About SHUMLA
“Heritage is our legacy from the past, what we live with today, and what we pass on to future generations. Our cultural and natural heritage are both irreplaceable sources of life and inspiration. They are our touchstones, our points of reference, our identity.”
-UNESCO World Heritage Centre
SHUMLA’s Mission
SHUMLA is a nonprofit archeological research and education center working internationally to connect people of all ages with the land and their cultural heritage.
SHUMLA’s Vision
At SHUMLA we bring the past to life, connect with our present environment and cultivate future growth through research and education. Using landscape as our blackboard and cultural heritage as our text, we guide learners of all ages on an exploratory journey into the social and environmental realities that define human existence and experience. Through inquiry, discovery and wonder, people experience first-hand the active role heritage plays in our lives. This new awareness fosters stewardship of the past and participation in shaping our legacies for future generations.
SHUMLA cultivates:
- A social awareness of what makes us alike, as humans, regardless of time period, location, or belief system.
- An appreciation for the way that humans interact with their environment to survive and thrive — in the past, the present and the future.
- The ability to think critically and recognize that all human understanding is colored by the context of landscape, heritage, history and belief.
- A passion for stewardship and preservation of precious natural and cultural resources.
- The ability to apply new perspectives in ways that enrich lives.
History
The SHUMLA School, Inc. was founded in February 1998 and was recognized as a 501(c)(3) publicly supported organization the following June. Word of the organization spread rapidly across the United States and abroad, leading to the formation of a diverse and distinguished Board of Directors and Advisory Board. Recognizing the importance of the organization’s mission, Jack and Missy Harrington of Comstock, Texas, made their land available to SHUMLA for the creation of an experiential educational and archeological research center 50 miles west of Del Rio in Val Verde County, Texas.
Since 1998, SHUMLA has been actively engaged in archeological research, heritage preservation, community outreach programs and education for students ranging from kindergarten to graduate school to independent adult learners. Thanks to the generous gifts of The Brown Foundation, The Houston Endowment, The Albert and Ethel Herzstein Charitable Foundation, The Ray C. Fish Foundation, The West Endowment and numerous private donors, SHUMLA has expanded continuously to now include an office complex, a research laboratory and a guest house at headquarters in Comstock, as well as learning and living facilities at the Harrington Campus. The Harrington Campus now boasts a learning and dining pavilion, conference room, library, restrooms and shower facilities, bunkhouses, and kitchen facilities. The Harrington Campus affords students immediate access to the Lower Pecos landscape and all of the learning resources that it provides.
Contact
The Shumla School, Inc.
P.O. Box 627
Comstock, TX 78837
Phone: 432-292-4848
Fax: 432-292-4849
e-mail: info@shumla.org
