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| Update 45 |  |
March 2008 |
| www.andamandiscoveries.com | ||
This month Andaman Discoveries was invited to present at two conferences. This is a good indication that people really respect what we are doing and a great reward for all the hard work we put in on a daily basis. We also held the Youth Environmental Camp in Ban Talae Nok, demonstrating education through sensory learning, allowing youths to become familiar with the strengths and weaknesses of their environment. This event was also a great way to open up a dialogue between the village and nearby Laemson National Park, with whom we cooperated with for the camp to take place.
We have also had two longer-term volunteers in village, as well as more short-term volunteers and guests who have each contributed in their own different ways to the communities; they included a trained English teacher, an IT professional, and a returning volunteer seeking a longer-term commitment. One of these visitors taught a course of in-village computer classes for all ages, from which nobody dropped out over the four weeks. These guests have combined eco-tourism and volunteering with community-led projects, demonstrating how outsiders really can become a part of the communities with which we work.
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Project Summaries Click on a headline to jump to the story:
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Pride, Hope, and Progression into the Future: "I’m so glad to see the youth group in Ban Talae Nok participate in the environmental camp this month. I am very proud of them and now I understand that conservation must begin from the heart of the youth group before progressing in the future. I feel like our team is growing stronger." Pink, aged 24 Ban Talae Nok Community Centre Manager and Youth Conservation Group Coordinator |
1. International Responsible Tourism In Destinations Conference – Bodhi Presents in India
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| Bodhi stands in front of 500 people from five continents, presenting his experience with Andaman Discoveries at the 2nd International Responsible Tourism in Destinations Conference, Kerala, Southern India. |
After Andaman Discoveries won the Virgin Holidays’ Responsible Tourism Awards 2007, the International Centre of Responsible Tourism asked Andaman Discoveries to present at the International Responsible Tourism In Destinations Conference in Kerala, Southern India. Honored at receiving the invite to such a prestigious event, the charismatic founder of North Andaman Tsunami Relief and Andaman Discoveries, Bodhi Garrett, represented the event after his teachings with the Dali Lama.
With over 500 people from five continents attending, the event focused on creating and defining a platform for sustainable tourism that could be adopted by businesses, communities, and supporting organizations. Discussions highlighted how community-based tourism endeavors fail to achieve long term stability, a huge boost to Andaman Discoveries’ small but significant success at village level.
The initiator of Andaman Discoveries explained his thoughts in detail: "In my speech, I asked the question: Is subsidizing the development of community tourism worthwhile? Yes, but only if close attention is paid to the long-term independence of the operation. What we have achieved at Andaman Discoveries required a financial investment that would not have come from the private sector. Whereas most forms of tourism are based in the private sector, community tourism receives significant support from NGOs, academia, and government. Communities are often economically motivated, but supporting organizations tend to place more importance on social and environmental outcomes. In the long run, sustainable community tourism requires revenue generation, which, in turn, requires providing a competitive product. In the coming years, organizations supporting community tourism must be held to standards of business efficiency."
2. Youth Group Environmental Camp - Learning About Nature, in Nature
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| The youth group environmental camp members. |
Twenty-one members of the Ban Talae Nok Youth Group took part in an environmental camp, organized in cooperation with Andaman Discoveries, the Mangrove Action Project (MAP) and Laemson National Park. The objective of the camp was to sensitize the youths to their environment and ways to help conserve it, and to prepare them for their upcoming environmental study trip. The young adults participated and showed great enthusiasm and motivation throughout the weekend, sharing in various activities such as tree observation, bird watching, and partaking in an obstacle course whilst blindfolded (to simulate the challenges faced by newly-hatched sea turtles as they make their way to the ocean).
Spirits were high amongst both participants and staff, and feedback positive, "I am happy to be here and know a lot more about national resources," beamed Asaman, aged 18. "I liked the activity about the life of a sea turtle best and realized how their lives are difficult and that they have to survive many problems." A guest, Chris Dunbar of USAID, witnessed some of the weekend’s events and was highly impressed: "This is the culmination of so much work coming to fruition in an exceptional environment." The Youth Group will take part in more environmental camps before their study trip which will take place soon after.
