Class 1 & 2 at a field visit to a Rice Mill

Tamarind Tree School

Background
Tamarind Tree is an alternative school located in Sogve village, Dahanu Taluka, Maharashtra. Catering
to the local tribal children of Dahanu, Tamarind Tree offers an English education to first generation tribal
learners of the region. An experiment in education, the school believes in creating a learner driven
environment using the pedagogy of activity based learning. This coupled with the extensive use of
technology has made our learning space interactive and different.
The school has a Pre Primary and Primary section (Nursery to Class 5) and is increasing a class every
year to provide education to till Class 10. The total strength is now at 150 students, 90 percent of whom
are tribals. The school is legally recongnised by the Maharashtra Education Department and has
recieved permission to run from Nursery to Class 8.
We believe the school is a path to build social justice and equity in the community.

Educational Pedagogy
Tamarind Tree is pioneering a Learning
Management System (LMS) at the Primary
level for its learners. Students (ages 7
upwards), log on to a virtual learning
environment at My Big Campus to access
their courses on Social Sciences, Science,
Math, English, Farming, History along with a
facilitator. All course content is generated by
our in house team and aims to be contextual
and relevant. Curriculum is designed using
a common sense approach and no text books or rote learning is used. The NCERT syllabus is used as a
guideline while developing digital courses. The courses are interactive, using mediums of quizes, blogs,
and submission of online assignments to grade students and graduate them to the next year. Video
Conferencing is being introduced this year.

Holistic Development
At the school, we believe that
the optimal development of
children - their
social,

physical,

cognitive,

emotional

and educational growth is vital

for

society.

Critical

to

enhancing the ability to learn is

the physical development of
the child. The school provides
nutritious and wholesome food
(mid day meal for Pre Primary and lunch for Primary ) to ensure that the physical needs are taken care
of. The meals are planned factoring in the required protein intake of children given the fact that their
diets are only carbohydrate rich.

Sports
In addition, the school provides Karate
training and Athletics training for children
above 6 years of age and has a licensed
teacher

from

Association
Education

the

and
teacher

Japan

Karate

trained

Physical

train

children.

to

Students regularly participate in Karate

tournaments at State and District Level.

Infrastructure
Currently, the school is operating out of 4 classrooms, 1 large Assembly Hall, an Administrative office
and 6 bathrooms. However, as the classes are increasing, the space is falling short of the requirements.
Moreover, the land on which the school is located is a chikoo orchard with minimum or no possibility of
expansion. In order to increase its infrastructure, the Trust has purchased additional barren land
adjacent to the school. The Trust is now ready to start building additional classrooms and other
infrastructure on this land.
The Trust is aiming to start its first phase of construction in March 2016, aming to build approximately
5000 square feet of space with 3 additional classrooms, a kitchen and dining space, a Learning
resource centre with a library and digital resource room and toilet blocks. Please see details below.
In the last five years, the school has sustained itself with the generous support of people like you - our
networks of friends, family and well wishers. The school has grown in an organic manner and is now
become a full fledeged institution providing quality educational services in the region.
The Trust appeals to this network to contribute generously to its Building Infrastructure Fund so that
construction can begin by March 2016.

All donations are exempt from Income tax. An 80G

Certificate will be issued to you along with the receipt.

Donations can be made by cheque in the name of TAMARIND TREE TRUST. The cheque
can be couriered to Tamarind Tree, 6 Tara Castle, Masoli, Dahanu 401602, Maharashtra,
India.
NEFT/RTGS can be done at: Name of Account: TAMARIND TREE TRUST
Bank: Bank of Baroda
Account No. 04300200000564
Type: Current Account
Branch: Dahanu Road
RTGS/NEFT: BARB0MASOLI

Details of Proposed New Construction and Budget

No.

Description

Area

Nos

Cost
Per Total
Sq Foot

1.

Kitchen & Dining space with staff

accommodation
This is a space where students will
eat breakfast and lunch. It is planned
as a Ground + 1 structure in bricks
and RCC. The first floor is being
developed as rooms for teachers and
student volunteers.

1600 sq.ft

1200/-

19,20,000

2.

Toilet Block (a block of 4 toilets- 2

for boys and 2 girls)

150 sq.ft

1200/-

1,80,000

2.

Classrooms
The school is propsing to use the
concept of pre-engineered building
(refurbished shipping containers).
These will be refurbished a a factory
site (complete with electrical, walls,
doors, etc) and will be installed at our
location

400 sq.ft

1000/-

12,00,000

3.

Toilet Block ( a block of 8 toilets)

4 for girls and 4 for boys

300 sq.ft

1200/-

3,60,000

4.

Learning Resource Centre

The learning resource centre will have
a conference room, a Digital
Resource Room, a Studio for video
and audio editing, a Library, a

1800 sq.ft

1200/-

21,60,000

meeting rooms for staff and parents

Detail drawings and the master plan can be shared on request.

Details of Support for Individual Buidlings and Units

There are individuals, groups and institutions interested in providing support to
particular building blocks (library or toilet block, for instance). Tamarind Tree is happy
to work with such groups in order that the amount to be raised becomes smaller and
larger number of donors can be roped in.

No.

Description

1.

Classroom

Area
400

Nos

Cost
Per Total
Sq Foot
1

1000/-

4,00,000

One Classroom which is a refurbished

Container of size 20 feet x 20 feet will costs
Rs. 4,00,00. This is complete with
electrical work and flooring.
2.

Toilet Block

45000

(The cost of 1 toilet in the toilet block is Rs.

45,000. This includes scientific sewage
treatment and plumbing along with modern
fittings and ceramic floors) . There are two
toilet blocks proposed in the campus. Both
are independent.
3.

Learning Resource Centre

a. Library and Digital Resource Centre

800

1200/-

9,60,000

1200/-

12,00,000

The school is a technology driven one, with

teachers and students learning using
digital media. The Library and Digital
Resource Room are critical spaces in the
learning environment where reading,
creation of short films, audio work and
programming will be done. This space is
the First Floor of the building.
b. Other Spaces
This includes conference room for
teachers, meeting room for parents,
administrative and server room

1000