Andaman Discoveries Blog

Tuesday, March 6, 2012

 

Opening of the “Southern Thailand Orphanage” Coffee and Bakery shop



On the 27th of February 2012, the staff and friends of AD participated in the grand opening of the “Southern Thailand Orphanage” coffee and bakery shop. We enjoyed the delicious coffee and bakery goods on sale, and were entertained with a dancing performance from the children at the home; the girls did a traditional Thai dance and the boys a Muay Thai performance that incorporates all the boxing moves to music, great fun to watch.





This Coffee and Bakery will give students the opportunity to be trained in hospitality skills; learning how to be waiter or waitress, how to keep shop, handle money and deal with customers.  This is all part of the program in creating a sustainable project for the home. Several of our volunteers helped to organize this event, painting walls and doors, setting furniture and signs and of course cleaning up after the construction workers had finished, just the day before the opening.


The orphanage opened its doors after the tsunami of 2004 to provide children in the area with a safe and secure environment to live and learn. In partnership with Andaman Discoveries, volunteers can assist with the daily operation of the home while the children are at school and in the afternoons assist the children with their English homework and basic language skills and of course play games and have fun.

 

Testimonials



We really are lucky. We spent a night at a homestay place a few days ago, (okay, fine, a lot of days ago) and I was shocked at how poor the living conditions were. Okay, to back up, the homestay I’m talking about was part of a program that allows local people to board tourists in their homes for some period of time, making money in the process, and giving the tourists a sense of the local conditions...http://travelschoolinginthailand.blogspot.com/2012/02/our-homestay-night.html

By Kaizen

 


 

Environmental Education Show



 February 10, 2012

Environmental Education Show at Burmese Learning Centers



February saw the arrival of two wild and passionate Brazilian volunteers Jay and Lucas from Grassroots Interactive Organization.  They are currently traveling around Asia offering schools and education Centers the chance to see their live arts performance, which teaches children about the environment and how they can change the damage we are causing to the planet by reducing, reusing and recycling.  The boys from Brazil performed their Environmental Education Show at the Kuraburi Nursery, Burmese Learning Center, Bang Krang School, Kao Lak Learning Center, and at our Southern Thailand Orphanage.  They actively got a hold of the children’s attention with their interesting and eye-catching performance.    



At the beginning of the performance, the children seem to wonder and struggle finding out who those scary looking guys where and what they were doing.  As the children started to understand the concept of the story, they stood up and leaned forward, giggled, clapped hands and yelled out in enjoyment.  The performance was, mimed all without words; however, the children still understood the concept and message of the performance.  Jay and Lucas bought Brazilian instruments made out of recycled materials, and performed with materials locally sourced to send out the message of “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle”, at the end of the show all the children are chanting this phrase.  It was fascinating to watch how the children reacted with their emotions during the show, understanding the message the Brazilian duo brought and hopefully taking the message home with them to start to put into practice this important ideal.

It was great pleasure to have them in Kuraburi. Thank you for bringing the great energy!



For further information, take a look at their website.   <http://grassrootsinteractive.org/thailand-environmental-education-tour/>

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Rice Harvesting Ceremony


February 7, 2012

Rice Harvesting Ceremony



A once-a-year ceremony of rice harvesting took place in Kamphaun Village in Ranong District.  This rice harvesting ceremony was organized by Muan Mit Thai Foundation, who works closely with the community group and women’s workshop in the village.  It was a great opportunity to appreciate the rice, and lean about traditions of the harvest and get to know people in the N-ACT network (North Andaman Community Tourism Network).

Kamphuan village is located 25 km North of Kuraburi, and surrounded by palm and rubber plantations.  The ceremony was held at the rice field, located behind the main village area, gathered nearly 100 children from several schools and villages in the region and attracted many community representatives, and N-ACT members. 



Nicole, Katherine and George from the USA, who were taking part in an Andaman Discovery Homestay program, also joined the ceremony.  They were able to participate in rice harvesting with the local community and experience the traditional method of harvesting and husking, which is done by using basic wooden equipment, same as 100’s of yeas ago. The group commented that this was such a unique and special ceremony to be part of; they felt so luck to be invited at this special time.



The local villagers demonstrated their traditional ways of getting the rice out of its shell.  First, they harvest the rice from the field with a knife; then they stamp on the rice to separate it from the straw; then husk the rice with the wooden equipment; separating the rice from its shell. 

We also enjoyed the delicious Thai dishes prepared by the villagers.  They served us some curry with rice noodles and fresh vegetables.  We even had the chance to interact with some local children who wanted to practice their English. 



 

Jennifer


Hello everyone!

I am Jennifer, the new member of Andaman Discoveries team! I’m carrying out my internship here in Kuraburi for 5 months, and I already know it’s going to be a great experience. Thailand has been a real discovery for me since arriving in Chiang Mai 2 years ago where I interned with CBT-I an NGO. My task now will be to work on Social Media and Marketing for Andaman, up-dating Facebook, Twitter and our blog so you all can keep in touch with what’s going on in the beautiful Andaman Region. I will tell you about the projects, volunteers and of course about the interns and what we are doing and share this wonderful experience together.

I have been studying Sustainable Tourism, Master’s degree, in Montpellier (France), and I’m willing to learn and share the knowledge and experience I gain about social media and marketing work. I will also be evaluating projects; environmental, economic and cultural issues and share with you the findings I gather of the impacts of community based tourism, this is part of my Masters studies.

Please feel free to contact us if you need any further information about the projects and the surroundings of this wonderful Andaman Coast., and don’t hesitate to ‘like us’ and to add us on Facebook so you’ll be up-dated regularly with all our news. 



Thanks and hope to hear from you soon!

Jen

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