Andaman Discoveries Blog
Friday, April 20, 2012
My experience in Ban Talae Nok Homestay
This month I had the chance to
experience the beautiful “Village by the Sea” Tour organized by Andaman Discoveries with
our wonderful translator Pi-Tui and guide Hem in Deh’s lovely homestay. This was
part of the trip for two French guests we hosted “Frederic and Rozen”. They
spent two days and one night discovering the way of life in the village of Ban Talae Nok
When arriving to the village we
had a walk through the community and learnt about the history of the village,
and what happened during and after the tsunami and saw how they rebuilt the
village in a nice and respectful way doing their best to respect the nature of the area.
After enjoying a relaxing
break on the hammocks and a walk through the beautiful village, we learnt about the
batik technique of hand-dyeing fabrics by using designs drawn in wax. It was
very interesting and enjoyable to have time for drawing. It was nice to feel like the old days when we
used to have time for this kind of leisure, and discovering this kind of
art. I was able to keep my “creation” as
a nice souvenir and it hangs with pride on my wall.
After this relaxing and fun
activity, we went fishing with two local fishermen who taught us how to manage
the fishing net. We all went into the water together while trying to keep
the net down, so the fishes did not escape. Then we had a barbecue on
the beach cooking the fish that we caught; it’s amazing to have dinner with
food that you actually catch yourself from the sea. I
now understand why fishermen are proud of their life style; it was such a great
experience. I will never forget the environment and the landscape surrounding
us and the unforgettable colors of the sunset.
The next day, we were shown how
to weave leaves of the Nypa Palm with the villagers in order to make
traditional roofing from the local mangrove plant. It’s great to learn how I
could build my own house with this material thanks to this kind of natural
technique. And I now understand where the
authentic houses in Thailand
come from.
Later we were shown how to cook
local Thai food with the host family; it’s very interesting and I hope to do it
back home for my friends and my family and the result was great and delicious.
We had fried fish, shrimps in curry, and vegetables in a coconut soup that we
just freshly grated.
In the evening we had a cultural
exchange by sharing stories and experiences together. Rozen and Frederic
brought pictures from France
to show the snow and the countryside and how dry the mountains are over there
compared to Thailand .
We also have the chance to dress up in traditional Muslim clothing. It was funny to see how you actually look
like when you are dressed in a different way, you are able to be in the shoes
of another way of living.
I
could only stay in the village for one day and one night, so I couldn’t
experience the mangrove tour in long-tail boat, and the hand-crafted soap
making workshop. But Rozen and Frederic had very positive feedback from this
experience. They wanted to discover the
cultural part of Thailand
and they have been amazed by the simplicity and the kindness of the family
homestay, and also by the way they live in harmony with the nature.
Labels: activities, Andaman Discoveries, Ban Talae Nok, CBT
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Japan Tsunami Support from the children of Ban Talae Nok
This video from the children of Ban Talae Nok, who suffered from Thailand's devastating tsunami in 2004, is dedicated to the tsunami affected children in Japan.
Keep up the good fight!
“Thanks for putting up the video clip for Japan from Ban Talae Nok youth group. It is great, and I sent it to my sister who stays in Japan to help the children in the affected area with her husband. I will be joining them end of this month.” - Mayumi
Labels: Ban Talae Nok, tsunami
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Critical Acclaim
Ban Talae Nok on TripAdvisor
Have you visited Ban Talae Nok village as part of an Andaman Discoveries tour? Andaman Discoveries and the villagers alike proudly announce that Ban Talae Nok is now on TripAdvisor, where three people have already given the picturesque village top ! We encourage you to visit the TripAdvisor site, read the reviews, and provide your own feedback.TripAdvisor.com is a free travelguide and research website that assists customers in gathering travel information, posting opinions of travel related issues and engaging in interactive travel forums. TripAdvisor is an example of consumer generated media. The website services are free to users, who provide most of the content, and the website is supported by an advertising business model.
Labels: Ban Talae Nok, community development, community tourism, TripAdvisor
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
Youth In Charge – Conservation in Action
The Youth Group from Ban Talae Nok continue to be models of sustainability. Pink, the group’s all-star leader, and her team are continuing the recycling program, and have begun making accessories such as pencil cases and wallet form reusable materials.Recently, villagers have been concerned that outside investors might try to illegally reclaim the mangrove restoration area near the village. Pink organized an overnight camp to visit and survey the restored habitat. The survey found that new species are now establishing themselves without being planted, and that the replanted Nipa palm is already useful for villagers making thatched roofing from its leaves. The youth also interviewed village elders about the history of the area.
