Holistic Enhancement for Improved Livelihood Project in Phrao (HELP)

Project Number: 22-0510-06

Project duration: 2006-2010

Project Holder: Community Livelihood and Environmental Development Organization (CLED)

CLED is founded to solve the livelihood problems of people in the Phrao area. In 2001, Heifer Thailand received a request from Pastor Sompan Saengkane to assist with their livestock and agriculture project in Huay Pa Rai Village, Phrao District. The farmers were in dire need of a stable food and income source. After surveying the project, Heifer Thailand provided water buffalos, kitchen gardens, a saving group, feed formulation training, biogas materials, and pig farming training for most of the families in this village, 28 in total. The livelihood of farmers has improved through these sustainable agricultural activities.

With the success of this project, many governmental organizations, NGOs, and interested farmers traveled to this village, now considered a demonstration site, to learn about implementing a holistic development approach to agriculture. Visitors included the Canadian Ambassador, an ADB representative, and Heifer Thailand project partners. The project promotes an animal-based holistic development approach to sustainability.

On 25 June 2005, CLED had the grand opening of learning center in Huay Pa Rai Village. More than 800 people came to participate, including Member of Parliament, senior district officers, NGO workers, and villagers from 30 villages. This learning center will serve 25 villages nearby.

Project areas: Phrao district, Chiang Mai province, THAILAND

Local Conditions & Opportunities for Assistance:

Phrao District has 108 villages comprised of native and tribal people (Lahu, Karen, Kachin, Akha, and Lisu). Due to language and legal-rights restrictions, hilltribes are treated as second class citizens. CLED, with the support of Heifer Thailand, will provide assistance to five villages. One child hostel will also be built. The overall problems were identified as follows:

Lack of a stable income source: Recently, the expansion of population has reduced the cultivation area of highlanders. Some need to rent the land to grow crops. However, the profit that supposed to gain from selling is unpredictably low because farmers depend too much on marketing system, which is unstable due to global economy. Farmers work harder to meet the financial need and have a high debt. With the instability of income source, some farmers migrate outside the villages and serve themselves in low-paid job.

Culture: The desperate need to focus on financial stability has caused culture and tradition to be ignored. City migration breaks down village units, creating a greater chasm between villagers and their traditions.

Environment: Due to limited cultivation areas, highland farmers practiced slash and burn cultivation, leading to forest depletion, and soil erosion. Chemical use on plantations contaminates the watershed. In addition, farmers raise their livestock near the stream inlet, dumping waste into the river. This causes poor health and hygiene for both humans and animals. Farmers acknowledge these problems, but lack the knowledge to solve them.

Legal rights: Some farmers in Phrao don’t have citizenship or legal status. They are not able to access basic public health and education services. They don’t have voting or other political rights, which is particularly important in local areas where council members are elected by the community. They cannot access loan programs, including a village development fund which was initiated by the government.

Youth at Risk: Phrao district there are few primary and secondary schools. Hilltribe villages are located too far from schools. For better education, parents send their children, between 5-15, to stay in temporary houses which made of bamboo, and located near those schools. Furthermore, the hostels cannot provide enough food for the children. Therefore it is very high importance to build up one main hostel to serve the hilltribe children who live in scattered accommodations.

Project Goal:

Needy people in highland communities have the good quality of life and protect the environment

Objectives:

• To increase income by 50% through the livestock, and integrated agriculture
• To improve natural resource management
• Students in a hostel will have the source of nutritious food through integrated agriculture

 Activities:

CLED will assist 300 families in five villages in attaining a sustainable livelihood through an animal-based holistic approach to farming. It will provide 20 water buffalos, 70 cows, 230 pigs, 68 chicken, 23,500 fingerlings, 34 kitchen gardens, 14 biogas units, 8,034 kg of seeds, 9,594 kg of raw material for feed, one rice mill, a rice bank, and kitchen gardens for participating families and integrated activities in the children hostel to alleviate hunger and poverty. Besides, the concern on environment will be promoted through the water watch and reforestation activities in 5 communities. Four villages will be given the training on and establish the saving groups. The project goal is the good quality of life for all tribal people under HELP project.

Passing on the Gifts:

• Large animals: participating families will pass on the second offspring and original animal to the project, after the third offspring is weaned. 
• Revolving Fund: farmers will pass on 6% of interest rate annually to CLED. Micro-credit loans are to purchase animals, seeds, and other agricultural supplies. CLED will manage pass-on fund for purchasing livestock and vocational inputs.
• Biogas and kitchen garden: farmers will share the construction cost 50%.
• Knowledge: after the training or study tour, farmers will pass on the L knowledge gained to other people in the village.

 Funding source: Heifer Project International