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

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

Youth in Action Final Seminar

It was the belief of Thomas Jefferson that every generation needs a new revolution, and for the past year Youth in Action for Next Generations (YNG) strived to make sustainability a key issue for the next one. This global project, organized by Pistes-Solidaires, actively united young people from both developed and developing countries in sustainable development projects. In Thailand, Andaman Discoveries collaborated with Mangrove Action Project (MAP) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) to create a network of ten youth groups in the North Andaman region.

Andaman Discoveries hosted the final meeting in November 2009, which summarized the various outcomes and was attended by NGOs from the eight participating countries. “The project helped strengthen and broaden networking and participation amongst the youth along the North Andaman Coast,” said Jaruwan “Ning” Kaewmahanin of MAP. The group reflected on their environmental and natural resource management experiences and community development project implementation.

Labels: IUCN, Mangrove Action Project, youth conservation, Youth in Action for Next Generations

Ban Talae Nok Youth Group

Labels: Ban Talae Nok, organic farming, waste management, youth conservation

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