ROY WAN PAN PBA-2 (GARDENING AND ACTIVITIES WITH KIDS)

THE PROJECT Roy Wan Pan Pba project is located not far from a small Buddhist village called Kuan Mai Bong (hill of timber), situated in a remote area of Cha-uat district of Nakorn Sri Tammarat province, Southern Thailand. Population of the village consists of approx. 720 people (212 homes). Most villagers make a living on their property such as rubber plantation and fruit orchard. The project was started from nothing but motivation and solidarity in March 2011 by the initiatives of a local environmental activist Pi Ju ( Mr Surasak Yentua)along with support of Kuan Mai Bong villagers and DaLaa volunteers. Its objective is to focus on participants (kids, locals, volunteers and visitors) to be aware of importance of staying self-sufficient in their environment and to respect it as a vital part of their life. This atmosphere is the basic key of the site that everyone can feel and learn from. Local kids gather on Saturdays and volunteers organize activities with them. On a larger scale, P Ju strengthens the relationship with neighboring communities and develops a cooperation to preserve soil, forest and water in the area, from the strong community of Lang Hai Mee, at the top of the mountain to the community of Kuan Ki Lom close to Roy Wan and they are really involved in the project. Since May 2015, volunteers also help to organize activities with Lang hai Mee School 2 days a week. They started there a local tree species nursery and try to diversify the agriculture like sweet potatoes for food security and economic sufficiency. Since 2011, thanks to great help from the locals and volunteers, they managed to build most facilities to welcome people to live and visit. There is now adequate availability of food from the vegetables garden, fish and frog farming, and fruit trees which are already planted. Food Autonomy is indeed vital to man and Alternative Education is important as well as to give kids the possibility to learn some basic skills of life that are often neglected at regular schools. The environment preservation is possible only if the members of the community have enough understanding of the situation and enough solidarity to join this action together. The project site is located in a mountainous village of Ban Tad Mountain Range. It is approx. 16 kilometers far from the main road reaching up to the mountain. It is surrounded by rubber plantation, fruit orchards and scattered settlement of villagers’ homes.