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| A quiet audience watches in anticipation as the Youth Group performs its puppet show. |
3. Youth Group Puppet Show - Using Theatre to Educate
March saw the Youth Group’s environmental awareness activities extend further than their waste management and weekend camp. Created to raise awareness to each other about environmental issues such as the importance of mangroves, the group broke into small teams and each produced and performed their own show, complete with props, guitars, and singing. "I was really impressed by what the groups created," praised Pi Tui, Co-Director of Andaman Discoveries. "They each produced their own shows in a fun way that kept the younger children entertained long enough to educate them on the themes presented." Volunteers Sebastian and Dick were lucky enough to be part of the audience of the group’s puppet shows.
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| Three’s not enough for lifting the heavy bags of recyclables into the truck. |
4. A Large Sum in Return for Waste – Don’t Trash it, Cash it!
The Ban Talae Nok community has been working on its waste management for several months. Villagers, both young and old are being encouraged to Reuse, Recycle, and Reduce, and their efforts are certainly paying off in more ways than one. A staggering 4,942 Baht’s worth of recyclable materials were sold this month, with money being fed straight back into youth environmental education. The continued dedication of the villagers, in particular the children and Youth Group, demonstrates that they are seeing the benefits of selling recyclable materials instead of burning or burying all waste materials. The villagers of Ban Tale Nok would like to thank Dick Bond and Bung Rheed for their help with the project this month.
5. I-Genius World Summit – Positive Social Change
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| Kelly May is right at home making soap with the handicrafts women’s group. |
Andaman Discoveries is committed to sustainability and understands the need to create national and international networks of like-minded people to make it a reality. We therefore need to have a presence at events like the I-Genius summit in order to outreach to others who might be able to assist and promote our work. “True sustainability is about understanding the interactions between social, economic and environmental issues on a global scale,” explained Mark Elton, from WSP Environmental. "I-Genius provides the perfect platform to discuss these relationships with a wide international community and to explore collaborative sustainable business solutions.
6. Birmingham University Volunteers’ Continued Support - Help Back in the UK
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| Liz shows off her display at the Gap Year Fair in Warwick, England. |
This month, last year’s volunteers from Birmingham University have been continuing their support for us and promoting Andaman Discoveries around England. They recently attended the Gap Year Fair in Warwick. "Joe and I were thanked for our enthusiasm and a lot of people commented on how being there in a volunteering capacity, having fundraised the money to attend, spoke volumes about our feelings towards this organisation," wrote Liz McNally in an email to us. "Everyone loved the fact the projects are so flexible and that the experience is so unique and genuine. Even some of the parents of the students were interested, demonstrating just how diverse Andaman Discoveries’ clientele is."
Other volunteers from the same group plan to attend a fair in London in the next few weeks. Liz concluded; "The Andaman Discoveries team can rely on our continued support." We would like to thank these dependable and generous students for their persistent support. It is people like this who make Andaman Discoveries what it is today.
7. Returning Guest - "Most Senior Visitor" Comes Back for a Longer Stay
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| Children cluster around Dick and his computer as he begins his classes. |
Seventy-three-year-old Dick Bond (UK) was so taken by Ban Tale Nok when he visited in December last year as part of a short-term volunteer placement that he decided to come back for a whole month. At the beginning of March, he started up a computer class for 20 students of all ages in the village school, teaching basic lessons from turning on the machine to writing a letter using Word. When he found the computer teacher was able to continue with minimal support, Dick was happy to take more of a back seat in the classes, helping out when and where he could. He also helped with other tasks in the village such as repainting their welcome signs.
His lengthy stay really made him feel like part of the village. "It gave me pleasure just to hear the shouts of ‘Deek’ as I wondered around -- rather than the more general ‘farang’ (Westerner) a visitor is usually greeted with," said Dick. "Overall I feel I have learnt a lot about the Thai/Muslim way of life and recognized at least some of the frustrations often arising out of a mutual inability to communicate at a detailed level."
Taking his video camera wherever he goes, Dick has also made two videos featuring his previous stay and the youth group environmental camp he participated in this month. The short film he made of the camp was greatly received by all the students who attended and they took great delight in watching and laughing at themselves on the screen. "I hope that I have been able in some way to contribute to life in Ban Talae Nok," Dick concluded. Although Dick has now left, the computer class will continue from 4pm - 6pm daily until the first of April, when students will receive their certificates. Cha, of Ban Talae Nok and a key programme organizer, comments on its success: "The primary class students are interested to study computers now so we will open this opportunity to them too."
