CIEE Khon Kaen Newsletter--2012--SP--No. 2

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THAI(ED) TOGETHER

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Relocating from Bangkok to our permanent home of Khon Kaen, I had yet to develop my land legs. We had been traveling for hours, having previously been tossed into a Thai community, my mind was boggled and jumbled from unsuccessfully speaking Thai with my host family and there was only a short amount of time given to explore each new experience. Flustered, over-heated, and yearning for my own residency where I could drop off my belongings and dive into my sheets, my relaxation was put on hold by another event. Unamused that my ability to sleep was stopped, I intended to go to the event as an unwillingly participant.

Walking up, I was greeted by my Thai roommate, along with all the other Thai roommates, our Ajaans, and program facilitators. I found most everyone sitting atop weaved mats in a circle. At the top of the circle was a gold bowl dish with what resembles a palm tree made out of multiple green leaves. On each leaf there are bundles of white string. Joining the circle, my roommate tells me that this is the Bai Si Suk Khwan ceremony.

In Thai culture, the Bai Si ceremony is in commemoration of welcoming new guests or guests that are departing. The strings, of which each contains a tied knot in the middle, are tied around the wrist. The ceremony goes as follows: two circles of people are made, an inner and outer circle. Those in the inner circle have taken the string and approach an individual of the outer circle. Sitting before that person, the person with the string takes the wrist of the other, with palm facing upward, and rubbing the string across the veins says, “Bad spirits, bad spirits go away. Good spirits, good spirits come this way.” It then ends with the tying of the string around the wrist. The purpose of this ceremony, explained to me by Ajaan Jeab, is to call your spirit to youre body from your homeland to join you in Thailand, to be with you and protect you. The same is said when one is returning home, for your spirit to follow you wherever one may travel.

Sawadee Ka! The second newsletter you are about to read is rather special to us. Our group has reflected on the last ten weeks we have spent in the villages with families learning from them about issues such as agriculture and land rights. Along the way many of us have also had the opportunity to lead our units as facilitators, which allowed us to grow as leaders and empower one another. Between learning from villagers and facilitating our group, we have also found time to enjoy the beautiful city of Khon Kaen that surrounds us. Hopefully the articles you read will give you a glimpse into our

CIEE Thailand Spring 2012 Newsletter II

- CIEE Development and Globalization Khon Kaen, Thailand Spring 2012

What Ties Us Together

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In our last home-stay in Toong Lui Lai village, I formed a very strong and loving bond with my host family. I believe that many others did as well and we were saddened to have to leave. I believe the feeling was mutual with our host families and other members of the community for they requested a Bai

Si ceremony before our departure. As we sat there on colorful weaved mats of reds, blues, and yellows, villagers came around decorating our wrists with white and colored string, smiling and holding onto our hands, not wanting us to leave but wishing us safe travels.

Seeing my wrists covered with string and noticing that everyone else is similarly covered, I realized that these strings have a greater meaning than only calling forth my spirit. Each individual string holds the smile of my host mom, Mae Tum, or my Yai’s hug or a villager’s hello. It is a piece of a community that we became a part of and that we know are always welcome back to. Not only do these strings tie us together to Thai communities we’ve visited but to the experiences we’ve had in Thailand and that we will never forget them.


When I first arrived at my home-stay in Toong Lui Lai village my host Phau was adamant about fostering conversation between the two of us. At first I tried to listen carefully and have him slow down his words, but what started out as a valid attempt of communication ended up as a frustrating inability to understand what he was trying to say. As my Phau sat profoundly cross-legged outside his home, with the help of a translator. I was able to finally answer some of the questions he had been asking me for days. He said, “ I was trying to ask about the climate difference between here and the United States, if you were interested in farming, and the problems you have with land back home.” Although wrinkled and nearing 70, my host Phau had the curiosity of a young student, and an aura of rebellion. He got his point across about not favoring the way the

government ran things, but most importantly he was able to articulate to me why and how the government was unfair. His feelings are simply summed up in his answer to my last question that proposed; “ What is one word you would use to sum up the government?” Without hesitation he answered, “murderer”. In a country that is strongly aligned

