Andaman Discoveries Blog
Thursday, March 18, 2010
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Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Awesome New Staff! Welcomes Jenny, Carli, and Laura
Andaman has experienced a "changing of the guard" in recent months. We are excited to welcome out new interns
A northern California native, Jenny came direct from San Francisco, California. She recently graduated from the University of San Francisco with an M.S. in Enviornmental Management, and has over five years of experience as an Environmental Consultant around the US. Jenny hopes to bring fresh program ideas and marketing concepts to the AD team.
Carli came all the way from Michigan State University to join the AD team for two months. She was sent by the Asian Institute University of Technology (AIT) through their study abroad program in Thailand. Carli came to AD to get hands-on experience in sustainable tourism and while serving the community. So far, Carli has visited several community projects, villages, and events. Carli hopes to help our online marketing efforts online and support the AD team efforts in villages.
Laura will be with AD for eight months and is our first intern from Pistes Solidaires, a French non-profit organisation based in Marseille. Laura is here to learn all she can about community-based toursim and Thai culture. This is an extraordinary experience and she really wants to add something new and help the organisation.
Labels: Andaman Discoveries, intern
Pink and the Youth Group need your support
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.
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
Indigenous Education - Koh Surin
The Moken are an ancient sea people who have travelled among the islands of Thailand’s North Andaman coast for thousands of years. Traditionally nomadic, they would spend most of their time out at sea in their boat houses and moored in sheltered locations during the monsoon season. In recent years, the Moken have responded to growing socio-economic pressures by settling permanently in Ao Bon Bay.
They have come to rely on selling handicrafts as an important source of income, but often have trouble communicating with visitors who wish to buy their woven baskets and hand-carved model boats. To help with this, Andaman Discoveries partnered with a local health worker to provide English lessons to the children of Koh Surin – we provided books, pencils, lesson plans, and a whiteboard. Andaman Discoveries is also sponsoring a “clean household” competition to encourage Moken to address the litter generated by good from the mainland.
Labels: education, Moken, North Andaman Region
Community Network - Profiles from the Field
Labels: community, homestay, Muang Kluang
International Wetland Day
Governor of Ranong brings a big crowd to Laem Son National Park
The International Weltand Day at Laem Son National Park focused on the link between wetland health and climate change adaptation. Governor Wanchat Wongchaichana of Ranong and Chairman of Wetland International Day joined the crowds of nearby primary and secondary school students on February 2, 2010. Around 500 youth and adults joined the day of activities honoring wetland. Below, you see the governor accepting a basket from Somsak Soonthornnawapha, Thailand Programme Manager with the International Union for Conservation of Nature, filled with handicrafts from Ban Talae Nok and community partner villages.
The event showcased exhibitions by variety of organizations, a play about the wetland environment, and a forum regarding wetland habitat in the area and how climate change will affect it in the futre.The National Park released 50 sea turtles and 10,000 white snapper during the culminating group event, designed to raise awareness about key species that are vital to wetland and marine health.
Along with other wetland areas in Rangong, the Laem Son National Park officially became part of Ramsar Convention on Wetlands (Ramsar Site) in August 2002. The park is shaded by a mixture of mangrove and fir trees, transitioning into sandy white beach as it nears the ocean. The network of winding paths was dotted with presentation boards from community-based handicraft groups, conservation groups, and educational groups.Labels: Ban Talae Nok, community, conservation, natural resource management
Tung Dap Children's Day
On January 9th, hundreds of villagers attended the annual Children's Day at Tung Dap. The AD crew went out to Koh Phratong to join the celebration, bringing good cheer a healthy appetite. Over 50 children gathered to dance in a specially adorned sala while guests and friends cheered them on.
The village served a delicious array of curries and fresh vegetables and the AD crew enjoyed a brief walk down to the beach, where you could see the devastation of the tsunami, even now, after six years. The coastal swamps and mangroves were beautiful, as were the smiling faces that welcomed us into the community. We left feeling full and sun-baked after a revitalizing trip to one of the villages we hold dear.
