This is a story about how a Danish woman turned a time of crisis into a thriving school where Balinese children learn to grow and cook their own food — a Danish–Balinese collaboration that continues to flourish four years later.
When COVID-19 brought Bali to a standstill and left thousands of families struggling to put food on the table, Thea Melgaard, a Danish woman from Dokkedal, felt she couldn’t just watch from afar. She had travelled to Bali many times before and had close friends on the island. When she saw how hard they were hit by the collapse of tourism, she decided to act.
She sold her house in Denmark, packed her belongings, and flew to Bali — not to escape the pandemic, but to help.
“I’d never really understood what it meant to feel called to do something,” says Thea Melgaard. “But this time, I knew I had to go.”
Thea Melgaard with children from Rimba Garden School in the vegetable garden. Photo: Private
In the early months, she organised small-scale food distributions for elderly people and families in need. The donations were simple — rice, eggs, cooking oil, vegetables — but always received with deep gratitude. One day, while delivering food, she was told that onions couldn’t be grown on Bali — only in China — because, as the woman said, “we’re not farmers.”
“That remark stayed with me,” says Thea Melgaard. “It struck me how much knowledge had been lost. Many families could easily grow their own vegetables, but they didn’t believe they could.”
That moment planted the seed of what would later become Rimba Garden School — a place where learning starts with the soil and ends with a shared meal.
From crisis to community garden
Together with her Balinese friend Nyoman Godem, Thea Melgaard bought a few simple gardening tools, found a small plot of land, and began planting vegetables. At first, the adults in the village were sceptical. Some laughed, saying nothing would grow. But as the first shoots appeared, curiosity replaced doubt — and neighbours began stopping by to chat, drink coffee, and lend a hand.
“The first time someone came to help, I thought: maybe this is how it begins,” says Thea Melgaard.
From the beginning, the idea was to create a place where children could learn how to grow and prepare food — and at the same time practise their English. Thea Melgaard hoped that by teaching the younger generation, the knowledge and pride of growing food would naturally return to the community.
Children from Rimba Garden School proudly showing freshly harvested eggplants in the garden. Photo: Maria Xaver Dover
With support from locals and friends in Denmark, the initiative took shape. When LEGO donated DKK 25,000, Thea Melgaard and Nyoman Godem decided to move the garden to his family’s land, where there was more space and sunlight for the crops — and room to build. That became the start of Rimba Garden School. Later, with additional support from the Merkur Foundation and a second donation from LEGO, the school added a combined modern and traditional kitchen, a toilet and shower building, a small playground, and a greenhouse for the children’s “upside-down” plants.
“We wanted to create a place where children not only gain knowledge but also dignity,” says Thea Melgaard. “They learn how to plant, harvest, and cook using what they’ve grown themselves.”
Sundays in the garden classroom
Four years later, Rimba Garden School has become a weekend learning space for around 45 children from nearby villages. They attend regular school from Monday to Saturday, but every other Sunday they gather at Rimba Garden School.
When I visit on a sunny Sunday in September, 28 children sit on the floor of the open classroom. The youngest is seven, the oldest fourteen. On the board, their teacher has written simple English questions: What is your name? Where are you from? What is your favourite food?
Smiles fill the room; curiosity fills the air.
Nyoman Godem and Ali Nugara preparing materials for class at Rimba Garden School. Photo: Maria Xaver Dover
Their teacher, Ali Nugara, 45, teaches Bahasa and English at a local public school. On Sundays, he spends his time at Rimba Garden School.
“I enjoy sharing knowledge,” he says. “When guests from Denmark visit, the children are so proud to speak a little English. It gives them confidence and better opportunities, and I love seeing that.”
After class, the children head out to the garden to harvest vegetables and fill small bags to bring home to their families.
“They’re so proud,” says Thea Melgaard. “They feel like they’re contributing — and that earns them respect at home.”
Among the students is Deknita, aged 14, one of the oldest at Rimba Garden School.
“I really like coming here,” she says with a shy smile. “I enjoy learning English, being with my friends, meeting the kind guests who come to visit — and I like taking vegetables home for my family.”
Students at Rimba Garden School showing their new notebooks after class. Photo: Maria Xaver Dover
A Danish–Balinese partnership
Last year, Thea Melgaard returned to Denmark because she missed her daughter and wanted to be closer to family. Back home, she now runs a small shop in Lønstrup together with her daughter, selling Balinese crafts and handmade items — and part of the profits go directly to support Rimba Garden School.
But although she is back in Denmark, Thea Melgaard remains in close contact with Rimba Garden School, speaking with the team several times a week and continuing to raise funds from home.
“I had peace leaving because I knew the project was in good hands,” she says. “And part of my heart will always stay there.”
Today, Nyoman Godem and his wife manage the daily operations of Rimba Garden School. During the pandemic, Nyoman Godem lost his job as a taxi driver when tourists stopped coming, but through Rimba Garden School, a new purpose took root.
“It was a very hard time,” he says. “But something good grew from it. Now we have something meaningful — for us, for the children, for the whole village.”
Nyoman Godem and his wife have already hosted several cooking classes for visitors — and they hope more people will join in the future. The classes bring both joy and a modest income to the family.
Nyoman Godem’s wife cooking in the kitchen at Rimba Garden School. Photo: Maria Xaver Dover
“I hope more people will come and cook with us,” says Nyoman Godem. “We’ve received so much support — now we want to share what we’ve learned.”
A school that keeps growing
Thea Melgaard’s vision continues to grow — both in Bali and back home in Denmark. A support group, Friends of Rimba Garden School, has been established to help develop the project further. The four-person board is now working to formalise lesson plans and create more structured learning modules.
“The dream is to expand Rimba Garden School into a place for broader education and experimentation,” says Thea Melgaard.
And while the school continues to evolve, so do the connections it inspires. During my visit, a group of Danish women arrives at Rimba Garden School. They sit down among the children, handing out candy and greeting them with warm smiles. The children respond eagerly: “Nice to meet you!”
“You really feel welcome,” says Signe Madsen, one of the visitors. “The children are so open, and it’s moving to see how Rimba Garden School brings people together.”
Visitor Signe Madsen together with children at Rimba Garden School during an English class. Photo: Maria Xaver Dover
For the children, Rimba Garden School is more than a classroom — it’s a place where they feel safe and proud.
“They call Thea their grandmother,” says Nyoman Godem. “When she hasn’t visited for a while, they always ask when she’ll come back.”
Thea Melgaard hopes to spend a few months each year in Bali in the future.
“I miss the smells, the sounds, the people,” she says. “But most of all, I miss the children. They remind me why it all started — with a bag of onions and the belief that even small things can grow into something big.”
Comments are closed.