PHAU vs. the LAW

Jennifer Lopez Whitman College Sociology

Photo credit Taryn Orona

Photo credit Jennifer Lopez

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with the religion of Buddhism, when a statement like this is made it is clear that there is an obvious problem at hand. Yet the hope, if my host Phau has taught me anything, lies in the community and the people who reside in it. He told me that he wanted to work with the government to help them understand the Thai people and their rights –he thought they should begin to work by trying to be a country together. “If the Thai government would support our village agriculture more then it would help the country and it would make the Thai baht stronger.” After concluding the interview I realized how much I had learned from my Phau through just a simple sit down. For now my host Phau and his village are facing the government but he remains optimistic for the future and the relationships he is willing to foster.

Phau brings us Cup o’ Noodles and green sandwiches for breakfast. He asks us something in what sounds like a Thai-Isaan blend but when we stare blankly back he walks away. Fatima investigates the sandwiches, tearing apart the sugar-crusted sides to find a single raisin in the center. I take my chances with the morning soup, and we wait for Phau’s instructions that we most likely won’t understand.

During the day we are passed around to various family members: our sister takes us to lunch, Yai sits outside on the platform with us. At night our Phau motions his head towards the car and we follow inside, onto our next mysterious adventure. We can’t talk over the crackle of the car radio, which sings the slow but popular Thai hits, and that seems alright for all of us. We reach the woods. It’s dark now. All but the spotlights from headlights and a small golden fire keep the scene from complete darkness. Phau sets himself down in a chair and we wander over to the fire, sitting close to the warmth. Phau pours himself a drink, a blend of honey, herbs, whiskey, and starts to talk about all the thoughts he’s saved throughout the day.

Fortunately, for us our host sister speaks incredible English and translates Phau’s inquiries: do

we think that it is fair that the government threatens to take hold of his land? Do we understand that farming rubber trees is his livelihood, his only means of supporting his family? Do we truly see the fact that if he has to leave there is nowhere else for his family to go? He wonders if we honestly hope to come back and if we promise to join the fight. I try and keep up, but Fatima is quicker: of course this situation is unfair and without a doubt this is our fight too. I am still pondering over the meaning of owning land even as we all try and sleep. I can hear Phau falling asleep. He whispers in what our sister tells us is Phau’s Buddha-language that no one else ever understands.

In the early morning hours I see him and his son-in-law clumsily move around the darkness, sharpening knives and rolling cigarettes. I watch long enough to see two headlights wandering through the forest, collecting rubber and painting the trees red. In the morning we drive back to the house. Phau is silent again, letting the night speak in the ways that we normally couldn’t. He hopes for our understanding and I remember his dedication, his Buddha-language, his family. I feel like I might be catching up, finally ready to join the cause.

Hadley Mowe Whitman College Religious Studies


Brenna Kelly Providence College International Studies

Understanding The Land

Photo credit Ellery Graves

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In these villages, we were able to live alongside the villagers and experience their daily routine. This involved helping out with daily chores, going to the market, and visiting a temple, to name a few. The villagers were so kind and welcoming, opening their homes to complete strangers. In my opinion this kind of hospitality for the most part no longer exists in the United States. In the U.S. we are wary of strangers and try to keep to ourselves. The U.S. is much more of an individualistic society where as Thailand is more collective. The people of Thailand are a community that depends on each other for survival, but this might not be permanent. As Thailand develops and adopts more Western concepts, things might change. One of those Western values is consumerism. As Western consumerism is becoming more and more common, Thailand changes. Shopping centers and grocery stores are becoming the norm, moving away from small, village markets. A common sight in villages in Thailand is that there are only young children and grandparents. Many of the working age people have left the villages in search of higher incomes in the cities. If this pattern continues, villages, along with all their values and beauty, might become a thing of the past.