8. "Good Afternoon Miss Birrell" – A Qualified Teacher Joins Ban Talae Nok School
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| Helen marking and correcting at the Ban Talae Nok School |
As a trained teacher, Heather Birrell’s (UK) skills shone through at the Ban Talae Nok School this month. As well as being a trained teacher in England, Heather recently completed her TEFL (Teaching English as a Foreign Language) course and has just finished four months of teaching at a school in Phu Khieo, North Eastern Thailand. In Ban Talae Nok, she taught the children simple phrases such as ‘How are you?’ and ‘What is your name?’, whilst using songs to trigger memory; it is clear the pupils benefited from Heather’s previous experience. "I was made to feel that my input was helpful and valued" said Heather, after her stay. As well as teaching, Heather stayed with one of our home-stay families and participated in mangrove restoration, soap making, and even got a chance to help Dick paint the new welcome signs for the village. "I would definitely recommend the homestay element to the trip," Heather continued. "I was made to feel very welcome with my homestay family, and it was a great way to fully immerse myself in village life."
9. Big Day for Savings Project – A Little Bit Goes a Long Way
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| Children and youth are excited to crack open their bamboo boxes to reveal their total savings. |
After the success of the Bamboo Savings Project to honor the King’s Birthday and Father’s Day last year, the project was continued this year. All the children’s spare change was collected into a hand made bamboo money box made by each of the children. After a three month period, the boxes were broken open to reveal all the money they had saved. The children could see the advantages of putting money aside instead of spending it immediately. While the children counted up their coins, there was a good turn out of families showing their support for the younger generation’s efforts. Pink, the coordinator of this project, will put all the saved money into a Credit Union Bank account for each child, giving them more security for the future.
10. Community Centre – Focal Point of Village Activities
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| The handicraft section in the centre provides a market for locally made goods. |
The community centre has been busy as ever this month, hosting the big day for the bamboo savings project, as well as the puppet show and other youth group activities. Volunteer Heather Birrell spent some time leading the aerobics class here during her stay, and the adult education classes have continued in the centre every Friday. "It is more comfortable for students to meet here," explained Cha, Ban Talae Nok villager and Andaman Discoveries’ staff member. In general, the centre is running how it was intended, with regular group meetings and social gatherings between community members. "Home-stay groups often come to borrow tables and coffee cups," community centre manager Pink commented.
For visiting guests, local government officials, and National Park staff, the centre is an ideal place to meet and discuss issues concerning the village. Andaman Discoveries village staff is kept busy an hour each morning ensuring that the centre is clean and tidy. The handicraft shop in the centre is increasing sales for the Batik and soap groups, with 3,000 Baht's worth of soap sold to visitors this month.
11. German Journalists – Great Holidays, Difficult to Find
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| Luzie with homestay mother and community centre manager, Pink. |
12. Searching for a Long-Term Commitment - Ban Talae Nok Welcomes Sebastian
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| Sebastian works with the Youth Group during one of their brain-storming sessions. |
Sebastian Reuyl (Holland) was traveling around Thailand visiting different projects, looking for opportunities where he could return later as a long-term volunteer. He stayed with Andaman Discoveries for over a week, learning about our team, our projects, and the villages in which we work.
After his one night in the Tung Nang Dam home-stay, partaking in orchid conservation and the jungle hike, he then spent over a week in Ban Talae Nok where he participated in a whole range of activities including the mangrove tour, fishing, and soap making. He was also lucky enough to be there the weekend of the youth group’s environmental camp, and had a chance to help Dick during the computer classes. "It’s amazing how easy people from the village make you feel you are part of the community," said Sebastian. "Tung Nang Dam is like traveling back in time as if the rest of the world does not exist. Ban Tale Nok is a village like a village is meant to be, where people care for each other and smile all day." Sebastian very kindly helped us in the office as well, doing some much needed admin work! We hope he chooses to come back in the near future.
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Andaman Discoveries is North Andaman Tsunami Relief’s commitment to long-term sustainable development.
Copyright 2008 Andaman Discoveries