Pink’s report from the field:
- Village beautification had limited participation last year, this year Pink will work with willing households to plant mango trees. Pink will also be convening a forum for discussing how to reduce litter in the village.
- Kitchen garden is highly successful, and supplies food for youth and adult meetings. Recently, a number of men in the village helped out by building fences and making fertilizer.
- The number of kids in the youth groups is increasing - even though some of the older youths leave for marriage or school
- Youths recently dredged and removed garbage from fresh-water ponds near village
Labels: Ban Talae Nok, community development, youth conservation
Monday, August 9, 2010
Homestay and Jungle
by Judith Schneider
A few weeks ago, I had the chance to go to Ban Talae Nok, a close by village with who Andaman Discoveries does Homestays. I was staying over night with a very friendly family and again felt sorry that my Thai is not yet good enough for any type of proper conversation.. But we still were able to communicate - no language was needed to see how much I enjoyed the food and their hospitality. Also, P'Tui, AD's director was never far away to translate, staying with Janice and Andrew, the volunteers who spent the whole week there.
We were quite busy making postcards from handmade recycling paper, planting palmtrees and mangroves and we even painted a sign for the women's soap group. At an intercultural evening with the local kids, they had a great laugh listening to my repeated thai rhymes before I thaught them to sing "Tirol isch lei oans" - a famous traditional song from Tyrol, Austria, where I come from - which also was quite funny! :)Also, we had the chance to jump into the ocean at the beach nearby which was wonderful after getting all dirty in the muddy jungle where we got the mangroves and palm plants for reforestation.
What a great experience to get to know life in a small authentic village while helping the locals!
For the weekend, we went to the closeby Khao Sok National park in the jungle where we did rivertubing and relaxed in a beautiful resort surrounded by rainforest and its animals! Amazing. If you want to know more about my time in Kuraburi, working as an Intern in the office of Andaman Discoveries, check out my personal Blog: http://u-did-snider.blogspot.com/.
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Labels: Ban Talae Nok, community development, community-based tourism, homestay
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Pink and the Youth Group need your support
Pink is the all-star leader of the Ban Talae Nok village youth and conservation group – over the last year they have restored a former shrimp pond, performed educational puppet shows about global warming, and hosted an international seminar with youth from six other countries.
Please consider sponsoring Pink's monthly salary ($180) so she can continue in her role as a community leader while raising a family!
“We are beginning to understand how to connect tourism with our way of life, and share with people how we conserve the natural environment. Andaman Discoveries is supporting the youth group to develop our own projects,” Pink explains.
Pink’s other projects include:
Waste Management - The Ban Talae Nok Youth group has been encouraging community members to Reduce, Recycle, and Reuse, and the village now has a trash bin for every home as well as in public areas. The youth group regularly collects and separates the garbage in the village and on the beach, and also makes fun recycled art. The donation supports the purchase of snacks and drinks after the weekly cleanup.Organic Garden - The result is six garden plots where vegetables such as lemon grass, long beans, chilies, galanga, eggplants, and morning glory are locally grown. Approximately 20 houses have been given seedlings to grow fresh vegetables, with the goal of even more villagers growing their own food. Donations support tools and snacks on gardening days.
Labels: Ban Talae Nok, community, youth conservation
International Wetland Day
Governor of Ranong brings a big crowd to Laem Son National Park
The event showcased exhibitions by variety of organizations, a play about the wetland environment, and a forum regarding wetland habitat in the area and how climate change will affect it in the futre.The National Park released 50 sea turtles and 10,000 white snapper during the culminating group event, designed to raise awareness about key species that are vital to wetland and marine health.
Along with other wetland areas in Rangong, the Laem Son National Park officially became part of Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Site) in August 2002. The park is shaded by a mixture of mangrove and fir trees, transitioning into sandy white beach as it nears the ocean. The network of winding paths was dotted with presentation boards from community-based handicraft groups, conservation groups, and educational groups.
Labels: Ban Talae Nok, community, conservation, natural resource management
Week Without Walls
International School of Bangkok Visits AD Team
The trip started in Ban Talae Nok where the students got a taste of traditional Thai cooking. The local youth group lead ISB through the nearby Nipa palm conservation project, explaining their efforts to preserve the environment by working with natural tidal processes to sustainably harvest crops. The ISB students then had an afternoon of weaving nipa palm leaves to make traditional roofing materials, and working with the Ladies' Soap Cooperative to mix up a batch of fresh soap!
