{"id":785,"date":"2026-10-13T08:21:00","date_gmt":"2026-10-13T06:21:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blogs.uef.fi\/fute\/?p=785"},"modified":"2026-10-13T08:21:01","modified_gmt":"2026-10-13T06:21:01","slug":"from-the-namib-desert-to-the-classroom-rethinking-esd-through-the-fute-staff-exchange","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uef.fi\/fute\/2026\/10\/13\/from-the-namib-desert-to-the-classroom-rethinking-esd-through-the-fute-staff-exchange\/","title":{"rendered":"From the Namib Desert to the Classroom: Rethinking ESD through the FUTE Staff Exchange"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Dr. Katherine Fulgence, Dr. Lucas Luchemba, Ms. Mary Nchimbi and Mr. Innocent Miwa<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does sustainability education look like when it moves beyond textbooks and becomes part of everyday life?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This was one of the important questions that shaped our experience during the FUTE staff exchange visit to Namibia. On 26 July 2026, four staff members from Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE) travelled to Namibia through the FUTE Project, joining colleagues from the University of Namibia (UNAM) in a learning experience centred on Education for Sustainable Development (ESD).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The exchange provided much more than an opportunity to visit another country and institution. It allowed us to experience sustainability in practice, reflect critically on our own teaching approaches, and explore ideas that could be adapted to teacher education and university environments in Tanzania.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Experiencing Sustainability at NaDEET<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the highlights of the exchange was our four-day visit to the Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust (NaDEET), an environmental education centre located approximately 600 km from Windhoek.\u00a0 NaDEET is a Namibian non-profit trust (since 2003) that teaches children and adults sustainable living through hands-on programmes at its desert centre in NamibRand and its urban centre in Swakopmund. It extends this work through teacher training, publications, and national and UNESCO ESD networks, aiming to integrate Education for Sustainable Development across Namibia. At NaDEET, sustainability was not presented simply as a concept to be discussed. It was embedded in everyday activities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Pictures 1&2: Arrival at the NaDEET Centre: DUCE staff, some UNAM staff and NaDEET staff<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our experience began with a timeline activity in which participants reflected on when and how we first became aware of environmental issues. This simple exercise reminded us that environmental awareness develops through personal experiences and everyday reflection, and that sustainability is a passion that grows with age. Everyone can bring their own observations, even if it is just one or two, and together these show that effective sustainability education should connect learning with learners’ own lives. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We then explored the practical use of renewable energy. Working in groups, we prepared pizza and cooked it using solar energy. Through demonstrations of solar cookers, solar ovens and solar dryers, concepts that can sometimes appear abstract in the classroom became tangible experiences.The experience demonstrated an important principle for teacher education: learners are more likely to understand sustainability when they can see, investigate and practice it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Turning Waste into Resources<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Another memorable activity involved producing fireballs from waste paper and sawdust. Waste paper was soaked, mixed with sawdust and shaped into an alternative source of fuel. The activity provided a simple but powerful illustration of circular thinking: something considered waste can become a useful resource.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Picture 3: DUCE and UNAM staff making fireballs from recycled paper<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our visit to the Compost House extended this lesson. We observed practical approaches to converting organic waste into fertile soil while learning about the 5 Rs of sustainability: Refuse, Reduce, Reuse, Recycle and Rot<\/em>. These activities encouraged us to think about sustainability not only as environmental conservation but also as a question of how individuals and institutions use resources, manage waste and make everyday decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Picture 4: Composting process: waste collection, processing and the final manure<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding Our Environmental Footprints<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Throughout the programme, we were encouraged to examine our environmental footprints and consider how infrastructure, water use, energy consumption and personal behaviours affect the environment. This was particularly valuable because sustainability discussions can easily focus on what governments, industries or other institutions should do. Measuring our own environmental footprints brought the discussion closer to home. It prompted a more personal question: What changes can we make ourselves?<\/strong> At the EV Powerhouse, for example, we observed how a 100% off-grid solar system could provide clean energy for electric vehicles. In the food garden, we saw how organic farming could be practised even under challenging desert conditions, with crops including spinach, cabbage and beetroot being cultivated. These experiences demonstrated that sustainability is not one isolated intervention. Energy, food, water, waste and human behaviour are interconnected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Namib Desert as a Classroom<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The surrounding desert became another important learning environment. During an environmental walk, we observed how plants, insects and animals survive under extreme desert conditions. Discussions about the oryx, desert insects, vegetation, tracks, dew and adaptations to limited water demonstrated how the natural environment itself can become a teaching resource.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Picture 5 & 6: Exploring desert life: Insects, animals, plants and dunes<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our evening astronomy experience, \u201cOur Sky at Night,\u201d provided another perspective. The naturally dark skies of the Namib Desert and the low level of light pollution created an opportunity to learn about the night sky and stars while also considering the environmental importance of preserving dark-sky environments. Also, walking across the dunes and watching the sunset gave us time to reflect on our experiences and appreciate the environment we had spent several days studying. These experiences reinforced a simple but significant lesson: Education for Sustainable Development does not have to remain inside the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Experiencing Sustainability to Teaching<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