Labels: Children’s Day, community
Week Without Walls
International School of Bangkok Visits AD Team
The trip started in Ban Talae Nok where the students got a taste of traditional Thai cooking. The local youth group lead ISB through the nearby Nipa palm conservation project, explaining their efforts to preserve the environment by working with natural tidal processes to sustainably harvest crops. The ISB students then had an afternoon of weaving nipa palm leaves to make traditional roofing materials, and working with the Ladies' Soap Cooperative to mix up a batch of fresh soap!
The students spent the next day at Koh Ra Ecolodge, an environmentally sustainable outfit on an island off the Andaman Coast. They learned about local wildlife, conservation efforts at the lodge, and the nearby Reef Check Project.
ISB followed up Koh Ra with two days of fun and games at local school events. First, they visited Kuraburi High School, sharing their English conversational skills with the younger students. The following day they attended the Family Fun for National Children's Day in Khoalak, an event encouraging Burmese family interaction and integration with the Thai community.
We sent ISB off with a farewell dinner in Khoalak, where they shared their favorite learning experiences throughout the trip. As the waves crashed on the beach in front of the restaurant and we enjoyed a delicious Thai dinner and sent the ISB students back to Bangkok in style. After returning home, the students wrote a class blog to recount their time with AD!
Labels: Ban Talae Nok, Koh Ra Ecolodge, study tours
Andaman Information Superhighway
Regional Tourism Network Launches Website
The N-ACT network was established in 2008 to help local communities secure their future through sustainable tourism and conservation. The website is a key marketing tool and is a collaborative effort between the villagers, with support from International Union of Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
The N-ACT network serves as an evolving platform to increase the contribution of tourism to sustainable livelihoods and sound ecosystem management by providing communities with access to the best available knowledge and practices. The network's success is based on careful selection of partners, capable communities, and ethical businesses with a genuine commitment to responsible tourism. The network has developed a number of tools for community tourism development and also works closely with local conservation and community development efforts.
Water Lily Planting in Nakha
Nakha boasts stunning mountainous scenery, and is home to the highly endangered Water Lily, known locally as the "Yah Chong." This fresh-water plant has unusually long leaves and delicate white flowers that bloom from October to December. Unfortunately, the water lily faces serious threats from river dredging and collection for resale as aquarium plants.
To help save the Water Lily, locals formed a conservation group to protect its habitat, and now offer rafting excursions to raise public awareness of this beautiful plant. Profits are used by the club to pay for school trips. The club also sponsors a nursery that is used by the youth group for replanting the water lilies.
Labels: conservation, endangered species
Welcome from Jenny
Dear Friends,
I am a new addition to the AD team and would like to extend a warm and enthusiastic greeting from Kuraburi!
The chains of corporate America are finally loosening as I start my third month at Andaman Discoveries. I arrived in the wake of graduating with my M.S. in Environmental Management, and have fully recovered from the frantic San Francisco lifestyle I left. Thank you AD!
I have never worked in the tourism business, nor have I lived outside the U.S. I came to Thailand to absorb as much information as possible about community-based development, having just completed my thesis on sustainable construction in Haiti.
So far, the people are amazing, the food is delicious, and the sunsets continually surprise me. I have grown beyond my wildest expectations, both professionally and personally, all thanks to the AD team.
Sincerely,
Jenny Lovell
a.k.a "The Jeneral"
Labels: Andaman Discoveries, intern
Monday, March 8, 2010
Raleigh Trip with AD Staff
We spent the days laying in the sun, hiking, and taking lazy naps. At night you could hear the monkeys jumping through the trees an into the living room, looking for a midnight snack.
I had my first outdoor rock climbing experience with a Swedish man named Richard and my guide from Hot Rocks, Jay. Thus far I had only climbed indoors at Mission Cliffs in San Francisco. What a sweet deal to be able to call Raleigh my first climb. Funny enough, at the top of a nearby hike the day before, I met a young man that lived only 8 blocks from me in SF and climbs at the same gym!
I timidly scaled the 156-foot wall and loved every second. The rocks were smooth and solid, with chalk marks dotting the course, like a trail of bread crumbs showing me the way. The view from the top was a reward I did not deserve: an unobstructed panoramic of Raleigh, east and west. Beautiful. I would say it was my favorite place in Thailand, but I've officially wracked up about 10 of those.
I will definitely be returning.
Labels: Raleigh, rock climbing
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