Project WIN: Grassroots Partnerships for Thailand

The convoy was a silver van followed by two motorbikes that would be needed later. They took the good highway two hours north of Chiang Mai to the Chiang Dao district, home of the world famous caves.  They turned off the main road and headed up to a village of Baan Maekang Sai -- the Village on the Left Bank of the Maekang  (not the mighty Maekong, far to the North). They stopped three kilometers short of the village and parked the van.  The motorbikes make several slow trips up the muddy, too-steep road, and when they arrived they saw this glorious view Project Vin coordinator and his student volunteers were there to survey the village as a possible site for Project Protein #4. This village represents a fresh frontier for the Project. It's the first village with a significantly cooler microclimate than usual (2-7 degrees in the cold season.  It's remote, and it's very small. In Maekang Sai there are only 24 families, all indigenous Karen p...

P roject WIN has been working in the beautiful Hmong village of Khun Sab. The road from Chiang Mai is steep and scary so it takes two hours to get there. Project Protein is in the early stages, as Mae Vak and Khun Lao were a couple of years ago.  Volunteers have already built and established the concrete fishpond with 1000 baby fish there, thanks to the British Women of Bangkok. Those fish are now six times their original size and they'll will be ready for harvest early next year. As in other villages, fish are the first of the new project components.  Last weekend brought a small crew to Khun Sab to rebuild a big and badly deteriorating chicken house. Volunteers from Maejo worked all day doing carpentry and electrical work to make the place ready for the 101 baby chicks they brought.  Thanks to generous friends who bought supplies and vendors who helped, they had everything they needed to start: plenty of chicken feed, feeders, watering tank, and lights th...

Yesterday 1000 tiny silver barb fish arrived, along with a VIP from Bangkok.  Gale Bailey MBE was there representing the British Women's Group of Bangkok, who recently gave their second generous gift to Project WIN.  Look at the previous story. You'll see volunteers finishing the  new concrete pond at Khun Sap. Khun Sap is a small village of Kariang (Karen) hill tribe people. They are proud of their 21-student kindergarten and primary school.  Under the supervision of their teachers and parents, the children will learn the best methods for raising fish to provide needed protein for the whole village.   Introducing fish for the first time was a big event for the students. Learning by Doing, they'll care for the fish until they are the size of a big man's hand, ready to eat.  In collaboration with village elders, Project WIN volunteers plan to add quarters for chickens, a vegetable garden at the school and a "mushroom hotel." ...

Khun Sap Delivering bags for dirt Khun Sap, just 70 kilometers north of Chaing Mai, is the newest Protein Project site.  Recently Maejo students finished construction on the big fish pool, and a thousand silver barb babies will arrive soon.  School and village leadership have approved the mushroom hotel, the chicken ranch, and the central organic vegetable garden, to be installed in the next few months. Unlike the other two villages, Khun Sap won't have frogs.  Two teachers will manage much of the project, and use it as an opportunity to teach "learning by doing."  Village kids will grow up skilled in the best techniques for raising fish, chicken, mushrooms, and vegetables. Final touches on the fish pool   Mae Vak The new duck hotel Mae Vak is the oldest project, and at three or four hours away, it's the farthest.  In addition to ongoing projects, leaders are bringing in ducks for eggs and re-introducing frog raising.  Thi...

All over Thailand, families celebrate Children’s Day with games and small gifts.  This year Project WIN  volunteers organized a big Children’s Day event at Khun Lao.  They put up a stage and sound system and  decorated the village  square for all-day live entertainment They brought loads of gifts: food,  toys and stuffed animals.  Project WIN believes that building community with local leaders, villagers, and  volunteers will strengthen working relationships throughout the New Year.  Here are the pictures. Project Leader Entertains the Kids with a Funny Song Every Childrens Day Has  Least One Race If you count stuffed animals the village population doubled on Chrildren's day. Musical Chairs, Thai style Leaders take a break The Thai Version of "Simon Says."   These volunteer leaders may have been the most popular act   American Visitor Invited to Help...