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/.

Labels: Ban Talae Nok, community development, community-based tourism, homestay

by Jenny Lovell


I did my first homestay in Ban Lion on Koh Phratong. The entire village was built after the tsunami in 2004, funded by the Lion Club. It was really a great way to experience the island. The little boy at my host family's house was so adorable I wanted to take him home with me! And the food was outstanding. I thought I was going to explode after eating my farewell lunch!

We went for a "hay ride," Thai-style the afternoon we arrived. We all piled into a flatbed truck and went across Koh Phratong into the savanna. It looked like I could be in the middle of Africa, quite beautiful. We found a land tortoise tucked inside his shell and visited the remains of an old tin mine that had been abandoned. On our way back we saw a bird dive and pick up a live snake for dinner. Then we headed back to the homestay for a fantastic dinner.


In the morning I was lucky enough to watch the bimonthly N-ACT Network (North Andaman Community Tourism) meeting. It was really exciting to see Nat, the N-ACT Project Manager, in action. We started the meeting and I realized: the people here are N-ACT. 8 villages gathered to discuss the future of the organization that will cease to exist, at least in terms of funding, in the middle of July 2010. We sat under the community school, about 20 feet from a miniature swing set and climbing dome for the kids. Dogs sauntered past, waiting to see if any of the meeting attendees accidentally dropped food. Homestay divas slowly bring a variety of tea, coffee, and snacks to keep us going. The setting is perfectly symbolic of community action.

Then Nat snapped into her element. She introduced the meeting. The issues: the N-ACT Thai website, marketing materials, the network committee, data collection for reporting purposes, and last but not least, the future of N-ACT and ongoing support for all the projects.


Everyone introduced themselves. I awkwardly said my name. I mostly listened to the intonation because I cannot understand Thai very well. It was so different from the stuffy community meetings I ran in the U.S. People spoke when they thought of something, made jokes that sent the whole meeting into uproarious laughter. Kids yelled and played close by and nobody stopped them or hushed their screams of excitement. It was informal, but direct. There was no lack of business decisions made, but the informality lends itself to intense concentration when a serious subject arose. I never looked around a community meeting in the U.S. and saw every single person making eye contact with whoever was speaking.


I saw how this network actually makes an impact on the individuals at the meeting and in the villages. They are not appointed employees looking out for folks in the village. They are the villages. The decisions made in the meeting are reached with consensus because they directly affect everyone. The network has raised capacity in each person, who has then shared their knowledge with their home town, so that their traditional way of life can be maintained while they earn additional income in various sustainable ways.


Handicrafts, homestays, weaving nipa palm fronds for roofing material , and graciously showing curious foreigners how they live. Just demonstrating the process of making fish paste, constructing a squid trap, or dressing a guest up in a traditional Muslim outfit can earn a family extra money. These are activities they do every day regardless of tourism. But with the professional training nurtured by N-ACT, villages have started investing in the future by pooling their income and supporting each other to attend marketing and business development trainings. It seems that a few embers of education can spread wisdom like wildfire.

Labels: ecotourism, homestay, N-ACT

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

Labels: community-based tourism, conservation, homestay

by Noelle Smithhart

Labels: community service, conservation, homestay, Southern Thailand Volunteering

It’s hard to explain what makes a home inviting and exude warmth. Is it the comfy sofa, the pictures on the wall, or a manicured lawn?

I believe that people create the feel of a place (okay, so architecture is a big player too, but if you fill the most beautiful building in the world with grumps, it’s not going to be a fun place).

Have you ever walked into a work place, and felt tension so thick, you could cut it with a knife? No one is talking, but yet you feel the emotion of the people.

Ban Lion Village

Ban Lion showed me what makes a place. The people, with genuine warmth in their eyes, a smile and the kindness to share their lives made their residences inviting, not the homes lined up like an Excel spreadsheet.

Our destination for a two-day pilot tour in June was Ban Lion, a village located on the northwest side of Koh Prathong in Phang Nga Province. The residents are a collective of people from different villages who were affected by the tsunami in 2004. The homes in the village were built with the support of Lions Club International.

We were greeted while unloading from the boat. I was instantly impressed that the villagers came to us, versus waiting for us to come to them.

The home style in Ban Lion likely contrasts the image of Thai homes most foreigners have in their heads. My first thought upon arrival was, “Am I in an American suburb?” Completely identical homes are in clean, distinct lines.

Any confusion I had was replaced and trumped ten-fold by the people. They were so determined to make us feel at home. Our homestay hosts were two, 20-year-old girls, who work at the nearby Golden Buddha Beach Resort.

The first day we explored sea grass at low tide where pools were full of more star fish than I’d ever seen at once. We visited the old village, called Pak Jok. The tsunami devastated Pak Jok Village, leaving only small sections of concrete road and the bases of a few buildings. From there, we walked to the beach for sunset.

Sun Dew Plant

On day two, we took a short tractor ride to the golden grass fields. Our energetic guides’ passion for the area was contagious. They took special care to point out each detail. My favorite plant was the sun dew, which has a trap for insects to fall into to provide the plant with nutrients.

