Heartfelt thanks and goodbye to Luu Chi Kien

Blog stuff from Alice :)

My impressions of 3 weeks in Thailand:

Two days ago we were still in Thailand and busy with filming and going around meeting farmers in different parts. It's all a bit of a blur because we did so much stuff in such a small space of time. But some of the things we did stand out clearly and I know I'll have these memories for the rest of my life.

Some of the highlights were going to see the ruins in the old city of Ayutthaya; going to see the temples in Bangkok, including the golden Buddha and emerald Buddha and the black Buddha in Ayutthaya; staying by the Mekong river on Lena's birthday; going to the movies with Kris and his girlfriend; interviewing the lady farmer who had been planting rice since she was 10 years old.

Seeing the old ruins in Ayutthaya was just stunning and so amazing. We got to go down under one of the tall buildings and you could feel this whole weight pressing down on you from above. To get down to the bottom you had to go down these really steep stairs and we had to leave Mum at the top cos she's afraid of heights. Down below Lena got a bit claustrophobic and she ran up the stairs too fast and smacked her head on a very solid piece of rock that was hanging over the stairs.

Also fascinating were all these Buddha figures with heads missing lined up along many of the walls. On our last night staying in Ayutthaya we filmed the sunset in one of the old city ruins and it just looked beautiful. The sunsets are more stunning because of all the pollution hanging on the horizon.

On the second day we were there we met two girls. One was 17 and the other was 16. They invited us to stay that night with them at one of their houses. In the morning we walked down to a local shop to have freshly squeezed juice and some mango for breakfast. After that we went to a special temple to give food to the monks as an offering.

Well that's about all for now take care and I'll try and send more stuff to put on the blog page when I can.

Reflections from Hanoi

We're in Hanoi now and I think I like it more than Bangkok because it's a lot cooler and we can walk around way more, even though mum stresses out with crossing the roads with all these motorbikes swerving round you and everyone seeming to toot for the hell of it. The first night here we all went wandering around and it's real cool cos they've got like a whole street dedicated to a particular thing, for example silk street and paint street; plus other little dinky shops selling all sorts of interesting things.

Because of the French influence here in the past, they have a lot of bakeries and restaurants even a supermarket! So its been good for a change from rice, cabbage and mushroom which we had in the north of Thailand. Sad to say i miss Thailand but on with the adventure! It's not as organised here, but we all have faith that things will happen, they always do. Trekking in Nepal has been a bit hummm de haaaa for a while, but it's all gonna happen now, 21 days and, no, the two porters with us are not going to carry my pack for me, cos it won't feel like such a big accomplishment otherwise.

Last week, the 1st, 2nd and morning of the 3rd we were in Ayutthaya, the old city, and we went around these old as ruins and recorded the sunset over them, which was incredibly beautiful. On our last night there Ali and I were invited to stay the night with these 2 Thai girls (16 and 17) and that was cool; they spoke pretty good English. They both want to be doctors or dentists, cos it's a good paying job and they work real hard in school, much harder than i did i think, and in the holidays they pretty much do nothing but study!

Another interesting moment was on the 21st, when we travelled by boat up the Mekong and met the old fisherman. We were in the middle of interviewing him when suddenly he leapt up and raced down the bank. I was filming and dad told me: "quick something's happening here, lets film it!" so we raced down the bank after him, jumped in the boat and he paddled out to where the fish was on the line. we almost tipped the boat over when dad told me to try lean over and get a better view of him. but when we got out of the boat again dad was real excited about capturing some action on film and poor old me all i could think about was the bit of mud that had got on my trousers! hopefully we use it for the end doco cos it was such a cool, spontaneous moment and i'm glad we got tape of it.

3 March 2007

This morning we were up early to go to the temple with Khun Yai, and then back to Bangkok. We’ll be up early tomorrow morning to catch our flight to Hanoi. As I’ve already said before, we have met some wonderful people here in Thailand. The issues we are facing are global. Local people are observing and experiencing changes in climate. However, we don’t need to feel helpless or depressed. The only true solutions in my view will come about from positive local actions, and that view has been strongly reinforced by the people we have met in Thailand. There is real potential for Thailand to provide us all with leadership for the future, towards a more balanced approach to working with our environment… the self sufficiency economy is founded on long-held wisdom that the true foundation of a sustainable economy is a well-balanced ecology. Working with nature, not withdrawal from nature or against nature, is the key.