Life In The Villages


During our last home-stay we stayed in three different villages: Huay Gon Tha, Baw Kaew, and Toong Lui Lai. These villages are scattered around the Northeastern part of Thailand. The villages were located within the mountains, which gave each of the villages a beauty beyond words. Many of the villagers in these communities are farmers. They grow an assortment of things including rubber trees and rice; many of the villagers grow gardens for their own food. Agriculture is a large part of life in the Northeastern region of Thailand. It is something that the average tourist does not get to see except on postcards and in guidebooks.

The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated in its most recent study that anthropomorphic climate change is unequivocal. Climate change considers not only the rising temperature of our atmosphere, but also factors such as changing weather patterns, sea level rise, and increasingly extreme natural disasters. These changes are caused by the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere due to fossil fuel use, deforestation, industry, waste, and industrial agriculture. While we all are responsible for contributing to climate change in one way or another, industries and individuals living in cities tend to have a higher contribution. However, the

Thai government has decided to place the blame on the poor farmers of the northeast.

Conflict has arisen between various villages and the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment regarding the ownership of land abutting wildlife sanctuaries. When the villagers “trespass” on sanctuary lands they are fined not only for the act of trespassing but also for causing global warming by planting crops on sanctuary land.

In many cases, there is a disagreement regarding the border placement of wildlife sanctuaries. Farmers, who have occupied the land prior to the creation of the sanctuary are suddenly told that they must remove a section of their crops in order to accommodate the new sanctuary. On occasion, the placement of these borders is not clear

Morgan Washburn Loras College Social Work/Sociology

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Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Property


and so farmers are fined for trespassing on sanctuary land. According to the article 97 of the Environmental Act, after the villagers are fined for trespassing, they must also be sued for causing global warming in order to pay for any damage done to the land. This law was originally established to manage the industrial sector. Industries, however, cannot be sued because their projects have already been approved by the government.

The Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment determines the fine for causing global warming based on a formula created by an academic in the Ministry. The formula takes into consideration loss of water, damage to soil quality and how much the temperature of the affected area has been raised. For example, in order to assess the fine for raise in temperature, the formula calculates how much it would cost for an air conditioning unit to decrease the temperature of the affected area to its original degree. This formula is extremely controversial. Even the inventor of the formula agrees that his creation of the formula was not intended to determine the amount that violators should be sued.

It is time for the government of Thailand to make proper strides towards mitigating it climate change contribution. Rather than suing poor rural farmers, the nation needs to adopt binding emissions targets and invest more research and development in alternative sources of energy. In addition, the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment as well as heads of each wildlife sanctuary need to work with communities rather than against them. Only then can Thailand preserve its wild lands while still becoming a competitor in the global market.

Coral Keegan Georgetown University Science, Technology and International Affairs

While staying with forest communities in Phechabun and Chaiyaphum provinces, it became clear that Thailand is facing an epidemic of governmental land grabbing. By establishing national parks, forest preserves, and wildlife sanctuaries, the government has empowered itself to seize property from communities who live in, and rely on, and often times legitimately own these areas. On the surface it appears the government has good intentions: preserving forest ecosystems, protecting

wildlife, and maintaining a space for visitors to enjoy the natural beauty of the country. A much closer look reveals that, despite its persecution of villagers’ longstanding practices, the Thai government has objectives beyond and even contrary to saving the environment.

It’s hard to believe that the government is really concerned with ecology when the forest is guarded and patrolled by camouflage wearing, rifle toting military

Photo credit Coral Keegan

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personnel. Villagers from Toong Lui Lai told us of 200 armed officers showing up to arrest 10 people at 5:30 am, nabbing them as they left their house. Five women were taken to the hospital after being dragged into patrol vehicles. One man we met, Den, recalls soldiers forcing him to slash and burn his cornfield. Other villagers then were forced to fill the cleared land with a eucalyptus plantation for the Forest Industrial Organization, a state-owned enterprise. Eucalyptus, heavily supported for Thailand’s pulp industry, is especially harmful as it drains copious amounts of groundwater and depletes the soil.

