‘Grass, rice, and aubergine’: a case study of an Islamic eco-pesantren in Indonesia

Abstract

ABSTRACT Twenty-first-century environmental movements and education have been criticised as predominantly secular, middle-class and Western-originated. As such, their ability to generate momentum and increase uptake can be limited to individuals and groups who identify with these traits. In order to widen the scope of environmental education (EE), this study considers the ways in which an Indonesian ecological pesantren (traditional boarding school) may complement the dominant Western-originated approaches by offering a religious and grassroot take. The site for this research is Ath-Thaariq eco-pesantren in Indonesia, which hosts students aged 12–17. Qualitative data were generated, including interviews with the founder of the pesantren and two alumni, a site visit and document analysis of the pesantren’s official weblog, alongside existing media outputs. In contrast to the dominant secular, middle-class and Western-originated versions of environmental education, our findings demonstrate how environmental education praxis can be closely connected to local grassroot struggles, grounded in culturally relevant discursive resources, and based on Islamic spirituality. Including approaches to EE such as this one may offer valuable opportunities to upscale the benefits of EE to broader sections of the population in non-WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) contexts.