Schools

The story of SEAT, a very special stool with a secret compartment for favourite things, begins with Niki Banados, a 2009 UNSW Art & Design graduate who conceived an environmentally friendly stool. Niki designed SEAT for children to easily assemble and to be produced in communities seeking sustainable business opportunities. SEAT is made of 100% bamboo in a sustainable factory in Vietnam where it’s production brings much needed work and opportunities to the community.

Our values-based education program message is, “It’s extraordinary to be ordinary”. We seek to reinforce in children the value of who they are, by just being themselves. Using children’s book “SEAT: The Little Stool That Could”, written by Lesley Hancock – we aim to show the impact of an ‘ordinary product with an extraordinary message’ – providing a message of inspiration and empowerment. This is done through bringing the character of SEAT to life and showing children and communities the power of the butterfly effect of this little stool; how many people were involved in his creation, how many livelihoods SEAT contributes to through his manufacture, how many children sit on him reading and playing, how many children can learn to read and write with him. It is a demonstration to children that shows how something that seems so ‘ordinary’ can have such an ‘extraordinary impact’ – just like them! This is the Butterfly Effect!

SEAT’s impact extends from Niki Banados, to our community in Vietnam and now to children, schools, parents and your greater local communities. Our goal is to provide your school with our rich values-based education and community engagement program which includes lessons on:

Art: The children make, design and paint their SEATs which can then be exhibited at school or in a local art exhibition.
Chaos Theory: The children learn about the impact that SEAT is having in the Vietnamese community, their own community and humanity as a whole.
Problem Solving and Teamwork: Students build the SEAT together following simple instructions.
Reading/Literature: “SEAT: The Little Stool that Could”, the storybook written by Lesley Hancock is a values based children’s book included in our program that illustrates the butterfly effect.
Values: Our entire program attests to core values including self-worth, empowerment, creativity, individuality, care for others, literacy and cultural awareness.