What the government holds back in violence it makes up for in corruption. While most of the villagers we saw were adamant about protecting and preserving the forest as their source of livelihood, the crime for living off the land is global warming. Yes, you did read that correctly. This is despite the fact that the government supports mono-cropping,

chemical fertilizers, and “reforestation” of fast growing plants meant to support industry. The way officers persecute villagers is, unsurprisingly, shady. One villager signed a paper acknowledging that he had talked to the police, but that signature was then transferred to a statement confessing that he was guilty of trespassing. Tam Nuantong of Huay Gon Tha once ran into sanctuary land to put out a fire. Officers from the sanctuary photographed him and used the pictures as evidence in court to convict him of trespassing, and later causing global warming. Further, many communities contend that they were never consulted or notified of the establishment of preserves and sanctuaries to begin with.

Part of Thailand’s land problem is the country’s unstable political system. With such a powerful central government each time a new prime minister is seated, a community must restart its process of appealing for land rights. Even though the previous Prime Minister had called off forest prosecution, the Minister of Natural Resources & the Environment disagreed and so continued with arrests and forest prosecution.

In 2007 Thailand ratified its 13th constitution, which in many ways is weak. While the Constitution contains many sections guaranteeing its people the right to maintain property, cultivate customs, participate as a community, use natural resources, and play a role in environmental projects, the constitution leaves room for laws to circumvent these rights. For example, Section 42 reads:

The expropriation of immovable property shall not be made except by virtue of the law specifically enacted for the purpose of…exploitation of natural resources, promotion and preservation of the quality of the environment, agricultural or industrial development, land reform…or other public interests…

In other words, the government cannot take someone’s land unless they enact a law that allows them to. Such is the case here. Photo credit Molly Johnson

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Fortunately there is some semblance of hope for these communities. Officer Tuetansakul, the head of Phuphadaeg Wildlife Sanctuary, has developed a model working with local communities rather than using the law to persecute them. P.M. Yingluck Shinawatra has allocated 7 billion baht (~$233 million) to the Community Land Title Office, and the Community Land Title Bill is scheduled to go through the legislature in the near future. Such a law would mandate that communities be able to collectively manage their land as well as prevent government land

Alex Acuña Occidental College Urban& Environmental Policy

The forests of the world are understood by many to be a major life source for humans. By that, I mean that it provides food, lumber, land, water, biodiversity, medicinal plants, shelter, and cultural value just to name a few. These sacred suppliers of life and livelihood have been relished in past generations, and as of late in the 20th Century, governments have been forced into creating mechanisms of control, national forests, of these forested lands to protect them from deforestation for example. Unfortunately, government agencies, NGOs, and the communities and villagers define various ideas including management, sustainability, preservation, and rights differently. This causes much debate in regards to the national forest system. This issue has touched down firmly in Thailand, beginning with the Green Revolution which made agriculture all the more important in Thailand. This revolution not allowed provided genetically modified seeds, fertilizers and pesticides, and other required equipment, but more importantly that agricultural production and use of land became paramount to speed up Thailand’s entry in to the developed world. The Green Revolution acted as a catalyst for the need to control and manage Thailand’s forests areas through national forests.

Although the repercussions of a national forest or wild life sanctuary may be negative in some ways, there are multiple positives, which not only can benefit Thailand in the long run. These benefits, for example,

The Paradox of a National Forest System

can be economic or ecological. Also, the creation of forest preserves and wild life sanctuaries for example, shows the Thai governments commitment to deterring their contribution to global warming, and also allowing outside countries to invest into Thailand through the cap-and-trade system. These national forests protect the old age forests, thus preserving biodiversity and allowing the possibility for potential external investment opportunities to support sustainable movements and ecotourism for example.

This paradox is difficult to fix whether the approach ethically or even environmental. In this case, with two steps taken for to protect the environment and spur the economy of Thailand, one step is thus taken back because of the effects of the thousands of villagers who are displaced from their land. The real question that needs to be addressed first, is what is more important the individual or the country’s land and its whole population?