The students spent the next day at Koh Ra Ecolodge, an environmentally sustainable outfit on an island off the Andaman Coast. They learned about local wildlife, conservation efforts at the lodge, and the nearby Reef Check Project.
ISB followed up Koh Ra with two days of fun and games at local school events. First, they visited Kuraburi High School, sharing their English conversational skills with the younger students. The following day they attended the Family Fun for National Children's Day in Khoalak, an event encouraging Burmese family interaction and integration with the Thai community.
We sent ISB off with a farewell dinner in Khoalak, where they shared their favorite learning experiences throughout the trip. As the waves crashed on the beach in front of the restaurant and we enjoyed a delicious Thai dinner and sent the ISB students back to Bangkok in style. After returning home, the students wrote a class blog to recount their time with AD!
Labels: Ban Talae Nok, Koh Ra Ecolodge, study tours
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
Stories from the Field
Ladda Aharn, Ban Talae Nok Ecotourism Group
Ladda Aharn, or Pink, as her friends call her, smiles as she welcomes the group of tour operators to her village on the Andaman Coast. Unlike the majority of visitors over the past few years, this group of visitors is not here to see the destruction wrought by the tsunami of 2004. Instead, they are here as tourists to enjoy the cultural and natural splendor of Ban Talae Nok, a village of 67 homes situated in between the coral reefs and dense rainforests of Southern Thailand.Life has not always been so easy for Pink -- the majority of her village was destroyed in the tsunami, and, due to declining fish stocks and mangrove destruction, she was unable to return to her traditional fishing lifestyle. With the development of community tourism, however, her luck is turning around.
“We are beginning to understand how to connect tourism with our way of life, and share with people the natural environment that we depend on for our culture and livelihood,” Pink explains.
Since rebuilding their lives after the tsunami, some villagers in rural Thailand are using tourism as a tool for sustainable development. Community members such as Cha now offer homestays, eco-tours, and other activities -- allowing visitors to participate in the traditional way of life that so often eludes the casual tourist. Their work has been assisted by the North Andaman Community Tourism Network. Under the sponsorship of IUCN, the network is serving as a bridge between local villages and the private sector.
In the last two years, community tourism has generated over $20,000 USD income for villagers, while also generating funds to a children’s center, mangrove conservation, and other community development projects.
Labels: Ban Talae Nok, community-based tourism, conservation, IUCN
Monday, January 18, 2010
2010 Welcome Message
Dear Friends,
December 26th marked the five-year anniversary of the tsunami, the catastrophic event that brought the Andaman Discoveries global family together on this mission of compassion. We’re constantly amazed by the degree to which the villagers of the North Andaman have recovered since that life-altering event. A recent example was Children’s Day in Ban Talae Nok...On December 27th we celebrated an afternoon filled with innocent laughter and fun with the villagers. Adults gathered to watch as children played games, sang songs, participated in an eco-quiz, and received gifts courtesy of Andaman Discoveries.
Despite 47 fatalities -- eight of whom were children -- and the physical loss of half their village to the wave, the people of Ban Talae Nok have worked diligently to create a better future for their children. Today, the village is an award-winning model of sustainable development with a highly engaged youth group and a successful responsible tourism program.
The inspiration we draw from such encouraging stories drives our passion to continue this challenging work. Standing together on the threshold of 2010, we can reflect our successes while looking to the challenges ahead. Your continued support and generosity not only motivates us, but makes Andaman Discoveries’ work possible. We look forward to your encouragement and assistance as we face the challenges and accomplishments of a new year. Thank you for being a part of the story.
- The Andaman Discoveries Team
Labels: Ban Talae Nok, Children’s Day, North Andaman Region, responsible tourism, tsunami
Monday, August 31, 2009
Local Action
Ban Talae Nok Youth Group
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| Ban Talae Nok organic garden |
Waste Management Project: Many children participate in this activity each month. “It is about more than collecting garbage,” said Pink. “It helps the youth have unity and work together. Then after their hard work, they all join together for snacks.”
Organic Farm: This project is a favorite of the youth and adults in the village. They started with one garden, which has been a success. The next step is to have a pilot garden program where about 20 houses will have their own spot to grow fresh food.
