Community Empowerment in Rural Thailand, Nan province (CERT-NAN)

Project Number: 22-0510-14

Project Period: 2007-2011

Project Holder: Sharing In New Life Enrichment (SHINE)

SHINE was form by community leaders as a local community organization with the support from Heifer International Thailand, in order to ease those above-mentioned problems.  It will partner with other like-minded organizations calling for help and effective operation with both local government and non-government agencies.

With a regular support from Heifer International Thailand and community leader groups, it was in 2004 named, Sharing In New Life Enrichment (SHINE), and will continuously serve the needs of the villagers to become self-reliance. SHINE works to relieve the poverty among hill tribes in Nan province.

Project Profile:

The project aims to improve the life of 90 poor farm families living in 3 villages, Ta Luang, Poo Do, Huay Lao, on self-sufficient basis. It will provide those villagers with farm animals i.e. 40 cows, 60 pigs, 50 chicken, and 20,000 fish. Other supports will include 9 biogas units, 1,350 saplings of fruit trees, 640 kilograms of seeds, 40 fish ponds, and animal feed 8,813 kg.

For capacity building program, cornerstones training and group development will be two main focuses. Technical trainings will include livestock management, environment conservation, water watch monitoring, and organic farming. Regarding women and youth, non-agriculture activities will be provided to increase their capacity. 

Knowledge and skills on environment improvement e.g., biogas construction, hygiene management, reforestation, and water watch monitoring will be trained and necessary supplies will be provided.

Project areas: Nan province, THAILAND

Local Conditions & Opportunities for Assistance:

Living Condition: In the Nan province’s highland areas, most people depend on agriculture. They lack knowledge on highland agriculture and slash-and-burn practices together with chemical use are common. Although the products gained in some years are in a large amount, the quality is rather low due to sparse care. So, the products do not successfully reach the market demand and suffer very low costs.

What makes things worse is that during the farming season water shortage is common in the area; during the dry period, plantation is impossible. The local therefore depend on food sold by urban merchants.

Environment: The community’s agricultural practice depends on chemical substances and mobile plantation which affect natural resources. The misuse of chemical substances impacts on the farmers and the community as a whole because the chemical substances accumulation is so harmful to the land that the local have to move out and the forest area is damaged. In addition, animal farming in traditional practice causes unhealthy condition from the animal manure and disgusting smell within the area.

Hygiene: Since the local still lack proper knowledge in hygiene, such as birth control, there are too much young population to whom health and clinical management is ignored. Besides, water shortage that prevents the local from consumption of clean water causes skin and stomach sickness. This does not occur to the local only but also takes place with the animals, and, so far, the community has not received any assistance to solve and prevent the problem.

Women Status: Women who live in the highland areas and as an ethnic group, they are very hard working in agriculture practicing, basically they are involved in land clearing, weeding and harvesting as men done. They also play a role for collecting the forest products.

Women have a little chance or even no to education and as well as socio contact, while the men do the hunting and social contact as mainly. Many women has poor health, the rate of morbidity of women is higher than men because of hard working and have little time for relaxing.

Youth at risk: Most of the villages do not have schools. Tribal youth have to go to the cities to attend schools and stay at hostels in the cities.  However, most of the tribal youth cannot continue their studies because their families cannot afford tuition and other school expenses.  They leave school and provide cheap labor working in shops, restaurants and factories. They are vulnerable to drug abuse, prostitution, and HIV/AIDS problems.

Project Goal:

By 2010, the qualities of life of 150 families will be improved through maintaining sustainable use of natural resources and maximizing local resources

Objectives:

• To empower and strengthen 3 communities in self-help saving and women groups to become effective based on Heifer’s Cornerstones
• To increase their income per annual in a sustainable way
• To raise awareness of environmental conservation and restoration of women and youth

 Passing on the Gifts:

Large animals: After 3 years, participating families will pass on the first female offspring with the weight and size being the same as the original placement. For biogas, Rice mill, corn grinder machine, farmers will pass on 100%

Knowledge: after the training or study tour, farmers will pass on the knowledge gained to other people in the village.

Funding source: Heifer Project International