Kyle Overman University of Michigan International Studies

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Facilitation

Mae Songwan and the Green Market


As our group of CIEE students piled into the vans that would take us to the province of Yasothon, I had no idea what to expect. It was going to be our first home-stay, and we were staying in a community that was comprised mostly of farming families. While some were conventional farmers in the sense that they used modern, chemical-based farming practices, over half the community had transitioned to organic. This was going to be our own first-hand learning experience, something that is a big focus of the CIEE Development and Globalization Program, learning about Thai agriculture from those that actually feed this country. While on the home-stay, my host-mother had the most influence on me. Her name is Songwan. She is an organic farmer who grows rice and vegetables, but she didn’t start out

Anaise Williams University of Rochester Biology/Anthropology

A group of four students organize the group, prepare the group for the home-stay, regulate the exchanges and facilitate discussions in each of the units of this program. The skills that were learned from this opportunity are invaluable. I was a facilitator for the unit on land rights, and after reflecting on the process and my role, it could possibly be one of the most important learning experiences I’ve had in Thailand.

Leading exchanges with villagers was demanding and stressful because I felt responsible for the exchanges’ success. Making decisions about when and how to switch the topics of the discourse was very hard. I kept questioning my authority to make such decisions. All the while, this process was testing my assertiveness, confidence, and judgment. However, after days of planning, it was incredibly rewarding to see a group of twenty under the instruction of the facilitators have an in depth discussion about land rights. It was even more rewarding to see everyone go out into the field and apply the components of the discussion to actual

interaction with people suffering from land rights injustice. Though being in charge while in the villages was tough, the most challenging aspect of unit facilitation was definitely planning in a small group of four and finding my leadership within that group in a comfortable, non-intrusive way. After hours of being in a classroom together trying to plan a three-hour workshop, I was frustrated. I remember thinking about external personal issues, and just wanting to finish without feeling like my peers, whom I love so much, were annoyed with me. Reflecting back, there are many things the four of us could have worked on more, such as communication, breathing more…but in a way I’m totally content with how it went. I now understand myself more and how I work in groups. I know these situations will come up again in the future, and I’m so grateful I had this chance to grow with good friends, while doing something incredible for communities, and in a country as beautiful as Thailand.

Photo credit Hannah Kitchel

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Hannah Kitchel Bates College Environmental Science


Photo credit: top, Hannah Kitchel, bottom Alex Acuña

this way. Just as her parents before her used chemical fertilizer and pesticides to grow their rice, she and her husband Somchit did as well. Yet the burdens of using chemicals, such as health problems and their high cost, started to add up. In 1995, Songwan and her husband decided to make the switch to organic. Today, Songwan could not be more pleased with this choice. She is able to sell much of her produce at the nearby Yasothon Green Market. Three times a week, Songwan wakes up at 2am in order to catch the truck that takes her and other organic farmers to this market. The night before, she prepares her fresh vegetables, putting them in bags to be ready to sell, such as her green Thai eggplants, spicy peppers and ripe tomatoes. She also prepares a traditional Thai dessert: candied bananas surrounded in sweet sticky rice and wrapped in a banana lef, sold three for 10 baht (35 cents). Coconut water and her own health-rice-milk drink are put into individual bags as well. And of course there is her own sticky rice, beautifully speckled with deep-brown grains among the white, made ready to sell both uncooked and steamed. From 5 am to 8 am she sells her items to customers happy to have the chance to eat food that is both local and organic. In the Green Market, Songwan has found not only a place to make a profit (a bigger profit than when she was farming with chemicals), she has also found a community. The Green Market gave her a chance to do new things. While earlier in Songwan’s life she “had no chance to go anywhere”, she now “goes places and meets people”. She finds all of the sellers at the market very friendly. They help her prepare, help her sell her produce, and all trade the items they cannot sell. She feels the community at the Green Market is “quite unique”. It has “honesty, unity”; it is a “warm space”. Today, Songwan’s happiness at making the transition to organic farming is palpable. She is very grateful to be part of the community at the Green Market, and to be free from the problems of chemical based agriculture. She taught me how organic farming and local markets can make big changes to Thai farmers’ lives. While buying organic may seem like a small choice to many of us, it is not a small matter to Songwan. It is her life choice, and buying organic rice such as hers can make a big difference in the lives of farmers like hers.