A last word from Thailand

Hi all, just got back to Bangkok from Ayutthaya, the old capital. We were there 3 days, with Yai, our host,a lovely lady. See Gavin's blog for all the names and details.

We interviewed some farmers and one lady farmer in particular, who did things alone, an awesome example of energy and commitment, to farming more naturally.

In a short time, we had some great experiences, ...saw amazing Wats or temples, and Buddhas, a monk blessed us and gave us all bracelets, we were very careful not to touch him, as a sign of respect.

We saw a sunset over a temple ruins and of course I took lots of photos.

This morning , we gave flowers and food to the 4 monks at a temple, to celebrate the full moon. It was very moving. We have had dinner at the busy markets by the river and had lunch at a vege cafe and were recommended some lovely peanut food by David from Michigan. Saw and tasted rambutans for the first time.

Now we are up 5am to fly to Vietnam, I am looking forward to it but a little sad to leave behind such lovely people we have met so far, I will miss Thailand and its beautiful, gentle people.

Thankyou everyone, Sa wa deeka, kob khun ka love karen

Ayutthaya Province, Thailand

Yaowaluck Sukseeleang, organic rice farmer, Naku Village, Naku Sub-District, Pughai District, Ayutthaya Province

Pattapee Poungsuwan, organic vegetable grower, Naku Village, Naku Sub-District, Pughai District, Ayutthaya Province

Yaowaluck Sukseeleang, on left, outside her farmhouse

2 March 2007

Yaowaluck Sukseeleang - rice farmer (left), Pattapee Poungsuwan -vegetable farmer (middle) and Pacharee

Pacharee, friend of Khun Yai, looked after us for the morning along with Mr Santi Jeeyapan. Santi works as a facilitator to support villagers doing farm based research. We drove out to Naku Village, near Ayutthaya, where we met with three local farmers: Pattapee Poungsuwan, Somnuk Sanksem, and Yaowaluck Sukseeleang. We interviewed all three together in quite a challenging setting, a small roadside café. All three farmers have decided to move towards organic production because of concerns with degradation of the land and the high cost of inputs. The climate has definitely changed with more erratic weather patterns than in the past. Last September there was widespread flooding in Thailand and Ayutthaya Province was one of the worst affected, because it is low lying. They were all clear that the cause of the problem is people and that there is a need for a more balanced approach working with nature.

Gavin and Lena discussing sound problems

Yaowaluck Sukseeleang and Pattapee Poungsuwan both had their farms right next to the café, so we went into the field to talk to them some more.

Yaowaluck is an amazing woman. She learnt rice growing from her parents, beginning when she was 10 years old and has now been a rice farmer for 29 years. Yaowaluck farmers 56 rai (about 20 acres, or 8 hectares) on her own. At times in the past she has felt depressed and tried other work. People think farming is a dirty job, but she is clearly very passionate about her work and life as a farmer. Yaowaluck is a true leader for the future.

We then walked down the road to Pattapee’s farm. He stopped growing rice and shifted to organic vegetable production for the Bangkok market. This was a more financially viable option for him, as well as good for the environment.

1 March 2007

We spent part of the afternoon visiting some of the ruins of Ayutthaya with our new host, Khun Yai. In the evening we went to a night market for dinner by the river and then drove around to enjoy the ruins lit up at night time.

Ayutthaya, view from the ruins of Wat Ratcha Burana

Night scene at Ayutthaya

Sunset at the Sa Kaew annual fair

Sunset at the Sa Kaew annual fair, at the end of a hectic day on the move with Ajarn Yak.

This photograph was taken at about 6PM on Tuesday evening the 27th of February 2007. (Michael)

28 February 2007

This morning we went back to re-interview Mr La Ong Dao, village leader at Bo Luk Lang village and key player in the model project for Sa Kaew Province. We had filmed him on the fly on Monday, but were so impressed with him that we wanted more time. Mr La Ong Dao is quite unique in that unlike many village people who are University educated he chose to return to his village rather than go to a comfortable city job. He is doing a fantastic job in leading by example. Through his efforts they have a community information system and a community bank.

