by Jenny Lovell


Bodhi, Laura, and I took a walk at Nai Tui, a small outdoor recreation area near Kuraburi. There is a small community group that works together to preserve the watershed and encourage conservation and appreciation of the area.









They took us on a hike up the streambed, where we saw freshwater crabs and shrimp. It was beautiful and cool in the shade of the trees. They told us that there is a natural water hole at the source of the spring water for the river, which is used by wildlife in the surrounding area.















Our guides showed us the freshwater shrimp and crabs, which the locals catch as a source of food and saleable goods. Searching through fallen leaves and under the edge of rocks, they could find a surprising number of these little guys.









We hope to coordinate overnight backpacking trips with this community group. In the next few weeks me and a couple of other interns will go on a pilot trip with the guides, staying overnight in the jungle near an ancient Buddhist temple on a nearby mountain.














There is also an improvement project that we hope to lend funding and volunteers to help complete. They have already built benches at the waterfall near the trail head, but now they want to complete a restroom and functional day trip area. One of the great things about working with community-based tourism is helping to support the locals in encouraging appreciation for these unknown nooks of ecological goodness.

Labels: community, jungle hike

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!

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 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

Roliyah Chanchu, Muang Kluang Muslim Homestay

Roliyah Chanchu, or Ja Ya as her friends call her, is a member of the Muslim Homestay group in Muang Kluang village. In the past, visitors to nearby Laem Son National Park would drive through Muang Kluang but did not have an opportunity to learn about the local communities or interact with them in any way. Concerned that an influx of park visitors may threaten or affect their local way of life, locals decided to offer homestay accommodation as a way to reach out to park visitors and generate mutual understanding. Members of the Homestay Club take pride in sharing their way of life with guests, including the natural world on which it depends.

“Doing homestay gives me a chance to make new friends, and it is fun” said Ja Ya.

Ja Ya notes that a focus on local style made it affordable to join the Club, as she already had a clean home with a guest room.

“There was no need to invest anything but my time and energy” she pointed out.

Ja Ya’s whole family gets involved in the homestay process. Her daughters help cook food, including fresh fish caught by her husband, while her son plays with guests after school.

Asked about other benefits of community tourism, Ja Ya observes that even though the income she receives from homestays is not significant, she has learned a great deal from study trips with the N-ACT network. Having visited a number of communities that exemplified sustainable development, Ja Ya has separations bin for wet and dry garbage and recycling. She is also exploring how to make her own bio-fertilizer.

Labels: community, homestay, Muang Kluang

Governor of Ranong brings a big crowd to Laem Son National Park

The International Weltand Day at Laem Son National Park focused on the link between wetland health and climate change adaptation. Governor Wanchat Wongchaichana of Ranong and Chairman of Wetland International Day joined the crowds of nearby primary and secondary school students on February 2, 2010. Around 500 youth and adults joined the day of activities honoring wetland. Below, you see the governor accepting a basket from Somsak Soonthornnawapha, Thailand Programme Manager with the International Union for Conservation of Nature, filled with handicrafts from Ban Talae Nok and community partner villages.

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

On January 9th, hundreds of villagers attended the annual Children's Day at Tung Dap. The AD crew went out to Koh Phratong to join the celebration, bringing good cheer a healthy appetite. Over 50 children gathered to dance in a specially adorned sala while guests and friends cheered them on.

The village served a delicious array of curries and fresh vegetables and the AD crew enjoyed a brief walk down to the beach, where you could see the devastation of the tsunami, even now, after six years. The coastal swamps and mangroves were beautiful, as were the smiling faces that welcomed us into the community. We left feeling full and sun-baked after a revitalizing trip to one of the villages we hold dear.

Labels: Children’s Day, community

Scholarships Keep Dreams Alive

Wilasinee “Clang” Klatalae dreams of completing her university degree in tourism management. “It’s my goal to communicate with foreigners from different cultures. I love nature, meeting people, and to travel and share experiences,” she said during her recent long-term scholarship interview.

Clang is from Bak Jok village, which was totally destroyed in the tsunami five years ago; her father now earns about 8,000 Baht ($240) per month making model boats. Clang could not attend school without her scholarship “because we have to pay a lot of money for tuition, fees, boarding, and daily expenses. Without the scholarship, my father would have to work twice as much, and I would have to find a day job to support myself and my family.”

Andaman Discoveries needs your help to ensure Clang and the 130 students like her can continue receiving scholarships. Please consider helping us fund this valuable program. Donors can sponsor a student for about 15,000 Thai Baht (about $450) per year to cover educational expenses, and will receive updates regarding their sponsored youth’s academic performance as well as a personal letter.

Labels: community, education, scholarships, tsunami relief

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Labels: community, handicrafts