Sinead is not an educational proselytizer. She is keen to show, to demonstrate, to inform, but not to convince. "What I do is a little like reading a book," she offered. "You can either read the first page, think it’s not for me, and put it aside, or keep turning the pages. It’s their choice. I just show what can be done." There are a thousand ways of getting to the same point. The Montessori system of learning ensures that children can use a multitude of paths without getting lost or losing their objective. "We are still creating," Paul and Sinead agreed. "We don’t even have enough materials for a full year yet. But we have weekly meetings to make sure that we know and we agree on what we are doing and what needs to be done next. We welcome people’s inputs. This is an island of artists. We need some of them to come and show the children how to carve wood, or make puppets or to draw. We are inclusive not exclusive."

To find Suta Dharma, just look for Restaurant Dennis on the Campuan road out of Ubud which is next door. It was an art gallery in its former incarnation and the building are redolent with Balinese iconography. Moss covered Shiva’s and Dewi Sariswati’s watch over the climbing, swinging children. Dewi Sariswati is the Goddess of learning. Some bear garlands of cut-outs. The grounds are large, and situated well back from the road. A huge banyan fig dominates the front of the school, its myriad aerial roots fringing the car park and providing good shade for the office. The traditional Balinese compound design keeps the children well away from the raucous, rapid traffic on the road outside. The tree filled, cool gardens are a great resource for the environmental education the children are given. In fact, from many aspects it looks like a classy hotel for small people, with its extravagant bales and now empty lotus moats. The well-known and pioneering Ibu Taman Redigolo donated the building at no charge, and it functions well as a high-intensity learning environment. A school board comprising some of Ubud’s best known personalities, including Cok Raka - prince, hotelier, performer and patron of the arts - as the Chair, ensures that the school has continuing local support and is well-accepted by Balinese Ubudians.

The Suta Dharma school is refreshing for its recognition that education is not just about classrooms and teachers, but about sparking the imagination, and this is what makes the place a dynamic learning environment for children. The school also encourages community participation. For instance, a Spanish woman recently helped the kids to count in Spanish and to discover a little about the culture and geography of Spain. And, on the day I visited, a local person was helping the teaching staff in a drama class.

Dayu Sriami explained to me that the name Suta Dharma has its origins in the triumvirate of Hindu Dharma, which links each individual with God, humanity and the environment. "Everything we do flowers from that base". Ibu Dayu pointed at the banyan tree and said, my dream is like that tree. It is that like that tree we can build strong roots in this community and that the spirit of what we are doing will grow and become strong. Then, like that tree, we can send roots to other places from which other trees can grow".