Eco-Sufism Values in Pesantren Education

This study analyzes the role of santri in the environmental conservation movement at Annuqayah Lubangsa Putri Islamic Boarding School, Sumenep, to identify the eco-Sufi values underlying the movement and describe the institutional strategies used to foster environmental awareness. The study employed a qualitative intrinsic case study design. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, participatory observation, and documentation from purposively selected informants, including caregivers, administrators, ecological committee members, and santri. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis, and validity was ensured through source and technique triangulation, member checking, and an audit trail. The findings were interpreted through Seyyed Hossein Nasr’s eco-Sufism framework. The results show that santri act as agents of environmental protection, awareness raising, plant cultivation, and waste management, following two approaches that correspond to takhalli and taḥalli. The movement is sustained by institutional strategies comprising a pilot project, a study visit, the Tirakat Plastik movement, the Go-Green-Go Clean event, a code of ethics for environmentally friendly visits, ecological online media, and educational sanctions. These practices are grounded in six values: mahabbah, gratitude, patience, sincerity, tadabbur, and silaturrahim. The study concludes that the movement is a practice of eco-Sufism that combines inner transformation with institutional regulation, so that environmental care is understood as part of spiritual devotion. This study is limited to a single Islamic boarding school, which may constrain the transferability of its findings to other educational and religious contexts. Its originality lies in conceptualizing pesantren-based environmental conservation as an integrated practice of eco-Sufism, demonstrating how spiritual values, embodied ecological practices, and institutional strategies collectively foster environmental awareness.