After spending time with Upland Holistic Development Project in Chiang Dao and Fang for 10 days, the students headed to Mae Tae village for the last five days of the agroecology course. Mae Ta is known for organic farming, forest conservation and its co-op, and it was great for the students to see a village working together to make their community more sustainable.
Over the course of the five days, multiple community members met with the group to discuss different aspects of agriculture in the village, and the students also had the opportunity to learn about village life as they stayed with host families. On the first full day, the students met with Paw Pat, a leader in organic farming in the community and the recipient of an honorary master’s degree for his work and research in sustainable and organic farming. He shared about his life, how the farm provides for his family, and the struggles he has faced with many people doubting his farming practices for the past 27 years. He then took the students to his polyculture organic farm which is set-up more like a forest rather than a traditional “rows and columns” farm, and it was quite the experience as the students enjoyed picking a variety of the fruits from Paw Pat’s trees as they saw first hand what Paw Pat had just taught them. In the afternoon the students learned from P’Bee, who has baby corn fields and previously did organic farming, but has since switched back to using chemical fertilizer due to not being able to earn enough income. It was a great balance for the students to hear from both sides when it comes to organic vs. chemical fertiliser farming practices.
Over the next couple of days the students spent time with their host families at their farms, and meeting with people like P’Do, P’Dton and P’Bui, who are part of the younger generation of farmers in the village. P’Do and P’Dton previously left the village to pursue their dreams of going to college in order to get well paying jobs in the city, but it was not long before they decided that working in a factory and living in the city wasn’t all they imagined it to be. They eventually decided to move back to Mae Ta and establish themselves as organic farmers, a livelihood they find much more inline with their desire to work hard but also have freedom to do as they please. P’Bui also went to college, before returning to Mae Ta, and she taught the ISDSI students about her work at the village’s co-op, where she is employed to harvest organic seeds for selling. She then took the students on a tour around her farm, which allowed the students to see the noticeable difference between a farm meant for growing fruits and vegetables to eat and a farm meant for harvesting seeds.
During their time in Mae Ta, the students also learned about the village’s watershed as they hiked from the village’s reservoir up to see one of the village’s natural water sources. However, it was more than a quick jaunt through Thailand’s jungle. Led by four villagers, the students had the opportunity to learn about and discuss local beliefs and religious ceremonies, and hear the history of the village’s fight to protect the forest from being cut down. At the end of the trail the students also got to drink fresh water from bamboo pipes that came directly from the underground spring, a spring which has been tested by the Thai government and shown to be as clean as filtered water and filled with healthy minerals.
While the students had a great time in Mae Ta, things did eventually have to come to an end. After enjoying a traditional northern Thai dinner and cord tying ceremony with their host families on the final night, the students woke up at 4am the next morning to head back into Chiang Mai. It was then, when they joined a handful of Mae Tae organic farmers at a local market where they sell, that the students got to see the final step in organic vegetables and fruits go from the field to the consumer.
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