Now he is leading by example to develop more sustainable land use and address the very real effects of land degradation and climate change that they are experiencing. He has a bet with Ajarn Yak that he will achieve higher yields than Ajarn Yak is predicting, and he is very confident of winning the bet. He says that he is a winner!! I am going to do my very best to come back in the next couple of years to witness the transformation.

We’re now back in Bangkok ahead of the last leg of our journey in Thailand, and then on to Hanoi on Sunday. We don’t yet know what is in store for us in Viet Nam, but are feeling very confident after such warmth and generosity from our Thai friends. We can’t say enough to thank you all.

Lena setting up for interview with Mr La Ong Dao

Lena setting up for interview with Mr La Ong Dao

Mr La Ong Dao, “I am a winner!”

Gavin giving a presentation

Gavin giving a presentation to the Sa Kaew Provincial Government.

A happy Ajarn Yak

A happy Ajarn Yak, after hearing messages shared by Gavin and Lena.

An attentive audience

27 February 2007

Ajarn Yak has been working in Sa Kaew Province, a drought prone area of Thailand, to get buy-in from people there with the goal of encouraging the whole Province to adopt the self sufficient economy model.

In the morning we attended a large gathering, in an open air school auditorium, of farmers and their children. The approach was to present people with the basic principles of the self sufficiency economy and then invite them to further training. I was asked to talk for 10 minutes, and Lena also spoke. People commented afterwards, to our hosts, that they had felt they were alone in experiencing drought, problems with lack of water, and more erratic weather patterns. It opened their eyes to hear that other people were experiencing the same things in other parts of the world.

After a lunch break we went to the countryside and filmed some farm workers planting tapioca cuttings in the intense heat and humidity of the afternoon. We spoke with the leaseholder who talked about the degraded soil and drought situation. He initially said that he was waiting for the government to create rain, but then later said that there was a need to plant more trees.

We then went to the Provincial government buildings where I gave a powerpoint presentation to senior provincial officials. Later we met with the Governor.

The outcome of the day was that the Sa Kaew Governor has committed to support a model project in the province. The key player is a local village leader, Mr La Ong Dao. Other partners are the Agri-Nature Foundation, a major sugar cane company, and some university people.

Lena talking to a gathering

Lena talking to a gathering of farmers and their children, accompanied by Khun Wipa who was translating.

26 February 2007

We were up early to film an interview with Ajarn Yak, who had to leave ahead of us for a meeting in Sa Kaew Province. Ajarn Yak originally worked as a note-taker for the King of Thailand. Through this work he learnt first-hand about the King’s thinking for the development of a self-sufficient economy in Thailand, and the “Our Loss is Our Gain” philosophy. Later on, frustrated by farmers who didn’t believe the ideas that he presented to them based on this thinking, Ajarn Yak resigned his job to develop a working model.

He chose a piece of land owned by his brother near Chonburi, an area that is heavily industrialized and where water is very short. He began with soil that was as hard as rock from years of misuse. From this beginning he created the Agri-Nature Foundation and a learning centre that has now hosted about 300,000 people from all around Thailand. The approach has simple goals, to create:

• Enough food to eat
• Enough to live (eg, trees for simple housing)
• Enough plants to live (eg, plants for making natural shampoos, herbal medicine etc.)
• Enough for energy self-sufficiency (eg, biogas through on-site waste treatment)
• With these four needs satisfied you have the basis for two very important things:
• A comfortable environment (cool air (important in the tropical heat) and a warm heart)
• Enough to help develop inner spirit

Ajarn Yak is deeply dedicated to transforming Thailand, and addressing the effects of very heavy chemical use which has severely degraded many areas, and of rapid deforestation which has contributed to land degradation. This work is also very mindful of climate change, both in terms of creating resilience against weather extremes and also helping reduce greenhouse gas emissions and providing carbon sinks.

The day was hectic, on the move following Ajarn Yak’s trail and eventually catching up with him near Sa Kaew, in an area of degraded land with a thunderstorm overhead.

We spent the night sleeping (as well as we could!) on a packed earth floor!

Ajarn Yak (Giant Teacher)

Ajarn Yak (Giant Teacher), a man on a mission to prove the success of the self-sufficient economy approach in Thailand, one that is founded on a sound ecological balance.

Gavin, about to be interviewed

Gavin, about to be interviewed by Channel 3 from Thai TV