Project WIN: Grassroots Partnerships for Thailand

Here's where it started.  The home Withun shared with his grandparents. UPDATE JULY 6, 2020 Covid-19 set us back a couple of months, but we kept building when we could get volunteers and materials to the site.  Now, thanks to the great generosity of friends, it's done!  A couple of days ago Withun's grandparents "bought" the house from the builders, in keeping with Thai custom.  They eagerly  handed over 500 baht (15 dollars US) as the full purchase price, and moved in.  From that moment they are the owners of a brand new home with electricity, fresh water supply, indoor plumbing, a beautiful tile floor, a private bedroom and separate building for a traditional kitchen.  Donors have also provided a complete set of household furnishings and supplies. There will also be a small, walled vegetable garden and a pond to raise fish for eating.  Withun will tend them both under his grandparents supervision, and the family will have a ...

A HOUSE FOR WITHUN    Withun Jabuh is 7, a member of the Lahu Hilltribe.    His mother abandoned him when he was 2. His father had already gone to prison to start a 20 year sentence for a drug offense. He was arrested at a military checkpoint and convicted of transporting the drug    YaBa (Madness Medicine). Withun became a virtual orphan at 2.    His paternal grandparents, Natoh and Jagah, took him in, though they lived in extreme poverty and barely had enough for themselves.   As volunteers of Project Protein, we’re in touch with a lot of villages in Chiang Mai Province.    Sometimes when we see a special need, we add “personal projects,” apart from our main emphasis on sustainable agricultural methods.  These personal projects are not funded in any way by the general grants and donations we receive for Project Protein.  Funding comes exclusively from  individual friends and supporters. ...

Thanks to a big gift from FAWCO Foundation, Project WIN/Project Protein helped the village at Ban Pa Ka Nok, Amphur Samoeng, Chiang Mai Province create six agricultural miracles.  There's a new pond to raise fish for food and sale,   And a first-ever Earthworm Hotel, where natural rich fertilizer is made from dirt and garbage. There's also an all-organic vegetable garden, enriched by the work of the earthworms and runoff from the fish pond. And an all-new village-wide poultry operation Village children and their families learn recycling, and the latest sustainable farming techniques, guided by volunteers at the local agricultural university.  These are some of the volunteers who helped create the miracles at Amphur Samoeng. WITH THANKS TO THE

BCTFN (British Community in Thailand Foundation for the Needy) fully funded a complete Project Protein installation at Amphur Phrao.  That meant a fish pond, poultry operation, and village vegetable garden and orchard. Village elders decided not to include a mushroom hotel. There were also new sanitary toilets for several families. Seven hundred meters of blue PVC pipe was laid to bring fresh spring water to feed the fish pond, and to supply the entire village. (See previous website pages).  These three showed up early for class Recently, C ity Life sponsored a  training:  Villagers learned  skills in hydroponics, composting, and making organic fertilizers and non-toxic pesticides.  They even learned to make soaps for bathing and washing dishes.  

The forest supplies everything needed to repair the chicken coop roof .  As work ended at Chiang Dao, the team learned a nearby village needed a smaller  version of Project Protein. Volunteers quickly named it Chiang Dao 2.0, and realized that the generous City Life gift for the original Chiang Dao project could also cover their modest needs (plus a training program at Amphur Phrao).  Project WIN/Project Protein provided a flock of healthy chickens, feed, and supplies needed for a village-wide poultry operation.  They repaired the roof on the coop, brought  bagged medium and cultures for mushroom cultivation, and  some plants for the village vegetable gardens. Volunteers also offered advice and consultation on sustainable methods as requested by village elders.    Everything but the chickens Two hens (of thirty) watch the kids make their new home ready.  Eggs! New guests in the Mushroom Hotel.   Mushrooms...