For us as educators, one of the most important sessions focused directly on \u201cTeach\u201d for Education for Sustainable Developmen<\/em>t<\/strong>. The discussions challenged us to think about the role of teachers beyond delivering subject content. Teachers can help learners develop the knowledge, values, competencies and willingness to participate in solving real sustainability challenges. This requires approaches that encourage learners to investigate problems, collaborate, think critically, make decisions and take action. The NaDEET experience demonstrated how this can happen. Instead of being told about solar energy, we cooked with it. Instead of simply discussing waste management, we transformed waste materials into useful products. Instead of reading about ecological adaptation, we walked through the desert and observed it. This movement from knowing about sustainability to practising sustainability<\/strong> became one of the strongest lessons of our exchange.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Looking at Sustainability through the University Environment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Our learning continued 3 August 2026 when we visited the UNAM Khomasdal Campus. This time our attention shifted from the desert environment to the university itself. We examined how SDGs could be reflected in three aspects of educational practice: classroom organization, curriculum and teaching approaches, ant the outdoor campus environment. We observed classrooms with flexible arrangements that supported interaction, group work and learner participation. The availability of technological facilities such as projectors also demonstrated how multimedia resources can support different teaching and learning approaches. These observations prompted us to reflect on an aspect of sustainability education that can sometimes be overlooked: the physical learning environment influences how teaching happens.<\/strong> A classroom designed for interaction can encourage collaboration and active participation, while a classroom dominated by fixed seating may naturally favour teacher-centred instruction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Connecting the Curriculum with Real Problems<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

At UNAM, we also discussed linking university learning with real problems in schools and communities, for example by having student teachers use teaching practice to identify, investigate and solve educational problems together. This fits ESD well, since sustainability problems are complex and learners need critical thinking, problem-solving, teamwork and good decision-making. We also observe how gardens and outdoor spaces can be more than decoration, giving learners chances to observe plants, insects and how nature works. The lesson was clear: a sustainable campus can itself become a learning laboratory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Picture 7: DUCE Staff visit to the Early Childhood Education unit at UNAM Khomasdal Campus.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Can We Take Back to Tanzania?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Perhaps the most important part of an exchange programme begins after returning home. Our experiences in Namibia encouraged us to consider which ideas could realistically be adapted within Tanzanian teacher education and other educational settings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We learned that sustainability should be taught in all subjects and practised through real activities, using campus spaces like gardens, waste, energy and water systems as learning tools. Teachers should also encourage learners to explore local problems and find their own solutions. Most importantly, ESD does not need expensive facilities, because good learning can start with the resources around us. For teacher colleges like DUCE, this is a chance to prepare future teachers who can make sustainability meaningful in their schools and communities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The FUTE staff exchange showed us that ESD works best when knowledge, experience, reflection and action come together. NaDEET showed how daily practices with energy, food, water, biodiversity and waste can teach sustainability and UNAM showed how curriculum, teaching methods, classrooms and campus spaces can support the same ideas. The challenge now is to translate these experiences into our own context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our return to Tanzania therefore does not represent the end of the exchange. Rather, it marks the beginning of another important stage: adapting what we learned, sharing it with colleagues and students, and exploring how teacher education can increasingly prepare learners not only to understand sustainability challenges but also to participate in addressing them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We extend our sincere appreciation to the FUTE Project, our colleagues at the University of Namibia (UNAM), the Namib Desert Environmental Education Trust (NaDEET), the University of Eastern Finland (UEF) and Dar es Salaam University College of Education (DUCE) for making this valuable learning and exchange experience possible.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ultimately, our journey from Tanzania to Namibia left us with one enduring message:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sustainability is not only something we teach. It is something we experience, practise and ultimately help others learn to live.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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