One world foundation

The Free Education Unit

The educational project "Free Education Unit" is a private school in Ahungalla (with a pre-school in Katuwile) for more than 1,100 children, adolescents and adults which offers free education in addition to state schooling as well as free vocational training programmes. Since its foundation in 1995 the school has constantly grown. While in the beginning the school counted approximately 100 students, in 2004 schooling and training was already extended to 700 children, adolescents and adults. That was before the Tsunami hit on 26 December 2004 and left the one world foundation facilities completely destroyed. On the newly built school campus approximately 40 teachers are employed and provide training programmes from pre-school education to vocational training courses. While the school was growing the curriculum was also continuously enlarged. Initially the focus was on English courses and programmes for pre-schoolers and women. Now, under the direction of a former student, Mr Prabath Wijesekara, the school's curriculum includes subjects such as music, sports, photography, computer and IT courses and since 2010 also Tamil language courses. In the Women's Cooperation mothers of the pre-schoolers receive a sound basic training in a range of handicrafts and economic skills. The principle of equality ruling one world foundation applies not only to training girls and women but also to its employment policy – the large number of women employed by the foundation are treated equally on all hierarchical levels.

Education and training are currently offered up to Level 4 of the National Vocational Qualification (NVQ). NVQ is the certification system of the National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority. At the same time the unit also meets the standards of the TVEC, the Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission. Both authorities are controlled by the Sri-Lankan Ministry of Education. Level 4 is the level of training for "Manual workers who can carry out their work alone". The Free Education unit's next aim is to obtain certification for Level 5 – the "Diploma Level for Future Supervisors".

The Ayurveda Resort "Bogenvillya"

The NGO one world foundation promotes a form of tourism which is based on mutual understanding and a fair exchange. Through financing the educational programmes of the "Free Education Unit" with the proceeds from the guesthouse a sustainable investment is made in the host country's future. In 2015 the Ayurveda Resort employed a staff of 35.

The Ayurveda Guesthouse Bogenvillya lies 80 km to the south of Colombo on the West coast of Sri Lanka. Located in the fishing village Ahungalla, the resort and its spacious gardens of palm groves and tropical vegetation blend beautifully into the coastal landscape. The resort has direct access to the beach and is equipped with a swimming pool. The guest rooms are in the main building and the adjacent bungalows. They are all equipped with warm water and shower, WC, W-LAN and have their own terrace. Meals at Bogenvillya are based on high quality local cuisine. In order to increase the guests' physical and emotional well-being, one world foundation offers Ayurvedic medical treatments. Traditional Ayurveda Medicine which has its roots in India is considered one of the oldest healing methods based on a holistic approach. In Asia Ayurveda is largely recognised and practiced as a scientific medical practice with a growing reputation in Western countries as well. The treatments offered at Bogenvillya include both wellness cures (Rasayana) with applications such as massages and oil treatments as well as detoxification (Panchakarma). The course of a treatment is accompanied by regular consultations with the in-house physician Dr Janakee Perera. As a complementation the guest house also offers Yoga courses. Guided by qualified teachers an open hour of Yoga is offered every morning on a platform in the garden with a view of the Lagoon.

Architecture

The school building of one world foundation was designed by the Austrian architect Carl Pruscha who also designed the "Palm Grove Bungalow" and the "Lagoon Bungalow" for the Ayurveda Resort. The main building of the guesthouse and the "Garden Loft" were built by Josef Ortner. In line with one world foundation's philosophy to work as much as possible with local professionals, the "Araliya Bungalow" added in 2015 and designed by Varuna de Silva, was the first bungalow planned by a Sri-Lankan architect. Both the school building and the resort's bungalows are designed to take the specific climatic conditions in Sri Linka into consideration. Their open construction provides protection from intense sun light and monsoon downpours and allows for good ventilation without any need for air conditioning.

Residence Programme for Artist and Writers

In 2009 Galerie Krinzinger in cooperation with one world foundation started an artist in residence programme. In Wathuregama – where until the Tsunami in 2004 the old school grounds used to be – a studio was re-built and formally inaugurated on 14 January 2010. It is now available to the artists invited by the gallery. Some of the works of art created during the residencies are now on exhibition on the grounds of the resort and in the guest rooms.

So far the following artists completed a residence programme at one world foundation: Clarina Bezzola (2010), Christian Eisenberger (2013), Marcus Geiger (2010), Markus Hanakam (2014), Thomas Helbig (2009), Suhasini Kejriwal (2010), Ursula Mayer (2014), Peter Sandbichler (2015), Hans Schabus (2011/2012), Roswitha Schuller (2014), Sudarshan Shetty (2009), Navin Thomas (2009), Theegulla Venkanna (2013), Karunasiri Wijesinghe (2013).

In addition to the artist in residence programme one world foundation also started a writer in residence programme which is supported by the Austrian Federal Ministry of Education, Art and Culture. The curator of the programme is the Austrian writer Robert Menasse. The three months residencies are open to writers who work on transnational or transcultural projects. The writers taking part so far were: Dimitré Dinev (2011), Maja Haderlap (2012), Kala Ramesh (2014), David Schalko (2015), Sabine Scholl (2016), Cordula Simon (2014), Brita Steinwendtner (2013), Ilija Trojanow (2014), Andreas Weber (2014).