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Eating From Around the Corner “My commitment to eating locally is probably driven by three things. The first is the taste of live food; the second is my relation to frugality; the third is my deep concern about the state of the planet.” Penned by Joan Dye Gussow, a nutritionist at Columbia University in New York, these words reflect exactly why I am becoming even more of a local food junkie on this trip. Over the course of our Food Unit, we stayed in two agricultural villages in Northeastern Thailand and learned from villagers, NGOs, hospitals, and even an herbal medicine man about the benefits of switching to organic agriculture. To be honest, I had never given too much thought to it. I knew organic avocados were usually about a dollar more at the grocery store on TCU’s campus, but that was the extent of my knowledge. However, for these Thai families in farming communities, making the switch to organic is not simply some bourgeoisie attempt at jumping on the Go Green bandwagon. The chemicals previously used in their agriculture were showing up in their blood, causing skin rashes, and devastating the local soil. Going organic was not about paying a dollar more for an avocado, but it was about making a sustainable choice to benefit the family and the environment. The first few years of switching to organic agriculture can be more than a little discouraging as the soil works to

adapt, but eventually crop yield can as much as double its original size. Organic agriculture may be caught up in legalities and hidden marketing tricks in the United States, but with a little research we can all start making informed decisions that are healthier for our bodies and for our planet. From working at a farmer’s market back home in St. Louis, I learned the importance of local food. By supporting locally grown produce, the consumer provides an income to fellow community members, cuts down on the fuel and pollution used to transport food across the country or across the world, and takes pride in their neighborhood. Now when I return back to school in May, I plan on taking pride in my state, taking care of the environment, and buying that Texas-grown organic avocado on my first

“I follow the sufficiency economy theory,” said Mae Ampan, a farmer in Roi Et Province in Northeastern Thailand, as she pointed to banana trees and pineapple plants. Mae Ampan lives in Ban Dong Dip, a rural village that consists mostly of cash crop farmers.

Proposed by King Bhumipol Adulyadej more than a decade ago, this theory of sufficiency economy is prevalent in Ban Dong Dip, as exemplified by large posters in the community hall. A group of farmers who relied on chemical agriculture and cash crops have organized to decrease the usage of pesticides and herbicides and to promote a more sustainable and environmentally-friendly agriculture.


Molly Johnson Texas Christian University Management

Photo credit Molly Johnson

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Ban Dong Dip is currently transitioning from chemical agriculture to an organic and diversified agriculture. Out of 165 households in the village, about 67 of them have begun the transition. While not completely organic, the farmers have decreased their use of chemicals and increased the use of compost and organic fertilizers. The community utilizes sufficiency economy to promote the transition to organic agriculture, but initiatives within the community have given new meaning to Sufficiency Economy.

Sugarcane farmers normally sell their crop to Mitrapol, a sugar refinery and factory, but they are currently creating their own organic sugar for personal consumption. A sugarcane press, heating apparatus, and a mold comprise the necessary materials for sugar production. They have plans to sell their organic sugar to a wider market. For these farmers, the idea of sufficiency revolves around sustainable agriculture and less dependence on external economic factors. However, it does not

promote economic isolation.

Rice is another crop that is an integral part of agriculture in Ban Dong Dip. Most farmers in Isaan plant only a few varieties, jasmine rice being a primary product. Jasmine rice is a major cash crop in Thailand, and most farmers grow only one variety. The prevalence of jasmine rice was detrimental to the diversity of local rice types. Ban Dong Dip has an initiative to harvest and preserve local seed varieties, which intends to strengthen communal bonds and promote local pride.

While Sufficiency Economy promotes moderation, the farmers of Ban Dong Dip have used the theory as a way to

Sustainable Agriculture in Yasothon

When Phau Wan switched from conventional farming to organic farming in 2001, he did not expect his life to change as drastically as it did. As a main member of the Alternative Agriculture Network (AAN), Phau Wan is a current leader of the Isaan organic farming movement.

At fifty years old, Phau Wan has been a farmer for half of his lifetime, and has experienced two very different farming lifestyles. Phau Wan’s parents were rice farmers when he was a child, as most people in Yasothon still are today. He started helping his parents on the family farm when he was eleven years old, exposing himself to chemicals at a very young age. He became passionate about farming because at that time, it was natural for children to follow in the footsteps of their parents.

