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About this project
We're moving forward to improve our school. Will you help us repair the yurt and consolidate the project?
Show list of needs
Material
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Minimum | Optimum |
|---|---|---|
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Replacing the fabrics of our yurt
🏕️ Our yurt needs to renew its outer clothing to protect itself from the humidity and Pyrenean precipitation.
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€ 2.300 | |
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We need a new computer and projector
We need to replace our computer and projector to improve the quality and ease of technological work.
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€ 1.000 | |
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We need new resources for the carpentry workshop.
We want to expand the materials and tools in our carpentry workshop so that our acorns can learn while enjoying natural materials and appropriate tools.
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€ 1.100 | |
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We want to acquire exploration tools, books, and maps for everyday use.
We want to update and expand our exploration tools and expand our library with books and maps.
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€ 900 |
Task
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Minimum | Optimum |
|---|---|---|
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We need to fix our yurt to prevent water from getting in.
🏕️ Our yurt needs improvements to the windows and door to prevent water from entering.
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€ 700 | |
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Continuing education and project sustainability
We want to invest in the training of our teachers and carry out outreach activities to continue promoting the naturalization of education.
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€ 2.500 | |
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We want to protect ourselves from unforeseen events
We would like to create a "cushion" that protects us against unforeseen events, unexpected expenses, or sick leave for our teachers.
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€ 5.500 |
Infrastructure
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Minimum | Optimum |
|---|---|---|
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Goteo commission, preparation fees for rewards and bank charges.
We need to cover bank and Goteo fees. We also think it's important to cover some expenses related to preparing the rewards.
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€ 1.400 | |
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Other fixes and improvements
We would like to repair some of the structures in our spaces, such as reinforcing shelter areas, improving access, and making minor improvements to the facilities (fireplace, bathroom, etc.).
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€ 3.600 | |
| Total | € 4.400 | € 19.000 |
General information
📚🌳 Once upon a time...
Once upon a time, there was a school where the classroom had no roof, you couldn't hang thumbtacks on the walls, and no matter how much you swept, the leaves never stopped falling.
Instead of desks, there were rocks and logs; instead of blackboards, branches with which to write in the ground. Books were everywhere, among the trees and flowers; the teachers, bees, and ponds; and recess... they never ended.
In the mornings, it was filled with acorns (woodpeckers, squirrels, and beavers) dressed in everything they needed to spend their day learning in the forest.
This school that smells like a dream really exists: it's called Abellota and since 2021, it has been growing in a small corner of the Aragonese Pyrenees, in the magical forest of Ulle, a few kilometers from Jaca.
🌱 This is how Abellota was born
Abellota was born thanks to the commitment of a group of families amazed by the "Forest School" model. The Caxico project, a children's school in the forest, already existed in Ulle, and the question that arose was clear: how could we not continue offering primary education based on the same values of connection with nature, freedom, and learning through experience?
With this goal in mind, the families organized a cooperative, looked for a suitable space, and surrounded ourselves with mentors trained and dedicated to this educational approach, ready to support our acorns, as we call the school's children. Thus, with great dedication and effort, this project began, which has grown step by step since its inception, with the goal of offering an educational model that fosters the holistic development of each child in harmony with their environment.
🍂What have we achieved so far?
- Create a living educational space surrounded by nature, where children learn the curricular objectives set in Aragon, respecting their rhythms and needs.
- Form a pedagogical team specialized in forest education that never stops learning and sharing. Our companions have even gone as far as the University of Zaragoza (https://www.unizar.es/actualidad/vernoticia_ng.php?id=81560&idh=) to present their work, leaving attendees speechless and eager for more.
- Establish a community of families committed to the project, involved in the daily management, maintenance of the space, and the growth and projection of the school.
- Adapt the facilities to the number of acorns and their educational needs. Abellota currently has three covered spaces: the woodpecker nest (with a bathroom, carpentry area, preschool classroom, and covered porch), the yurt (with a projector and library), and the burrow (classroom and outdoor playground).
- See our little ones grow into free and curious beings who blend in with their surroundings and enjoy every second in the forest.
Main features and goals of the crowdfunding campaign
Although the Ulle Forest is the main classroom where we learn, we also need other spaces to concentrate, store books and materials, set up the carpentry workshop, eat, dance, play... and a thousand other things!
The fixed facilities we use daily need repairs and maintenance. Families take care of what we can, but there are aspects that require a greater investment. We also take care to ensure that the teaching resources are of high quality and we strive to care for the companions and protect their labor rights.
What do we want to achieve with your help?
🌿 Purchase new fabrics for the yurt (€3,000):
Our yurt, which protects us from the elements, needs to replace its outer covering to protect it from the humidity and Pyrenean rainfall.