There was a brief discussion at the end of the tour where we gave our feedback on everything from the food to activities. My overall feedback was that it’s the seemingly small stuff that makes a tour, a restaurant, a hotel or the world work. Life is all about the difference between someone pointing down the street, when you’re new in town and ask where post office is, versus someone walking you there and buying you a cup of coffee.

-Leslie Welshimer

Labels: community tourism, homestay, Thai culture, Thailand, Thailand homestay

Voluntourists treated to stories of Moken culture

Claudine and Gill (UK) were among Andaman Discoveries’ first voluntourists in Tung Dap village, each enticed by our March special tour offer. Their two-day homestay allowed them participate in and assess several newly-developed cultural activities (and with her nine years’ of experience managing international development projects, Claudine’s feedback was invaluable!). However, the highlight of the trip was homestay host P’ Noi’s evening tales of the seafaring lives the Moken “sea gypsies” -- who comprise about half the village’s population -- were still living a generation ago.

“Perhaps the most enjoyable and memorable part of our stay was listening to the stories of our homestay host, P' Noi. After we had eaten we would sit on the floor in P' Noi’s beautiful wooden house listening to stories from her Moken childhood. P' Noi spent the majority of her childhood aboard a Kabang -- a traditional wooden boat which the Moken use as a home, fishing boat, and for transportation. The Moken used to spend months at time on the ocean, t raveling around the Andaman Sea in search of the fish which made up the majority of their diet.”

You can read Claudine's complete story on our blog. You can learn more about this village on our website, or contact us for details.

Labels: Andaman, homestay, Moken, Thailand, Tung Dap

Family Snapshots from Ban Talae Nok

Labels: eco tour, family, homestay, Thailand

A Journey to Muang Kluang Village

Two guests participated in community tours in Muang Kluang in March. For Ruth (Ireland), it was one of the highlights of her Thailand holiday. “We all sat and ate some great food. For me this was the most interesting part of the trip because I felt like I was in true Thailand,” she said. In addition, Ruth enjoyed activities including traditional basket weaving, mangrove tree planting, and a scenic nature hike.

The Muang Klaung homestay program will benefit the villagers through revenue generation that will go towards skills development and youth education. You can learn more about this village on our website, or contact us for details.

Labels: homestay, mangrove planting, Muang Kluang, nature hike, Thailand, traditional basket weaving

Gill, P' Noi, and Claudine in front of P' Noi's house in Tung Dap

Perhaps the most enjoyable and memorable part of our stay in Tung Dap (apart from the fresh seafood dinners and meeting a tame otter with a liking for farang ankles) was listening to the stories of our homestay host, P' Noi.

P' Noi is a fantastic story-teller. After we had eaten an amazing dinner of fresh seafood we would sit on the floor in P' Noi’s beautiful wooden house listening to stories from her Moken childhood. Both P' Noi’s parents died when she was a young girl, but she was fortunate enough to have eight brothers and sisters, including a twin sister P' Ya. P' Noi spent the majority of her childhood aboard a Kabang -- a traditional wooden boat which the Moken use as a home, fishing boat, and for transportation. The Moken used to spend months at time on the ocean, travelling around the Andaman Sea in search of the fish which make up the majority of their diet. Moken fishing practices are low impact and sustainable -- only taking what they actually need to survive and putting back any fish which are too young.

P' Noi and her family re-built their home with wood collected from the island’s mangrove forests

We also loved hearing the stories of the time that P' Noi and her sister visited Bangkok, in order that P' Noi could undergo a major hospital operation. It’s hard to imagine how these ladies must have felt coming from a small traditional fishing community on a tropical island into the heaving metropolis of Bangkok with its traffic jams, Skytrains and shopping centers. Their story of standing in a stationary elevator for ten minutes because they didn’t realize they had to press the buttons is an absolute classic! These ladies have a great sense of humour -- even when they themselves are the object of the joke.

Pee Noi has certainly experienced a great deal during her lifetime. After the tsunami wiped out most of the homes, farms and fishing boats in Tung Dap, P' Noi and her family re-built their home with wood collected from the island’s mangrove forests, with minimal assistance from the many aid organizations present in Thailand at that time. The family didn’t want to live in a house built by somebody else, because they wouldn’t feel they truly owned it or belonged there. P' Noi believes that the events of December 2004 helped her become a stronger person. Her resilience, self-reliance and positive attitude towards such a catastrophic event is a huge inspiration.

P' Noi and the Moken community live in a way which some people might think of as basic or ‘backward’. They have no cars and there are no shops nearby. Yet the island’s rivers, forests and oceans provide almost everything they need to live a happy, healthy and comfortable life. Having money is not important to them. Offering homestays to responsible and respectful tourists offers P' Noi a way to try to protect and preserve her way of life and the Moken culture against the potential encroachment of commercial mass tourism.

A visit to Tung Dap offers a fascinating insight into a way of life which is slowly disappearing. It often touches visitors in ways they don’t expect and leaves them with incredible memories to take away with them.

We are grateful to P' Noi for inviting us into her home and sharing her stories and her lifestyle so openly with us. Thanks also to Tu for being such an excellent guide and translator.

Labels: Andaman, community tourism, homestay, Moken, Thailand, Tung Dap