At age twenty-five, Phau Wan started a family of his own with his wife, Mae Meow. Together they moved onto Mae Meow’s parents’ land, as it is customary in Thai culture for the husband to move

onto the wife’s land. Phau Wan and Mae Meow began farming with the chemicals Phau Wan had been brought up using, as it was assumed to be the most simple and efficient way to farm. While Phau Wan understood that these chemicals were harming his health, he could not bring himself to change his ways.

It was not until 2001 that Phau Wan decided to make a shift in his lifestyle. At this point, he had numerous illnesses from the chemical on the rice. His hair thinned and much of it fell out, and Phau Wan understood that his health was becoming seriously at risk. Coincidently, at this time Mae Meow became connected with Mae Pid, the wife of Phau Lan, a notable member of the AAN, who had recently

Mina Dinh Williams College History

Photo credit Alex Acuña

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converted his own farm to organic. When Phau Wan was convinced by Phau Lan to convert to organic, he had to convince both his parents, and Mae Meow’s parents that it was a legitimate change. Organic farming at that time was considered difficult, although the food could be sold for more money.

Many other farmers face a similar fork in the road: continue to farm conventionally and use chemicals that are destructive to the body in order to produce more, faster, or take on the task of switching to organic farming, a process that takes three years to complete. Communities like Yasothon are given support by the AAN in hopes of aiding them in this process of converting to organic.

“When technology came, people forgot how

to be farmers,” Phau Wan stated, commenting on the overwhelming presence of factories in today’s food system. At the AAN office, Phau Wan works with other farmers to preserve local seeds and reconnect people with organic roots. He argues that organic farming not only saves people on an individual health level, but also preserves a sense of a sustainable community.

Phau Wan’s family is involved in other aspects of sustainable farming that shape the Yasothon community. Every week, Mae Meow sells the food that she and Phau Wan growsat the Green Market in Yasothon, an entirely organic community market, run by the women of the province. Both Phau Wan and Mae Meow are active in the organic food movement.

Phau Wan reflects on his switch to organic farming as one of the best decisions of his life, one that he hopes all conventional farmers will find the strength to make. In the US, sustainability is often seen as a trend, something hip to Phaurtake in. In Thailand, where farming is such a way of life, people’s switch to organic is to preserve a healthy way of life, as opposed to just conforming to trends. Here, the organic farmers become the trend setters, whereas in the US, those converting are the trend followers.

Mae Pit and Traditional Herbal Diagnosed with breast cancer, Mae Pit, 47,

chose not go through an operation or chemotherapy. Instead, she decided to heal her breast cancer herself by changing her diet to organic foods, practicing meditation, and using herbal medicine. “The lump was smaller after fifteen days of this lifestyle change”, stated Mae Pit, “and after three months, I was cancer free.”

Mae Pit is just one case in a larger movement in Thailand toward traditional herbal medicine. Many Thai citizens are now turning toward Thai medicinal

procedures and away from preventative practices. Where Western medicine focuses on curing disease, herbal medicine emphasizes overall wellness and healing. Over the past few decades, Thailand has struggled in dealing with the globalized move toward modern medicine while still trying to preserve traditional values of herbal treatments, such as meditation, massage, and drinking herbal teas, that are rooted in Thai history and Buddhism. Many of these compromises include scientific outlooks and analysis of these traditional methods.

This hybrid model of Western science and Eastern holistic treatment has allowed for herbal medicine to be more accepted by developing


Abby Friedman Kenyon College Religious Studies

Photo credit Coral Keegan

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countries. It allows for Thailand to participate on a global scale in development, while still maintaining a national Thai identity for its people. By preserving the wisdom of traditional medicine, Thailand is allowing its citizens to both participate in modern and scientific cures, as well as Buddhist customs and traditional healing.

