**Little History School for Life Chiang Mai - A Concept of Educational & Entrepreneurial Excellence by Prof. em. Dr. Jürgen Zimmer** The School for Life was founded in Northern Thailand in 2003. It accepts children from difficult backgrounds. Aids orphans marked the beginning but by now, other children have joined: orphans who have survived the Tsunami; children, whose parents have died or disappeared on the run; and children, who have escaped situations of brutality and abuse. The School for Life is located on the Suan Suoi Fha Sai (clear skies over beautiful garden) Farm in an attractive natural setting deep inside a royal forest in the Doi Saket Mountains, about 45 minutes from Chiang Mai und 4 kilometers from Pongkum Village. The farm has been dedicated to the development of ecological farming. The School for Life is not a short-term project but needs to be established in a sustainable way. - The first priority is for the children to regain happiness. They grow into a strong community, similar to an extended family. Visitors describe this community using expressions such as “love and care for others”, “trust in one’s own strength”, “self confidence”, “passion”, “peacefulness”, “culturally rooted”, and “open mindedness”. - The School for Life wants to secure the existence and the well-being of the children entrusted to its case, to give them a new home and to offer them plenty perspectives for their lives. - The School for Life wants to support children in a way that enables them to catch up and get to the top, starting from apposition of disadvantage. Thus the concept is not poor education for poor kids but an education of high standard and learnings as adventure. - A goal of the School for Life is education towards entrepreneurial spirit and towards ecological and social responsibility. Children and youths are thus preparing for situations later in life in which they will have to break out of the cycle of poverty and create their own employment rather than chasing jobs that are not sufficiently available. This should not imply that they will join a rapidly expanding consumption bubble but are rather educated towards an intelligent modesty with the goal of high living standards using little resources.  The School for Life is not a spaceship. It is down to earth and includes people from surrounding villages, creates employment, and combines community focused learning and idea development. ## Hanseatic (former Beluga) School for Life in Phang Nga Right after the Tsunami in December 2004 a cry for help reached the School for Life in Chiang Mai from Ban Namkem, a village north of Khao Lak that was widely destroyed. A team of the School for Life started their work with surviving children and adults "under the tree". The first step was the development of a new, close-held community. Many conversations with survivors were held, in order to identify the outline of the development project and to decide on the next steps. This is how it became clear that another School for Life had to be founded. The Chancellor of Germany recommend the "School for Life under the tree" in a press conference, and a German agency which was put in place by the German Government introduced Mr. Niels Stolberg, owner of Beluga Shipping Company in Bremen, to the team in Ban Namkem. On February 10th 2005, Mr. and Mrs. Stolberg flew to Thailand to see the project. Two days later they decided to underwrite the entire "Beluga School for Life in Phang Nga" including the purchase of the land, the construction and a guarantee for the running costs for ten years. Since the Beluga Shipping Company ran into insolvency, from 2011 on new sponsors from Hamburg and Bremen became responsible for the further well-being of the school under the new name 'Hanseatic School for Life'. The Hanseatic School for Life focuses on the education and support of -   Tsunami orphans and survivors; -   Children without relatives or with relatives below the poverty line; -   Children who where forced into child-labor; -   Children without access to formal education. ## [Concept](https://phuketer.com/s/00000600/wiki/196/concept) Chapters - **[1. Little History School for Life Chiang Mai](https://phuketer.com/s/00000600/wiki/210/1-little-history-school-for-life-chiang-mai)** - **[2. At First Sight](https://phuketer.com/s/00000600/wiki/209/2-at-first-sight)** - **[3. Characteristics](https://phuketer.com/s/00000600/wiki/208/3-characteristics)** - **[4. The Family Concept](https://phuketer.com/s/00000600/wiki/207/4-the-family-concept)** - **[5. Kindergarten](https://phuketer.com/s/00000600/wiki/206/5-kindergarten)** - **[6. Schooling and Deschooling](https://phuketer.com/s/00000600/wiki/205/6-schooling-and-deschooling)** - **[7. Learning Through Life](https://phuketer.com/s/00000600/wiki/204/7-learning-through-life)** - **[8. The Seven Centers of Excellence](https://phuketer.com/s/00000600/wiki/203/8-the-seven-centers-of-excellence)** - **[9. Think Tank and Master Workshops](https://phuketer.com/s/00000600/wiki/202/9-think-tank-and-master-workshops)** - **[10. The Setting](https://phuketer.com/s/00000600/wiki/201/10-the-setting)** - **[11. Teachers](https://phuketer.com/s/00000600/wiki/200/11-teachers)** - **[12. Guests](https://phuketer.com/s/00000600/wiki/199/12-guests)** - **[13. Partners](https://phuketer.com/s/00000600/wiki/198/13-partners)** - **[14. Transfer of innovation](https://phuketer.com/s/00000600/wiki/197/14-transfer-of-innovation)** - **[15 ](https://phuketer.com/s/00000600/wiki/196/concept#15.-attachments)[Source PDF (external site)](https://school-for-life.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/SfL-Konzept-2003-2016_fin-1.pdf)** School for Life, 185/3 Moo 4, T. Pameing, Doi Saket District, 50220 Chiang Mai, Thailand Tel. +66 53 248194