Landscaping: The youth group is working on building a fence along the main road with carefully planted greenery such as local leaf (Pak Leing), fruit trees like rose apple and mango, to enliven the village environment.
Community Forest: The youth group and BTN villagers want to plant more Nipa palm it is an essential resource. It can be used to make roofing to sell. The villagers are seeking to plant more seedlings.
Thank you to Pink and the BTN Youth Group for all of your contributions to the community. To see all the youth projects, or participate with them, please contact us.
Labels: Ban Talae Nok, organic farming, waste management, youth conservation
News that’s Fit to Print
Journalists become a part of the story
We welcomed freelance journalist Sarah Warwick in July. During her visit, she spent time in Ban Talae Nok, the Burmese Learning Center, and Kamphuan Community Learning Center.
Sarah is writing about community tourism and voluntourism for TNT magazine. She said she “felt an affinity with the town of Kuraburi because you get a real feel for the people and they are so friendly.” Thank you for visiting Sarah. We hope to see you again.
Rebecca Kelly wrote, “Yes, we’re living through some tough economic times. But instead of staying at home and sticking your head in the sand, read on about the growing number of people choosing to roll up their sleeves and become involved in projects aimed at making the world a better place. Voluntourism is a way for people to combine their tropical trip with a working holiday – and across Asia there’s certainly no shortage of worthy projects on which to lend a hand.”
Read the entire article in fahThai, click here or visit our press page.
Labels: Ban Talae Nok, Bangkok Airways, Burmese Learning Center, fah Thai, Kamphuan Learning Center
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Graduate School
Ban Talae Nok Shares Lessons Learned
Not long ago, several villagers from Ban Talae Nok were learning how to implement a successful responsible tourism and youth conservation program in their village. Today, the award-winning Ban Talae Nok CBT program is the aspiration of many organizations in the region, including twelve villagers from Cambodia who, with support form IUCN and WWF, hope to replicate BTN’s success. “I am so glad to see another homestay come from another country to learn in my village. I hope they enjoyed and learned a lot.” said a beaming Ladda “Pink” Aharn.The CBT graduates in Ban Talae Nok were also busy hosting the Tourism and Sports Authority of Thailand, who came to measure their compliance with the homestay standard; the village expects to receive certification soon.
Recycling has been the focus of the Youth Group, who, with funding from the EU, received training on how to make cards from recycled paper. The youth group also provided new recycle bin for the every house in the village.
Labels: Ban Talae Nok, Cambodia, responsible tourism, Tourism and Sports Authority of Thailand, youth conservation
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Kelly’s Journal
Creating Lifetime Humanitarians
I returned to the energy of Andaman Discoveries after a seven-month absence, eager to resume the role of translator and guide. My first assignment was to help a group of YouthLINC volunteers, varying in age from 17 to over 80, organize in-village workshops.In Ban Talae Nok, we conducted a health fair and first aid training with more than 40 villagers. Led by YouthLINC members, the events provided information on dental care, hygiene issues, family planning, and emergency medical care.
A personal highlight for me was translating during a cross-cultural ladies chatting session. After a delicious dinner, our time with the homestay ladies turned into an enlightening and amusing conversation – I’m glad the men weren’t present!
YouthLINC, a U.S.-based organization, aspires to create lifetime humanitarians through a strategic Service Year program, and participants contribute through community service projects in the U.S. and abroad.
Villagers recognized the value of the education shared, stating, “As homestay host families, it’s important we know basic first aid. Everyone should know what to do in an emergency.”
Megan Dennehy, a YouthLINC participant, said, “My visit to BTN was simply inspiring. I learned so much about the wonderful people and their lovely culture. I came with the intention of teaching the villagers and left being the one who had been taught by the villagers. They are beautiful people with the most tender hearts. I can’t wait to come back!”
Heather Bagley, a YouthLINC participant, said, “The village was an excellent opportunity to show the cultural differences of the Thai/Muslim people and Americans. Everyone in this village was kind, generous and very flexible. I wouldn’t change a thing about the homestay experience. I was completely comfortable and happy. Thanks for a fantastic adventure!”
Thank you to all the YouthLINC volunteers for your dedication and effort, in the United States and in Thailand. I hope to work with you again on your next journey.
Best Wishes,
Miss Kelly May
Labels: Ban Talae Nok, cross-cultural, humanitarians, Kelly May, service projects, YouthLINC
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