While some hospitals in Thailand include herbal medicinal methods alongside conventional

medicine, these traditional practices are still being reestablished in Thailand. These practices are being legitimized and supported by scientific research, but people like Mae Pit are working from a different perspective to give credibility to these methods. “Western doctors don’t understand because they think it is impossible,” explained Mae Pit, “But I can make them see that it worked.”

When we visited agricultural villages in Yasothon province women were ever present in the fields and homes but never in the spotlight. During my home stay, gender seemed especially pronounced to me; my Mae would wake up at 4am to plow the fields, weed the garden, take care of the animals, go to the market, clean the home and cook. Meanwhile, my Phau would take care of the chickens and sleep for the majority of the day. That is not to say that he did nothing, but his responsibilities primarily lay outside the home. During our exchanges on the other hand, men were front and center, and were the leaders of the organizing campaigns for the Alternative Agriculture Network. One could argue that women are disenfranchised because they do not hold formal leadership positions. Women, however, hold incredible amounts of leverage within the home and when decisions are made regarding agricultural practices. Children are taught about agriculture by their mothers, crops are decided by women and are often the primary promoters of organic agriculture. Although women may not be visible in the formal sphere of agriculture, they continue to be the backbone of the farm.

I felt something special as we entered Baw Kaew village. Even though we had been in the van for several hours, I could feel the ‘something’ in the way my back straightened up in my seat, the way my eyes perked up to the new scenery, and the way I held my breath waiting for more. Like all other home-stays, we went on tour of the village and walked around as the community shared the significance of their village. Before we had actually started the tour, everyone noticed the shift in temperature and the overcast grey clouds. Down a long dusty stretch of road, in between thick green eucalyptus trees, it down poured. When it rains in Thailand, we’re talking serious business. The lovely thing about rain in Thailand is that it’s warm rain. With the tour coming to an unexpected close,


Julia Bowman Whitman College Sociology

Fay Walker Occidential College International Affairs and World Diplomacy

Rain Dance

Iron Ladies

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we all rushed back to the meeting hall and tried halfheartedly not to get soaked. Arriving at the sala didn’t even matter anymore. When we got there, everyone stayed outside while rain poured down and down. All 20 of us college students along with local village kids were laughing hard, screaming with joy, running around like chickens with our heads cut off, and jumping in muddy puddles soaking in the moment. It took less than 5 minutes for our clothes to be sopping wet but nobody cared at all. Scenes from The Notebook were reenacted, followed by a messy mud fight with the Thai children. My three friends and I ended up following some local kids to the river running the main muddy road, hurtling past puddles trying to keep up. With our eyes fighting to see through the thick rain, we yelled out ‘Sawadee Ka!’ (‘Hello’ in Thai) as we passed older villagers protected from the rain under their porches. They must’ve thought we were crazy! I certainly


Ellery Graves

Taryn Orona

MavaMarie Cooper

Fátima Avellan

Dr. David Streckfuss, Program Director [email protected]

Arunee Sriruksa, Assistant Resident Director [email protected]

Jintana Rattanakhemakorn, Language Director [email protected]

John Mark Belardo, Field Study Coordinator [email protected]

CIEE Development and Globalization Khon Kaen, Thailand Staff: Photo Credit Fay Walker

Newsletter Editors:

would’ve if I had seen a group of foreigners being led by a train of local kids. The ‘river’ turned out to be a beautiful, serene pond with lily pads and a floating bamboo platform for diving. Ignoring potential leeches, we followed after the kids who didn’t even wait for us and dived into the deep, sea green water while the rain endlessly poured. I felt like I was in a movie! What I will never forget is laughing in the rain in Thailand with these adorable kids, not speaking the language at all, and letting ourselves be loose and act like kids as well.

I will never forget Baw Kaew village because of this beautiful memory, and perhaps the special feeling I had while entering the village was going to be this moment, running through the rain and diving in a pond with beautiful Thai children we couldn’t even understand. Maybe that’s the beauty of the special ‘something’ I felt.

Rachel Pricer

University of Richmond

International

Development/ French

CIEE Khon Kaen Newsletter--2012--SP--No. 2

Documents

Transcript of CIEE Khon Kaen Newsletter--2012--SP--No. 2