustainable livelihoods amongst the indigenous peoples, artisans and coastal communities of Indonesia. For more information visit www.odysseyinstitute.com
