Couple Turns Uttarakhand Forests Into Open-Air Classrooms

In the hills of Uttarakhand, children were falling through the cracks of traditional education, kept from meaningful learning by long distances, natural disasters, and uninspiring classrooms. Two teachers decided the solution wasn't bringing kids to school but bringing better school to the kids.

Shrey Rawat, 33, and his partner Jyoti, 31, walked away from comfortable city careers in 2023 with a radical idea. They would reimagine what school could look like in the mountains, where nature itself becomes the classroom and learning happens through doing, not just memorizing.

The couple adopted the remote MKJSM School and immediately faced challenges that would have sent most people back down the mountain. Landslides blocked roads, resources were scarce, and traditional teaching methods weren't working for children who knew the forest better than any textbook.

So they threw out the old playbook entirely. Students now learn science through farming experiments, develop communication skills through theatre performances, and understand ecosystems by exploring the forests around them.

The transformation was remarkable. Children who once struggled to stay engaged were suddenly asking questions, leading projects, and showing up excited to learn. They weren't just memorizing facts anymore; they were building real skills and discovering what they were capable of.

The couple named their approach Suraah and began planning to expand it across multiple village schools. They faced resistance from those wedded to traditional methods, but the results spoke louder than skepticism.

The Ripple Effect

The impact reached far beyond test scores. Students gained practical farming knowledge they could use to help their families, performed theatre pieces that brought their communities together, and developed the confidence to imagine futures beyond the limited roles they'd always assumed were their only options. Parents watched their children transform from reluctant learners into curious, engaged young people with dreams for themselves and their villages.

The couple learned crucial lessons through setbacks and slow progress. Real educational change doesn't happen overnight, and the best innovations come from listening to the children themselves, especially in tribal communities where traditional knowledge holds deep value.

Today, Shrey and Jyoti's work is laying groundwork for a new generation in rural Uttarakhand. Children who once saw only one path forward are now imagining dozens, and other schools are taking notice of this forest classroom model that turns the mountains themselves into teachers.