🎒 Purchase materials to improve our learning spaces (€3,000):
Photocopier, exploration tools, everyday materials, sensory materials, maps, musical instruments, resources for the carpentry workshop…
🛠️ Other repairs and improvements (€5,000):
Repair structures, reinforce shelter areas, improve access, and make minor improvements to facilities.
🌟Project sustainability and training (€8,000):
Invest in training our teachers, carry out outreach activities to continue promoting the naturalization of education, create a buffer for unforeseen events, sick leave, etc.
We never run out of ideas to continue improving the school every day.
Why this is important
Our school takes advantage of the passing seasons to learn and withstands the wind, snow, and blazing sun, but it needs care and maintenance to host many more years of play and learning. Abellota is a collective dream of a group of committed families excited about the possibility of offering an education in nature that respects the rhythms of childhood.
💚 That's why we seek the support of a larger network, made up of people like you, because...**
- ...you think the Abellota Forest School is a unique and necessary educational proposal that allows children to develop at their own pace and in contact with nature.
- ...you have had the opportunity to learn the names of flowers or the habits of local animals by listening to one of our acorns.
- ...you know us and want to be part of a project like this, even if you don't participate directly in our activities.
- ...it's the school where you would have liked to grow up.
- ...you know that the Abellota tutors are wonderful, and it's great that they can have stable work.
- ...you like Ulle, Jacetania, and Alto Gállego, and you're aware that this project is an asset for keeping the rural community alive and attracting and retaining residents.
- ...your grandson, your niece, your friend's daughters, your neighbor, your coworker... are part of this school and they tell you about what we do with enthusiasm.
- ...you believe that another type of education is possible and you want to help forest schools become established and consolidated in our region.
- ...you want to contribute to training future adults who will create a more just and sustainable world.
💸 *Your support sows future and compensates on your tax return!**
In addition, when you make a donation through platforms like this, you can recover up to 80% of your contribution on your next tax return. We'll explain how it works:
✔️ If you donate up to €250, the Treasury will refund you 80%.
✔️ For donations over €250, you'll get 40% of the remainder.
💡 Example:
If you donate €100, you'll get €80 back on your next tax return (your contribution will only cost you €20). If you'd like to contribute €50, donating €250 will give you a €200 deduction on your next tax return. If you don't mind waiting until next year to recover it, keep this tax benefit in mind when calculating your contribution, since you'll end up paying 20% of what you donate, but for us, it will have meant five times more!
At the end of the year, you'll receive a donation certificate that you can include in your personal income tax return. Do your calculations here: https://www.goteo.org/calculadora-fiscal
*Applies to tax residents in Spain only
🎒 Team of teachers
- Jara: Co-founder and primary school teacher. She worked for over 4 years at a forest school in Germany.
- Rebeca: Co-founder, child and adolescent neuropsychologist, and educational counselor. She supported teaching and learning processes for over 6 years. Between 2017 and 2019, she worked in the United Kingdom on public mental health projects.
- Nico: Primary school teacher specializing in Physical Education. In addition to his teaching experience, he has training and experience in directing and coordinating leisure and free time activities for children and young people, primarily in the natural environment.
- Elisa: Early childhood teacher trained in the Forest School methodology.
- Cristina: Social educator. Between 2018 and 2024, she was part of the Caxico Nature School (preschool: ages 3 to 6).
In this video, Rebeca talks excitedly about the project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1fLpr6AnK3w
Here, Jara shares a day as a Forest School companion and resident of a small town: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dYfn6mOXR6A&t=544s
Thank you for believing in the power of nature as a teacher. Thank you for being part of Abellota.
🌳 We're counting on you to continue growing outdoors!
Social commitment
Educational
At Abellota, we believe in an education that respects the rhythms of childhood and connects children with nature. Our pedagogical approach promotes the holistic development of each child, fostering their health and well-being (SDG 3) and ensuring a quality education based on firsthand experience and respect (SDG 4).
We are committed to an inclusive environment where equal relationships are cultivated, thus contributing to gender equality (SDG 5) from the earliest years of life.
By settling in the rural area of Ulle, we contribute to combating depopulation and revitalizing sustainable communities (SDG 11). By developing ecological awareness from childhood, we encourage the active protection of terrestrial ecosystems (SDG 15) through experiential knowledge, direct contact with the environment, and education rooted in a deep respect for the natural environment.
We firmly believe that sowing respect, freedom, and connection with the earth is building the future.
Sustainable Development Goals
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Good Health and Well-Being
Ensuring healthy lives and promoting the well-being for all at all ages is essential to sustainable development.
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Quality Education
Obtaining a quality education is the foundation to improving people’s lives and sustainable development.
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Gender Equality
Gender equality is not only a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world.
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Sustainable Cities and Communities
There needs to be a future in which cities provide opportunities for all, with access to basic services, energy, housing, transportation and more.
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Life On Land
Sustainably manage forests, combat desertification, halt and reverse land degradation, halt biodiversity loss
